I was discussing church and salvation with a friend of mine earlier and he shared an interesting story a former pastor of his had told him.

The pastor had a young son and one year, for his birthday, bought his son his first bicycle. Of course, after a few months it was time to remove the training wheels. Once his son became accustomed to riding without the training wheels the father laid out some ground rules. Rule number one: only ride in the driveway and yard. They lived on a busy street, so it made sense; besides, their yard was large enough to keep the son content.

One day a few months later the father was on his way home from work, but when he got to the street he lived on it was backed up with traffic, which was unusual. As he got closer to his home he could see an ambulance. He pulled his car over and ran to see what happened and saw his son’s bike laying in the street. His son had just been put into the ambulance, so he ran back to his car and followed them to the hospital. The father sat at his son’s bed day and night praying for his son, but his son still died a few days later.

Heartbroken, the father drove home. Upon arriving home he walked up to the street and stood, looking at the bloodstained asphalt as people drove by. Then it struck him – to them, nothing has changed. His son died right there in the street, yet they keep driving through his son’s blood.

Of course, you can probably figure out where the story went. The pastor related it to my friend as being that every time we Christians sin, we’re “driving through” Jesus’ blood. And he said this is why he no longer considers himself a Christian. He believes in God, he believes Jesus died for his sins, but he doesn’t want to call himself a Christian until he can live up to the standards because he doesn’t want to break God’s heart by “driving through Jesus’ blood”.

Now, he’s been told that Jesus wants him to come as he is, that he can’t fix himself, that repentance is a process, that only the Holy Spirit can change him. Of course, he’s also heard the other argument: that the moment you accept Jesus and repent that there is an immediate change, that the old man is gone and you are a new creation and all addictions, vices, faults, etc. are gone.

This brings up several questions; first, while I do believe it breaks God’s heart to see Christians caught up in sin, does it not also break His heart to see someone who knows what Jesus did for them yet they still won’t turn their life over because they don’t think they are good enough?

Also, is there a difference between committing a sin and living a sinful lifestyle? In the past I’ve said that sin is a choice and that as far as God is concerned, all sin is equal, and I still believe that, but I guess I’m starting to question things such as motive. Not to justify sin, but is there a difference between someone who willingly puts them-self in a position where sin is a probability and someone who just isn’t perfect and happens to make an occasional mistake? Weird analogy here, but try to keep up. When I go grocery shopping, I take a list. I do this because if I don’t I know I’ll end up with something I don’t really need. So I make a PLAN as to what to buy. However, every grocery store has what is called an impulse aisle; Walmart calls it Action Alley and it’s the open space between the checkout section and the first row of aisles. Normally I don’t even stop when walking through Action Alley, but every now and then something will catch my eye and I end up buying it impulsively. I think sin is like that as well. There are situations that I know I shouldn’t allow myself to be put in because I know I would succumb to temptation. Yet, there are times where I let my flesh get the better of me, such as when someone cuts me off in traffic and I respond by cursing at them or showing a little bit of sign language. I don’t plan to say or do anything, it just sort of happens. But it isn’t an accident either. I choose to sin.

Which brings me back to the conversation with my friend; there are things we don’t plan to do, yet we still do them because at the end of the day we’re all human. Regardless of your name, status, title, job, etc. you’re human, which means you are not perfect. I still laugh at people who expect more of their pastor than of themselves. At the same time though, there are things each of us deal with and it is those issues that, left unchecked, will destroy us. For example, my father is a recovering alcoholic. Seven years ago he had a liver transplant. He can no longer drink. Yet the desire to drink is still there. It may be dormant but it is still there. Because of this, my father knows he can’t go to his old haunts. Sure, he can still hang out with his old friends, but he can’t do it at a bar. Even though it’s been over seven years since his last drink, he knows he’d be a fool to even test that temptation. Is he perfect? Far from it. But in the last seven years my father has come to know Christ and I know that without God’s help he wouldn’t have made it seven weeks sober, let alone seven years. 

I’m reminded of why I titled this blog Religion Sucketh. Religion leads to two things: pride and despair. Pride because we get so caught up in how good we are we begin to look down on others and their mistakes instead of helping those who fall back to their feet. And despair because it’s the opposite of pride. We are riding so high on pride that when we do sin, we have a long way to fall. Jesus wasn’t about religion.

My father’s story reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:7 where Paul says “I have finished the race”. It’s not about how fast you run, how far you run or where you place, it’s about whether or not you finish the race.

I’m going to make mistakes. It’s not a matter of if, but when. What matters is how I handle it once it’s done. Will I sit there, beat myself up and throw a pity party, or will I get up off the ground and get back to the race?

Questions? Comments?
Open floor.

Every weekend, millions of people across the United States pay cover charges to get into clubs.

Some are looking for a good time.

Some are trying to escape the pain in their life.

There is no cover charge to get into church.

Yet, very few churches are full.

Most can’t even fill half their auditorium.

What is the church doing wrong?

Luke 16:19-31

19 There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. 27 And he said, Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house– 28 for I have five brothers–so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. 31 He said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

If you’ve spent any amount of time in church you’ve probably heard or read this parable. And if you’re old enough, you might even remember the song Whitecross wrote about it (No Second Chances, 1991)

For most of my life I was taught the rich man represented the world: full of riches and pleasure, but also sinful, and that it was His “multitude of sins” that sent him to Hell.

But that analogy is not entirely accurate. We don’t know the rich man’s sins, only that he did not go to Heaven when he died. As far as we know his only sin was not following God.

So what was the real reason behind the parable?

The rich man had everything he could ever want, yet he never took notice of Lazarus sitting outside his house. Even the most miserly of people, if confronted with someone in the same condition as Lazarus, would have some compassion and at least give some food. Yet the rich man was so busy, he never once noticed Lazarus.

You’re probably thinking, “But Jonathan, I’m not rich.”.

If you’re reading this, you obviously have internet access, which puts you ahead of most of the world in terms of wealth.

Have I gotten so caught up in my daily routine that I ignore the needs of those whom God has placed in my life?

I ask God everyday to allow people to see, hear and feel Him through me, but when he puts someone in my way who actually needs to feel His love am I too consumed with my life to even notice them?

Sadly, at least lately, the answer is yes.

Last week, I got home from work one night and saw a van parked on the side of my street. There was a man getting some tools from the back and I didn’t recognize him or the vehicle, so I didn’t think anything of it. The next morning when leaving for work I noticed the van was still there. Upon closer inspection, I saw one of the tires was blown out. Apparently the man had been trying to change the tire and it had gotten dark, so he had someone pick him up and planned to come back in the morning to finish.

Was I really so busy that I couldn’t check on him as soon as I got home? Had I just walked over I would have seen the blowout and could have helped him and he wouldn’t have had to worry about leaving his van in an unfamiliar place. But I was so consumed with my own life…… I wanted to eat dinner, I wanted to watch a movie, I, I, I.

All I cared about was myself.

Which is why I have two friends who I can look to as examples of what it means to truly be Christlike. I’ve known them since I was ten and they’ve shown me through their lives how to truly love people as Christ loves them. One of them has shown me what being a “real man” is all about. Watching how he interacts with his wife and son has shown me what a husband and father are supposed to be. If I ever get married and have kids I already know I will be asking him a lot of questions.

I could fill a book with stories of how this couple has impacted my life and the lives of many others. And not just friends, but people they run into at Walmart, at the movies, at gas stations, etc.

Yet, there is not really anything extraordinary about them. They both work normal jobs, serve their local church and serve the community. What makes them special is if they know of someone in need, they do whatever they can to help. No matter how tough their day has been, no matter what is going on in their lives, they still find to help others.

I saw this on Anne Jackson’s blog today and love it. I have several gay friends, and have been asked this question.

There is nothing I can improve upon, so instead of copying and pasting the post from Anne, visit her site and read it for yourself.

Why Is Being Gay A Sin?