Believe it or not there are people who annoy me. I know....I know...I shouldn't be annoyed....I'm a Christian! But the truth is that there are people out there that I completely disagree with. Their views of life and the world are 180 degrees different from mine...and since I'm right....they annoy me.
Now, you must know that my comments about being right are meant to be read with a smile...if you know me at all you know that. But behind all of that is this one thing I know that makes me soften my thoughts about those people- God loves them and sent his son to die for them. He loves them as much as he loves me! So instead of protesting, writing angry letters, getting into a debate, telling them they are wrong......I pray for them. Because God loves them and died for them he wants them saved as much as he did me....so I pray for those people....that they will know and respond to the love of God.
When I see someone through the cross and their need for a savior even those people who annoy me suddenly become people I love and care for. You see, they are not trying to annoy me on purpose...they are very sincere...they believe they are right. They are trying to do good things as well.....it's just that they don't know the love of God in their lives....so when I look at people in this way even those who annoy me suddenly look completely different...they look like people I can love and care for because God does.
Jesus does love the little children...even when we grow up.....he still loves us...even the ones that annoy me.
3 comments:
You touched on a good point. Everyone thinks they are right and others are wrong. We need to learn to accept the fact that people and perspectives are different, and our way of seeing something is not necessarily the right and only way. Take our faith for example, there are over 1 Billion Christians in this world today. Do you think that all of them have the same perspective on their faith? Are all of them lost souls except those you believe exactly like we do? Of course not, we need to be more tolerant and less judgmental. It isn’t our place to judge, it is our place to love.
But I AM right! (Except for when I'm wrong.)
Thanks for the reminder to put on our "Jesus glasses" as we look at others and ourselves! And to pray for our "annoyers". (I hope others are praying for me as I annoy them, too!)
Dogma? Doctrine? Opinion?
What are really truths that we cannot deviate from? (Dogma)
What are personal convictions that we have determined from study of the word? (Doctrine)
What are simply opinions brought on by our family involvement, church affiliation, state we are reared (i.e. TEXAS :-), and even our country's particular stands? (Opinion)
As an American in a foreign country I live and move in a deep desire to accept other's cultural viewpoints. It is increasingly important to find the similarities and focus on those. The only time that I must truly draw a line is when the actual Dogma of Christianity is jeopordized. And trust me when someone looks at you across a weissen bier points his finger at you and tells you that you are absolutely stupid for thinking that Jesus could have been born from a virgin mother -- well that is Dogma - and I must draw a line. I must draw it in love. BUT, I must draw it. And this person refers to himself as a 'Christian'!
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