Final Words Addressed To ALL
It seems to me that I have done nothing other than inserted a stick into a hornet's nest with my last post. I was somewhat surprised by the amount of response I received through both email and as comments on my blog. I'd like to thank all of you who have replied for taking the time to do so.
Sometimes I think the truth hurts more than it heals. Maybe it's true; maybe it just takes more than the truth.
Wherever I go, it won't matter what I do or how I act, there will always be those who will judge me. I'm not one of those people who will ever fit into society - niether the society of the RPNA(General Meeting), nor of the world. And that seems, in the eyes of so many, to make me unacceptable.
I am who I am, and am not ashamed of that, nor of what I believe. I love my God first, and after Him I love my people, my clothing, my music, my artwork, my writing; and my choices in those and your opinions or previous definitions of who/what they are or mean should not define for you who I am.
It distresses me, however, at the hypocrisy in calling ourselves Christians, and being so willing to judge at the same time. Are we not commanded, "Judge not, lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1, also Luke 6:37)? And yet everywhere I turn, I see countless fingers pointing at countless others. Jesus said that he did not come to judge the world, but to save it, and as Christians, are we not supposed to strive to be like Him?
You may challenge me, and my acceptance of others, but remember, Christ sat at the same table as tax collectors and great sinners. I am not here to judge you, nor condemn you; and I am not here to judge or condemn anyone else. If there is something good to be appreciated about someone or something, then I shall say so.
I'd also like to say that at this point I am not going to hold theological discussions with anyone, as I am still going through the long process of reading the Bible to determine what's Truth and what is not in that which I have believed. I may or may not hold to beliefs which you, whoever you are, find acceptable. Regardless of that, I do not wish to talk to you about it, as no matter what I say, you're going to be right. In the numerous discussions I've had with people belonging to the RPNA(General Meeting), the greater majority have closed their minds and are not open for discussion or anything which might challenge what they believe - but are perfectly willing to challenge my beliefs. I am not going to name anyone specifically; I understand my statements of the RPNA(General Meeting) in an earlier post caused pain among some of you, and have no wish to further anything you may feel. I did not intend by my words to injure, and I apologize for doing so. There are many of you whom I do love and respect. My heart goes out to you all. I do not profess to be broken by the continued maintaining of your beliefs, as some have claimed of me; for I am made whole by Christ, and none can harm me through Him. I accept your brotherly and sisterly love and admonishments, but for now, I would ask that you save your admonishments for a time when we are a more accepting people, and then if you still so desired, claim what you will of me. I do not deny that I have been very guilty of the sin of judging in the past, and even recently, though I strive to be consistent and do what He would, especially in the matter, as I personally know how much it can hurt people.
This is the last I will say on this topic. You may respond as you wish, and I will be happy to post your comments - we are all entitled to our own opinions, and should have the freedom and ability to voice them - but I will not respond to those comments.
Sometimes I think the truth hurts more than it heals. Maybe it's true; maybe it just takes more than the truth.
Wherever I go, it won't matter what I do or how I act, there will always be those who will judge me. I'm not one of those people who will ever fit into society - niether the society of the RPNA(General Meeting), nor of the world. And that seems, in the eyes of so many, to make me unacceptable.
I am who I am, and am not ashamed of that, nor of what I believe. I love my God first, and after Him I love my people, my clothing, my music, my artwork, my writing; and my choices in those and your opinions or previous definitions of who/what they are or mean should not define for you who I am.
It distresses me, however, at the hypocrisy in calling ourselves Christians, and being so willing to judge at the same time. Are we not commanded, "Judge not, lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1, also Luke 6:37)? And yet everywhere I turn, I see countless fingers pointing at countless others. Jesus said that he did not come to judge the world, but to save it, and as Christians, are we not supposed to strive to be like Him?
You may challenge me, and my acceptance of others, but remember, Christ sat at the same table as tax collectors and great sinners. I am not here to judge you, nor condemn you; and I am not here to judge or condemn anyone else. If there is something good to be appreciated about someone or something, then I shall say so.
I'd also like to say that at this point I am not going to hold theological discussions with anyone, as I am still going through the long process of reading the Bible to determine what's Truth and what is not in that which I have believed. I may or may not hold to beliefs which you, whoever you are, find acceptable. Regardless of that, I do not wish to talk to you about it, as no matter what I say, you're going to be right. In the numerous discussions I've had with people belonging to the RPNA(General Meeting), the greater majority have closed their minds and are not open for discussion or anything which might challenge what they believe - but are perfectly willing to challenge my beliefs. I am not going to name anyone specifically; I understand my statements of the RPNA(General Meeting) in an earlier post caused pain among some of you, and have no wish to further anything you may feel. I did not intend by my words to injure, and I apologize for doing so. There are many of you whom I do love and respect. My heart goes out to you all. I do not profess to be broken by the continued maintaining of your beliefs, as some have claimed of me; for I am made whole by Christ, and none can harm me through Him. I accept your brotherly and sisterly love and admonishments, but for now, I would ask that you save your admonishments for a time when we are a more accepting people, and then if you still so desired, claim what you will of me. I do not deny that I have been very guilty of the sin of judging in the past, and even recently, though I strive to be consistent and do what He would, especially in the matter, as I personally know how much it can hurt people.
This is the last I will say on this topic. You may respond as you wish, and I will be happy to post your comments - we are all entitled to our own opinions, and should have the freedom and ability to voice them - but I will not respond to those comments.
In this post aren't you offering up a judgement of all those RPNA members? You challenged us to be open minded, and to ask for the truth, but now it seems you shut the same door that you encouraged us to open. What am I to believe now, as you offer general judgements of what we believe and practice, yet you won't offer the particulars of why our beliefs and practices are wrong. I know problems aren't always easy to sum up, or to even pinpoint, but does that justify titling many of us as hypocrites (yes, I am one in many ways, I admit), but not to give us any aid in correcting the problem? Am I supposed to believe that "we're all entitled to our own opinions, and we should all hear each other out, just not you over there because you're judgemental"? In the same passage you relay about not judging other (Matt. 7, Luke 6) it also says to remove the beam out of your own eye first, then to remove the mote from your brother's, but it doesn't say to ignore the mote. I have a beam that you've pointed out, won't you offer help to remove it by telling me the real story, rather than leaving it up to my imagination of where I have it wrong? What conclusions are you wanting me to draw? That it's great that we can all live our lives free of one another and the facts don't matter whether right or wrong so long as we don't draw conclusions, or is it only that the facts won't matter to people like me? I just don't get it. What is the love of Christ? How to we bear each others burdens if no one will acknowledge the existence of a burden; what is righteousness, or sin if everything is chalked up to personal opinion? Why should I believe what you say of us is truth, and why should I use is as an encouragement to change if all things are equal? If you aren't trying to influence us, or acquit your actions as righteous, what is your purpose to posting? I realize you no longer wish to talk about any of this, but if there is room for discussion (on mutual terms, not mine alone), please reconsider.
Your sister in Christ,
Posted by
Jody |
12:10 AM
Hey Lee,
I haven't been following this whole anonymous poster ordeal, but I've just gotten caught up. Sounds like quite the tangle. Anyways, I was really glad to read your profession of faith, even though I know we've talked about these things a lot over the years. It was encouraging.
...Puzzling, though. I agree with what Tam said, that faith isn't just a SAYING sort of thing, it's a DOING sort of thing. You know, one of those "faith without works is dead" things. All of the "judge not" verses are very true, and pertinent in many cases, but they can also be brutally misused. Like, as an excuse to make it seem as if God is this chummy big brother entity that pats you on the back, and says, "Don't worry pal, everyone's really okay! I didn't seriously MEAN all of that nit-picky 10 commandment stuff! It's your feelings that matter most to me in the end." Christ didn't hang out with sinners because he wanted to demonstrate how cool He was with their sins, He hung out with them to SAVE THEM. To make them CHANGE. As in, repent for the wrong stuff they were doing!!!!! Not just keep doing it, and say, "well, don't judge me or I'll judge you"!!
And I see that you say, "Jesus said that he did not come to judge the world, but to save it, and as Christians, are we not supposed to strive to be like Him?" That's cool, that's exactly what I'm trying to say. But then why do you, in the next paragraph, go right to trying to prove He was condoning the sinners' actions, rather than encouraging them to forsake all and follow Him? The relationship between works and faith, and hypocrisy and earnest heartfelt sanctification, and all that jazz, is just such a confusing balance, I know, and I can't say I understand it all. What I do know though, is that in the end it just has to work out to the fact that godliness matters. It matters. Our works don't save us, yet a Christian is set apart from the world by the godly works that God enables her to do.
Anyways, that's my thoughts on that. Be careful that you don't let passages like that mislead you into thinking God doesn't care about righteousness. He hates sin!!! Seriously. And that's preeeettty scary, seeing as we sin everyday in thought, word, and deed. I know all of this sounds kinda vague and probably makes you wonder what I'm trying to get at, but I think you know basically what I mean. Think about the testimony your life gives, and look to God. Keep reading that Bible!!!
Love you lots,
T
Posted by
Anonymous |
1:30 PM
Hey again Ash,
I think the above two comments were excellent. I was definitely challenged and encouraged by reading them, as I hope you were as well. I hope that we have built you up in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, as I'm sure all have endeavoured to do!!
Just a couple of comments: there's no hornet's nest, Ash. Just fellow Christians who love you and want the best for you. God promises to bless us *if* we walk in His ways. Again, I'm very glad to see your profession of faith, although I too have talked with you about these things in the past and knew your profession already. But I would challenge you that discussing theology (i.e. the Scriptures) with other Christians shouldn't be a hindrance to your faith, but a help. We're all at different places in our walk. Let us not reject the wisdom and aid we can give to one another, as brethren -- or as it is well-put in Galatians 6:2, "Bear ye one another's burdens".
I hope you will continue to be willing to discuss the things of God with me, because if we can't talk about His truths and doctrines and Himself, then we have lost the most important things we could talk about!!!
Admonishments are a part of Christian love. As it mentions in 1 Corinthians 13, love doesn't rejoice in iniquity. If you have any correction to bring before me, I would be glad to hear it, my precious sister in the Lord.
Once again, Ash -- you know it, but I like to repeat it :) -- I love you. I was hanging out with my sister at Rundle Park today, and thinking about the get-together last year and picnic there, and you and I strolling along the bike paths arm-in-arm, talking about everything imaginable. It was a sweet memory. :) Our God is so good.
Always,
~~Rene
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:49 PM