So Its been a while....

Hey there everyone.
I haven't written in a while.
Life has been pretty crazy and lots has happened and lots has taken place since my last post.
I won't bore you with the details but will say that I'm glad to be back writing again!

Ok, so I just got back from a High School Retreat. I had an amazing time and made some fantastic new connections with teens all across Virginia. It was a ton of fun! But while I was there, the speaker let us watch this quick video clip where an announcer went around the busy cities across America and asked random people "What do you think of when you think of Jesus?" and "What do you think of when you think of Christians?" The answers were very telling and challenged me to think of relationships in a new and different light....

Almost always, the answers about Jesus were positive or neutral. Even those people who were not believers, still were neutral in their feelings of Jesus. The answers about Christians, however, were very critical and very negative, especially from non-believers. Words like fanatic, extremeist, judgmental, fake were used..... So that of course made me think.

Jesus Christ came to earth and walked our life for 33 years. At the end of that 33 years, He was cruicified and killed, FOR us. He willingly and lovingly endured the pain and agony of death on a cross because He knew that was the will of His Father. He understood that ALL of us were sinful people and that without enduring His own death for each one us, we would be unable to have a relationship with His Father. Now because of His sacrifice we can live in a relationship with Him and are blessed with the promise of eternal life!

What is the purpose of witnessing? What is the purpose of fellowshiping with non-believers or with people whose faith in Jesus is new or weak? What is the motivation for "living a life worthy of the calling?" The answer is two-fold. 1) As believers, we know the joy and peace that comes from having a relationship with the Lord. 2) We want others, to come into a relationship with God and fall in love with Jesus like we have. Period. End of story.

The reason so many people don't like Christians, is because so many of us are motivated and focused on the WRONG thing. The problem with a non-believer is not their sin.... ALL of us have sin. Its not that they curse, or not that they drink, or not that they have abusing drugs or in bad relationships. Fixing those problems is not the answer! Having those people LOVE JESUS is the ANSWER! Nothing short of a personal relationship with Jesus is going to change their life.

Sin does not have the same meaning to a non-believer as it does to us. They are not motivated or challenged to live their life any differently if all we do as Christians is point out their sin. Instead, lets help them see the importance of loving Jesus. Lets lead them into a relationship with the Lord. When that happens, the ENTIRE LIFE CHANGES! The consequences of sin begin to take shape, AND BECAUSE THEY LOVE JESUS, THE SINFUL LIFE BEGINS TO LOSE ITS GRIP ON THEM! They want to be close to Jesus, and they know that with all of the sin in their life, that is not possible. The consequences begin to have meaning for them.....

I have been really challenged recently with my relationships with non-believers. I have to stop and ask myself, what is the motivation behind taking a stand on an issue and remember that if all I am doing is pointing out their sin, chances are, they are not walking away challenged or different. Instead, I need to remember my goal. My goal is for them to fall in love with Jesus and come to Him intimately. That should be the motivation behind my actions and words.