The Weeds have Roots by phil We had a huge garden when I was a kid. One of my jobs was to pull the weeds every week (sometimes multiple times a week). My Dad taught me to be sure to pull out the entire root structure of the weed or it would grow right back up and steal nutrients from the good plants. Many of us who were raised in the black and white culture of conservative Christianity have spent years pulling the weeds of judgmentalism and constraint that so defined our ingrained belief systems. There was such a harsh (often brutal) focus on doctrine (often more opinion than Biblically informed doctrine) that relationships were almost always sacrificed on the altar of perceived truth... e.g., I remember a guy in our church questioning my Dads call to ministry because my oldest brothers hair was too long. While I am well aware of the dangers of an extreme grace ethos (that completely dismisses the righteousness standards of God) most of us raised in this type of culture would do well to pull the weeds of our black/white upbringing and move far more in the direction of our freedom in Christ. Remember even Jesus said of himself in John 3:17 that He did not come to judge the world - but rather to save it. So much more redemptive work happens when our compassion for souls is fueled more by Gods creative calling into a full life in HIM --verses- focusing on beating people over the heads with their sins. Yes we are all sinners & Yes we need to repent of our sins but like Paul said in romans 2:4, its Gods kindness that ultimately leads people to true repentance. We need to manifest more of Gods kindness and less of the judgmental spirit weeds that were planted in our minds as kids. Time to pull out the roots along with those stinking weeds!
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 19:48:37 +0000