My Faith is Offensive (And I'm OK with that) Part III

"You are a Christian?"

"How can you hate so many people? Gay people. Trans-gendered people. Muslims. People with tattoos." It goes on and on.

So I ask if those folks see Jesus as a person filled with hate.

"Oh no! Jesus is really cool. He loves everybody!"

It is true.
Jesus loves us all with a love so pure, divine, strong and righteous that is can transform us and the world we live in.

I know. That love has transformed me.

But what most people think is love - and the kind of love they impute to Jesus - is a weak, soft, happy-go-lucky acceptance that wouldn't have the strength to get them a cup of cold water if they were dying of thirst.

That's offensive, I know. But it's the truth.

Most people think the opposite of love is hate. That's why they can dismiss Christians and even Christianity without even a second thought. Most people today believe that simply holding an opposing view on a subject can be hate - particularly when that opposing view has to do with another person's freedom to choose. At least in some cases.

If there is an argument that the person really doesn't have a choice then maybe we all just have to accept that this is how it is and get on with our lives. Consequences notwithstanding. At least we don't "hate" - but there is little evidence we care.

You see the Bible teaches us that the opposite of love is not hate - it is indifference. It is choosing to let people be given over to their fate with absolutely no intervention to help them.

My worldview says there is something wrong with the world. Every adult I've ever met agrees with me. We just don't agree on what the problem is.

My material world - no God necessary - friends usually say the problem is knowledge. Often they cite philosophy. They say if we would think right we would do right. But because religion is so emotional, we need to leave that behind and choose a better way to think. The problem is all the philosophies have already been tried. There aren't even any new ones. Even post-modernism isn't a new one. It's just a rejection of modernism, and the godless society that is counting on science and industry to be our saviour. The mixture of industrialism, rationalism and consumerism.

But the world is still broken.

Politics has failed us.

Science has given us more questions than answers.

But we still have a problem.

The Bible calls it sin. Failing to meet God's standards. Everybody has this problem. And taking God out of the equation doesn't remove the problem. It just removes the context.

Love and hate are really strong emotions that have similar effects on people.

You can't stop thinking about the object of your emotion.
You have a physical reaction when the object of your emotion is near.
Tension. Anxiety. Physical reactions like sweaty palms and increased blood pressure.
You plan everything in your life around the object of your emotion.
What you will do. What you will say. What outcomes you want to see happen.
Money, Energy. Time. No resource is too precious to not be spent on achieving the goals you have for the object of your love or hate.
They are two sides of the same coin.

So not opposites - but connected.

The real opposite of love is indifference, and the real opposite of hate is forgiveness.

And that is what Jesus displayed His whole life.

His love engaged Him with us in the most intimate and connected ways possible. He sacrificed everything to be with us and to save us - even though it was almost totally assured that no one would accept Him or His gift.
And His righteous hatred for the sin we so easily embrace. The sin that spits in the face of God. The sin that denies the truth about us and about the reality we live in - he chose forgiveness rather than wrath.

Most people think Jesus says "Hey! You're OK! I love you!"

Wrong.

Jesus says "Hey! You're a sinner and deserve death. But I forgive you and offer myself in your place. And you know you don't deserve it."

We can try to spin the story any way we can, but the truth is the only reason a sinless person who proved again, and again, and again that He was God's only Son would choose to die for us is because we are powerless to help ourselves. And His love refuses to leave us where we are.

Jesus gets to say what sin is. In my life. In your life. In everybody's lives - because He is God and He made us and the rules are rightfully His.

And He also gets to save us and tell us to stop sinning - and help us to do so.

And that is REAL love - even if it offends you.

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