Christians I Speak Out to You!

Take a look upside down for a moment. I was walking down the sidewalk and I stopped to lend a hand to a homeless lousy bum. I was intent in buying him a soft taco (teeth issues make hard shells hard) and a tall cold glass of milk. He looked receptive and then asked me if I was going to preach at him about his soul. And said "no thanks if you are man!".

That stinks. That cut me to the core. As a reformed preacher man I was saddened and sat down on the filthy sidewalk next to him. I asked him if it had gotten that bad. He related his stories and told me that it had gotten that bad. My new friend was from Oklahoma and a PTSD suffering Veteran. Me I am just a slob like most of us. I reckon I looked real down and out cuz the next thing I knew he was offering me some coffee and a hand up. I declined and just sat there for a bit and cried.

Had my Jesus ever said, "I love you IF". Had Christians even come to this, a cup of joe for a saved soul. My new friend was patient. He was Thomas and extended his hand again. He stank to high heavens but I was the one that felt dirty. As I took it and hoisted myself up to have some re-passe with this fine man I began to limp under the heavy weight of being a modern day Christian.

There is supposed to be a love that goes before us and all around us, to glow from us. Oh I do not speak on intellectual debate and forums and pastors with podiums. I speak of me and you on the street and what we do. Do we love and commit and give without a getting in return? Do you say to another this is what you must do or do we ask what we must do to help. Do we set our minds first to conversion and second to love. Show me the commandment that says "thou shalt convert" or better yet show me the commandment that requires any to proselytize at all. There is none and in fact it is all your church made and not Christ oriented.

Who are these wannabe zealots and God fearing spewers of conditional love?

Give me the beat God and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock n roll Jesus and drift away. Day after day I am more confused. I look for the truth through the pouring rain. Day after day I am more confused. I look for the light through the pouring rain. You know that is a game that I hate to lose. I am feeling the strain, ain't it a shame. I am beginning to think that I am wasting time. That world outside looks so unkind. Ain't there a hand to lift me up? Now I am counting on you Lord to carry me through.

It does not need to be this way. We need to be that song that lifts others up and puts them on higher ground. Each of us need to be that beat that is a heavenly sound that carries another further than they can go on their own. We need to let go and let it be easy to be loved.

Some times life just ushers in tough stuff to deal with and so we just get tough ourselves. This is understandable and normal. What is abnormal is if we can shake that crazy way of life off. Be tough but gentle inside and outside. Allow others into our inner self and share the same in other people. It may seem like to much touchy feely stuff but it is not. We just have to open up and listen when others open up. We need to be thinking of hugs and not handshakes. We need to love each other with all we have and then get some more love and share that.

Christians are the ones who are called to be different and different in a loving way.

Love thy Lord God with all you got.

Love thy neighbor just the same.

Love thy self just the same.

Love thy enemy just the same.

Are those tough commandments to keep? I think not, but it sure looks like they are if you take a walk down the street. Why?

Have we become so dogma and doctrine oriented that we act like the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducee all over again. Are we the new Sanhedrin ready to crucify anyone who claims to come in the name of Love?

Please grab a hand and expect nothing in return. And yes that really really means to not expect a conversion or saved soul in return. It means what it says "expect nothing in return".

This is why I say to look at it upside down. When you push the love of Christ on someone, it is not their soul that we should worry about but yours. It is in the free giving of love that we are elevated to a higher love ourselves and become closer to our God. And so of course can't you see that the opposite is true also. The more we try to extract in exchange for our love the further from God we become.

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