January 19, 2022

 

Destruction

 

“Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.” – Luke 11:35 (ESV)

 

Where is your line? At what point do you destroy relationships rather than accept what you cannot understand? What, and who, are you willing to give up in your quest to be right?

 

We are great at pointing out what we see as the sins of others. We throw Bible quotes out to prove our point. Being a homosexual is a sin. It’s unacceptable and unforgiveable. It’s a “choice,” we spew. Change and be healed, we demand. But what if God allowed this to change our own hearts?

 

It’s amazing how we pick and choose which Bible verses to quote. We all do it. I did it up above. But when those quotes are meant to harm, to condemn, to push forth our views rather than the views of Jesus, perhaps we need to look inward rather than focus so keenly on our target.

 

We gloss over the passages that condemn divorce. We slide past the words that tell us to welcome immigrants, give to the poor and bring strangers into our homes. We don’t want to share. We don’t want to extend grace. We don’t want to be inconvenienced.

 

Yes, we have to be careful. Our world is filled with people who would harm us. There are multitudes who would take advantage of our generosity. But do we use those excuses to refuse God’s will? Do we demand that we not be made uncomfortable when Jesus again and again did things that would make us uncomfortable?

 

I have watched a sweet family be torn apart by a homosexual child. The hardness, the ugliness, has broken so many hearts even as it has splintered what once seemed to be a happy, loving family. Is love only available to those who do as we demand? Does love end when people make us uncomfortable?

 

Where does your light end and darkness begin? Be careful. Sometimes darkness masquerades as light.

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