Yesterday a good friend of mine
told me that his sister was pregnant. Now I, like you, know nothing about his
sister, so instantly I said “OHHHH Congrats”! But yet after analyzing the look
on his face I knew that this was not a celebratory moment. He later tells me
that she is only 17, the father of the baby wants nothing to do with her, and
because they are Jehovah’s witnesses, she will be, in so many words, “let go”. I have heard similar cases, again, and again
in my neighborhood, so this was no shock. The reason I tell you this story is
because of the own hurt I’m feeling for her.
The
church they go to is made up of many, each in my eyes, sinners. I’m a sinner, you’re
a sinner…It’s been a common theme since Adam and Eve. Someone however, has been
given the authority, to “exile” this girl from her church. She is no longer
welcome, wanted, or approved of. When trying to understand why in the world her
church would do such a thing, I had it explained to me this way. “If you are
baptized, then you are saying you believe the bible (Jehovah’s bible) is true
and therefore promising to do everything that it says, so by exiling her, she
is reaping the consequences of disobeying”. If you can read that sentence and not scream
WRONG at the screen, then you may not be a human. Even if I didn't have Jesus, I
would say that it’s not fair. First off, if I were to get pregnant tomorrow,
not being married, and went to church, they would NOT kick me out. If anything
they would see that I was broken, not only was I alone, but I would have to
raise a child for the rest of my life with possibly no support.
This is the thing most people who aren't
Christians miss. Everyone, and by everyone I mean every human that ever lived
in the world other than Jesus, will screw up. So the odds of even the best
Christian screwing up are an extremely high percentage. That’s why Jesus died. If we were perfect, he
would have died for nothing, therefore the bible would be null and void. Who
then would forgive? Who would set the standard of love? Who would allow us to
be redeemed and cleansed, never having to look back at sin? I think you’re
seeing my point, and if not, then my point is that Jesus is alive and he is
more than willing to save.
So say I was this girl. Say I was “damaged goods”. I
was hurt, and lonely, poor, and on my own. Those who I thought I could trust,
left me, and now I don’t know what to do next. If all of this were true, which it
completely was at one point, I would run and sprint towards Jesus. Church isn't
going to heal you, pastors wont, friends wont, parents won’t. Drugs cant,
drinking cant, sex cant, porn cant. Who in this world could possibly heal you
when we are all the same amount of broken?? People can’t take away the
relationship you have with Jesus when you believe that he has truly redeemed
you. They can make you feel undeserving, but that’s because you are, but the
good news is that it doesn't matter to Him. He knew that the day you were born,
and He will know it tomorrow. Thankfully, because he knows, he knows our
future, and can make our paths straight.
That girl doesn't need to be told
by some guy in some church that she’s not good enough for them, because if his
sin was sticking out as far as a belly at nine months, he would be kicked out
too. Church is for the broken, not the
fixed. For those who want fellowship with people who understand them, not those
who will judge. My point is that no one has the right to judge the heart, but
Jesus. Just know that when he does, we will all have to answer for what we have
heard and turned away from, or what we have gone back to when we see him
leading in the opposite direction.
“For God will bring every deed into
judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” -- Ecclesiastes
12:14
