Be Careful Who You Call A Reject! By: Stan Carlock
There he was. The first thing I noticed was his bright blue Mohawk hairdo. Then the piercings, which he had everywhere (including some unseen ones - I was sure of that.) Not to mention the tattoos, etc. I thought to myself, "what kind of freak is this?" I had formed an opinion and rejected him before I ever knew him. That was about 10 years ago at a church I was visiting in East Tennessee. After service he came up to me and introduced himself ( I have unfortunately forgotten his name.) The first thing he said to me was a question. He asked, "Do you know Jesus, my savior?" I was shocked. After picking my jaw up off the floor and telling him yes I did, I began talking with the most sincere, dynamic and powerful Christian I had ever met. Later, the pastor of that church shared with me how this young man had been kicked out of his home at an early age, forced to live on his own, became a drug addict and drug dealer by the time he was 17 and was rejected by society. But only a few months before I met him, he had found acceptance by inviting Jesus to be the Lord of his life. He had a complete 180° turnaround. In the few months since becoming saved, he had led over 93 young people to a saving relationship with Christ. Again I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I also wept.
There is a story in the Bible where Jesus went to the house of a prominant religious man named Simon. Simon did everything right. He followed the law, performed all the religious rituals and was a holy man, by Jewish standards. Then there was Mary. The town whore. Despised and rejected. But Mary loved Jesus. She showed her love by washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair and taking the only thing of value she had, an alabaster box of expensive ointment and broke it open and anointed Jesus. As Simon looked in horror, he thought, "If this man were from God He'd know that this woman is a dirty, lowlife, reject of society". Jesus knew his heart and rebuked Simon. He said "this woman loves me much, because she has been forgiven of much, but you, in all your "religion" have shown me no love at all!"
We need to be careful who we call a reject. We can't judge a book by its cover. We might accidently be judging someone who is the "apple" of God's eye. Jesus doesn't look at appearances, and neither should we. Being around Pentecostal churches for years, I have noticed a lot of so-called holy Christians "tagging" people as rejects. Some churches view holiness as the way you dress, cut (or not cut) your hair, etc. God only looks at the heart. We need to quit stereotyping people who are different as "sinners" or "ungodly" or "unholy" or "rejects". God accepts people just as they are. We should too.
God bless, until next time, Stan
There he was. The first thing I noticed was his bright blue Mohawk hairdo. Then the piercings, which he had everywhere (including some unseen ones - I was sure of that.) Not to mention the tattoos, etc. I thought to myself, "what kind of freak is this?" I had formed an opinion and rejected him before I ever knew him. That was about 10 years ago at a church I was visiting in East Tennessee. After service he came up to me and introduced himself ( I have unfortunately forgotten his name.) The first thing he said to me was a question. He asked, "Do you know Jesus, my savior?" I was shocked. After picking my jaw up off the floor and telling him yes I did, I began talking with the most sincere, dynamic and powerful Christian I had ever met. Later, the pastor of that church shared with me how this young man had been kicked out of his home at an early age, forced to live on his own, became a drug addict and drug dealer by the time he was 17 and was rejected by society. But only a few months before I met him, he had found acceptance by inviting Jesus to be the Lord of his life. He had a complete 180° turnaround. In the few months since becoming saved, he had led over 93 young people to a saving relationship with Christ. Again I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I also wept.
There is a story in the Bible where Jesus went to the house of a prominant religious man named Simon. Simon did everything right. He followed the law, performed all the religious rituals and was a holy man, by Jewish standards. Then there was Mary. The town whore. Despised and rejected. But Mary loved Jesus. She showed her love by washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair and taking the only thing of value she had, an alabaster box of expensive ointment and broke it open and anointed Jesus. As Simon looked in horror, he thought, "If this man were from God He'd know that this woman is a dirty, lowlife, reject of society". Jesus knew his heart and rebuked Simon. He said "this woman loves me much, because she has been forgiven of much, but you, in all your "religion" have shown me no love at all!"
We need to be careful who we call a reject. We can't judge a book by its cover. We might accidently be judging someone who is the "apple" of God's eye. Jesus doesn't look at appearances, and neither should we. Being around Pentecostal churches for years, I have noticed a lot of so-called holy Christians "tagging" people as rejects. Some churches view holiness as the way you dress, cut (or not cut) your hair, etc. God only looks at the heart. We need to quit stereotyping people who are different as "sinners" or "ungodly" or "unholy" or "rejects". God accepts people just as they are. We should too.
God bless, until next time, Stan
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