Questions we should be asking

I heard a sermon at church today about John 15:18-27. This passage talks about how the world hates the disciples, and how those who follow Christ will endure persecution from the world.

Now, a few things come to mind about this passage, and these things bother me. I'm going to write about them for precisely that reason. I think a lot of times we as Christians (or we as humans?) want to shove things (like questions) under the rug and ignore them when we should actually spend more time pondering them, talking with others about them, and being convicted. I've been encouraging some of my students to do just this as they ponder whether the stuff in the Bible could possibly be true - let it bother you. Keep it in your mind. My prayer for them has been that the bothersome stuff will result in God's truth shining through in their hearts and lives.

So, now it's time to practice what I've been preaching.

The passage in the sermon was about how the world hates those who follow Christ. God's love, and the truth of the knowledge that comes from God, reveals just how deeply sinful humans are. If we as Christians are acting as a light on a hill, if God's truth is being revealed through our actions and words, then people will often respond to this in negative ways. The persecution might look different depending on the situation, but it will be there. Christians are called to live differently than the world; we hold different standards and answer to a specific calling, and all of this changes how people perceive us. All of this is true, and I fully believe in the truth of these things, because we see it in the world around us today.

Now here is the question that comes to my mind and heart, and this is not a question that I've heard others talking about; I think that may be because the implications are a little scary. So, here it is. What happens when Christians hate other Christians and persecute them for their faith? What about the persecution that happens entirely within the context of religion itself?

When we read John 15, we might have a general "oh, of course the world hates us" kind of response to it. We can point to a lot of places in the world today where people who do not believe in God persecute those who follow Christ. We can point to the early church, where Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire. We can point to a whole lot of other examples.

But it seems to me that we gloss over the fact that the Jews also persecuted the Christians. Who was it that had Stephen stoned in Acts 7? Who conspired to kill Paul after his conversion in Damascus in Acts 9?

I point this out because I wonder if things are similar in our world today. The Jews of Paul's time (including Paul himself, for a while) believed in God, had a high calling for faith and living out their faith...and they thought they were justified in their persecution of the Christ-followers. They thought they were doing God's work.

How many times in today's world do Christians do things that they think are God's work, but are actually spreading persecution and hatred among the people that should be their brothers? Some further questions, as examples:

• How often do we as Christians send mixed messages about who belongs in the church, basing acceptance to the church on things like culture, finances, perceived level of belief, or general life choices?
• How often do we as Christians persecute other Christians through things like gossip, isolation, or a general lack of effort to understand a different viewpoint? 
• How many Christians feel like they are persecuted and isolated because they can't find a church that accepts them? 
• How often do people who are interested in Christianity give up on their search for God because of the persecution they feel from Christians?

And all of these questions raise another one: What do these things say about how much the people in the church really know Jesus?

I ask these questions not to make people angry, but out of a true struggle in my own heart. I mentioned at the beginning of this post that I've been having a lot of conversations with some of my students about God's existence, who Jesus is, whether the stuff in the Bible is true, etc. Many of our conversations center around questions/comments like, "Why do Christians hate homosexuals?" and "God doesn't really seem to love everyone" and "Why do Christians always tell people that they're going to hell?". It breaks my heart that their outside perception of Christianity is so very, very negative when Christians' lives should be based on love, joy, peace, and all the fruit of the Spirit.

Yes, the world will hate. But shouldn't we be showing more love, no matter what the world says and does? Some more specific questions to illustrate:

• What does it look like to love your Christian neighbor who has a different political standpoint than you?
• What does it look like to love your Christian neighbor who insists on criticizing the pastor and the sermon and the church's use of money and the songs and every tiny thing each week after the Sunday morning service?
• What does it look like to love your Christian neighbor who holds a different view of abortion than you do? Or who is accepting of homosexual marriages? Or who thinks the opposite of you about women's roles in ministry? Or who has different beliefs about baptism or communion than you do? 

The list of these questions could go on for a while, but I think you get my point.

I don't have answers; that's why I'm asking so many questions. But I do want to urge you: consider what it means to love other Christians in your own life, personally. If anything I've said has bothered you, please let it continue to bother you. Be convicted of something in your heart. Change your own attitude or actions. Apologize if needed. Forgive. Then go forth and LOVE, as we are called to do by Christ himself.