Has Someone Littered Your View Of God?
I will often go hiking deep into the woods with the hopes of finding some new spot untainted by the hand of man. I am continually astonished to find that every new secret hard to find spot that I discover is littered with beer cans and old tires and any number of other forms of litter. It amazes me the lengths people will go to discard washing machines and old vehicles or simply the spots people decide to throw away any conceivable thing imaginable. If I took the popular view of most people regarding our God and compared bad experiences with the church to litter in the woods you could say it’s the wilderness’ fault that all the litter exists. We know that would be the furthest thing from the truth.
It’s not God’s fault you have had a bad experience with church or even other believers in Christ. The heart of the issue is simply bad decisions made by people. Even though Christians are followers of Jesus and should subscribe to all of His teachings, we often miss the mark and can litter the views of unbelievers and believers alike.
In Paul’s epistle to the Philippians he illustrates this point in chapter 2:1-4 “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” If we can remember these words from the Apostle Paul we can help others see the true beauty of Christ’s church and truly reflect the nature of Jesus to a world that so desperately needs to see something genuine and uncontaminated. Has someone littered your view of God?
