Followup to Jesus Loves You, this I know.
This book really affected me in a personal way and I chose to review it personally. Looking back, perhaps taking the personal approach to this review was not a great idea. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret posting what I have. It’s brought some interesting comments that have been very appreciated, which is why I’m writing this post. In going the personal route, I have left out some very crucial things about this book.
Let me start out by saying that my husband was fully aware and completely supportive of my previous post. I wrote it a while ago and we had the chance to discuss it, pray about it, and decide on it before I ever hit “publish.” He doesn’t feel like I’ve aired his “dirty laundry.” I can understand why some of you do and I respect that you feel that way; however, Mr. B is forgiven for his sins and he chose to allow me to bring them to light. Darkness is no place for sin. That is where it festers and grows. We should bring all things to the light and let God be the judge.
So many of us carry around our “dirty little secrets” and hopes no one discovers our true face. This is part of the lie that makes Christians so unbearable to those who don’t subscribe to Christianity. Non-believers know that we have sin and have secrets, but we pretend that we don’t. We put on our mask that portrays the “Good Little Christian,” then go home and gossip, fulfill our lustful intentions, drink yourself to oblivion, or whatever your particular brand of sin is. For me, it’s anger and gluttony (like you couldn’t tell!). We are all entrenched in sin. The only difference is, I know Jesus’ love. That’s it. That’s the difference between me and the non-Christian. Two people who need God’s love more than anything else. One person knows it. The other doesn’t.
I can summarize this book, in the author, Craig Gross’ own words, in one paragraph.
Jesus loves…now, fill in the blank. Think of crooks and soccer moms, prostitutes and pastors, porn stars and CEOs. Jesus loves every one of them. To Jesus, we’re all just people who need God to save us from the mess we are in and lead us to a better way.
One of the reasons that they wrote this was because the message of Jesus has been “hijacked.” It has been distorted. So many people have used Christianity for their own endgame. The Crusades, where people were killed for not believing in Jesus. Constantine, who used Christianity to control commerce. People still, today, use their Christianity to justify their political agendas.
Jesus, it came to be understood, was not about giving, only getting.
Craig and Jason really seek to “re-brand” Jesus. Not to match their view of Him, but to resketch Him to what He originally was. You know the only quote I used about relationships in my last post? Yeah, let me throw it into context for you.
For a long time Christians have been taught a three-step approach to God. It starts with belief. Essentially, if you believe the right things, it will lead to a change in behavior. When you have changed your behavior, you will be accepted by the church. Believe, Behave, Belong.
If you believe this way, you will behave this way, and if you behave this way, you can belong here. This is preached, modeled, and affirmed in thousands of churches across America.
It’s time to flip this. The Jesus of scripture reached out and loved people regardless of where they were….
I don’t believe that you can just “love people to God.” And I don’t believe that is what the authors are saying. That thought is patronizing to the people you are trying to reach. You’re also just patting yourself (unduly) on the back thinking there is anything YOU can do to make someone believe anything. That is God’s work. Not ours. Our work is to simply love God, love people, share the good news. I’m personally glad that there’s nothing I can do to make people believe in Jesus. I still sin. I still get very angry. I say stupid things. I am not perfect.
Another thing I’d like to put into context for you is the term “pre-Christian.” Perhaps I misused it. Perhaps what I meant didn’t come across very well. I have no problem calling people what they are. I have a BIG problem with derogatory stigmas attached to them. Just like those who know me well would say I have a big problem with “blanket statements.” When it comes to people A+B cannot always = C. That’s the beauty of how God created us. The term refers to the lost. Those who have not been saved by grace. I’ll let Craig say it for himself:
….In life, Ron Jeremy cannot be my opponent. He must be my friend. Friends share friends and invite each other into their world. We’re more alike than we are different. We both have struggles, we both have challenges. We both are in need of a Savior who loves.
How are you and I different? If you are a person who has yet to understand that Jesus loves you, I would call you a pre-Christian. How do you percieive Christians?
He’s not, and I am not, using the term to insult anyone or to not call a person what they are: gay, thief, pornographer, businessman, mom, dad, teenager, or anyone not yet saved by grace. If it comes off as insulting, there is frankly nothing I can do about that. I didn’t coin the phrase. I decided to “adopt” the phrase for the very reason that he did. It accurately describes someone who has not yet come to know Christ’s love. If you prefer the term “non-believer” or “non-Christian,” then, by all means, use that term. The term is not meant for any one person, or lifestyle, in particular. It refers to all who have yet to know Christ. I apologize if that was not how I made it sound.
I don’t want to be the face of Christianity that is judgmental and hurtful to anyone (followers of Christ or not). I really love people and only seek to create real, honest, open relationships with people. Jason echoes this feeling in the chapter, “Jesus Loves the Outcast.” Which, ironically, is the chapter where he talks about his friend Joe, who is gay. This happens right after Joe tells Jason about a horrible court case that exemplified the “church’s” hatred of homosexuality.
I apologized to Joe. Over a cup of coffee, he had come face-to-face with a representative of the mythical right-winged monster that had been, proverbially speaking, chasing him for years. He did expect me to be the face of the monster called “an evangelical.” I only wnated to show him God’s love through an authentic friendship. The church he thought hated him loved him. It welcomed him in to discover more of God. God loves and accepts people where they are, not where we think they should be.
God loves and accepts people where they are, not where we think they should be. Powerful words. Truer words have probably not been spoken. (Well, they probably have, but you know what I mean!) It’s something I struggle with and something that’s been imposed on me.
My goal in this post is to clarify some things that were misunderstood in my previous post, and for you, my lovely readers, to get a better feeling for the material in this book. It really was a great read and I encourage you to grab your own copy. Determine for yourselves what you think the author’s message is.
http://tinyurl.com/jesuslovesyouthisiknow
Let’s get into the Word and listen to what Jesus said, and stop trying to twist what the message of Jesus is. To the adulterating woman in John 8:1-12 in vs. 11 Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
You are correct that Jesus did not judge/condemn the sin in this woman’s life and we are to not judge the pre-Christians, lost, unsaved people in the world around us. For those that have accepted the free gift of Christ, the commandment is to “go, and sin no more.” To verbs there, to go and get on with your life, but it is a new life (2nd verb) to not partake in the sin that brought that person to the cross.
The body of believers or universal Church, is to uphold and admonish each other in our daily walk. There is to be discipline, rebuking and challenges to Christians. This is not to say that Christians don’t sin and that they won’t sin, but that we are to be reminded by other believers to hold us up and point out or uncover sin in each others life. It’s like having that big piece of food in your teeth and you keep smiling at everyone, talking, laughing with no idea that you have a huge piece of food stuck in your mouth. Isn’t it the loving friend, sister, or brother in Christ that would take you aside and say, “Hey, you have this huge black bean skin right on your tooth” and instead of freaking out on your friend for pointing out this embarrassing piece of black bean skin on your tooth, say “Oh thank you so much!” and take care of your business.
There is love being passed around in Christian circles. There is love to the lost, and there is love to the rest of the body when someone in the body cares enough about you, your life, your walk with Christ, and your testimony to the lost to help point out struggles in your life. I can’t find anywhere in the Scripture where Jesus didn’t rebuke the Apostles if they had the wrong attitude, nor did Jesus allow prostitution, murdering, stealing, disobedient children who said that they were followers to continue in the behavior and he tolerated their behavior.
If this book is about Christians who are open about prostitution, pornography, drug use, etc. it doesn’t sound like it is a doctrine that is derived from the Bible, but yet a man made evangelism to tolerate any kind of sinful behavior by sugar coating it with love.
It is not a book about CHRISTIANS who ARE prostitutes, porn stars, drugees and accepting them as such while they go on sinning.. It is a book about LOVING prostitutes, porn stars, drugees, and any other SAVED or UNSAVED person in spite of the fact that we ARE Christian.
Because TOO OFTEN Christians are more concerned with correcting everyone around them, Christian or not, that they forget that the MOST IMPORTANT thing that Jesus commanded us to do was LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
AMEN! Lisa this post was so very true! I am tickled pink that you had the courage to write this one and the one before! I totally agree with and the ChurchPunkMom! God called us to be a light unto the world. To show GOD’S love by our actions. Its still only THROUGH God in which we are saved. But if you have a genuine love FOR EVERYONE you can have a bigger impact on someone. If you are saved, I challenge you….think of the first time you were saved, if you came to Christ through someone. I can remember when I gave myself over to Christ, it was done with someone who LOVED me, just as I was, Who showed me Jesus through LOVE! Even if you came to Christ on you own….God showed His perfect love to you….to US! I had more in my head to say, but Im having a brain fart. Im sure I will have more to say. But thank you!
Erin, it’s funny that you mention John 8:1-12. Those words were spoken by Jesus to a woman who’d been caught in the act of adultery and dragged to Jesus by other Christians saying ‘Look, this woman is sinning! We must rebuke her!’
Before we be so bold as to point out the sin of a brother or sister, we need to take a look at our own life. Are we really in a position to be casting stones??