Sometimes intentionally or unintentionally…we as Christians can alienate and dehumanize other brothers and sisters in Christ that we don’t understand.
This is especially true if we think they’re being, “Holier than thou” or “Over the top” with their faith.
Maybe they’re exhibiting their faith much more than before. Perhaps they’re presenting Jesus in a way you’re not comfortable with. It could be that this person you’ve known for such a long time is changing the way they live their life for God…away from how they use to live it. As this person moves towards Christ passionately…you find yourself confused by the changes they’re making…you question if it’s a genuine transformation.
For some of you these thoughts may sound outlandish…but I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard Christians criticize other Christians for being too passionate about their faith. Instead of seeing it as something positive and obedient to God, their actions instead are seen as self-indulgent and self-serving.
While these things can seem confusing there is one thing that is certain…not one of us in this world knows the inner workings of another person’s heart. Not one of us can see that deeply…only God can. So at the end of the day it’s up to us to decide how we’re going to respond to the changes we see in another person.
Will we accept them for who they are? Or will we judge them because they’re not who we think they should be?
There is something we all need to understand about our brothers and sisters in Christ…honestly, it’s something we need to understand about everyone we have a close relationship with. We have to come to a place where we realize that loving people for who they WERE is a dead-end street…we have to start praying and loving this person instead for who they are BECOMING….and who God has purposed them to be all along.
Let the words of Paul in the book of Philippians fill your heart when he says, “Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission.” –Philippians 3:13 (voice)
We have to understand that our brothers and sisters in Christ are going to change by way of maturity and growing older…but they’re also going to change by way of leaving some of their old life behind…the parts that God might have called them to leave behind in order to become who He desires them to be. Honestly, this shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us…we should expect a renewing of the mind of all our brothers and sisters in Christ as they grow in their faith…just as you yourself are experiencing this same growth.
Listen to what Paul also says about our spiritual journey’s in the book of Romans:
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” –Romans 12 (msg)
It’s important that we all remember that God is working to bring out the best in us, and that as each one of us pursues Him; we will change from the inside out.
So maybe it’s time that, instead of laying a critical eye on our brothers and sisters in Christ and how they live out their faith…we look inward and ask God what changes we can make in ourselves, in order for Him to bring out the best in us.
Perhaps it’s time we start asking God who HE wants us to be.
