So, my current occupation of "university student" made me one of the slackest blog posters I know. Therefore, rather than just abandon my blog, I've decided to be a bit Twitter-esque and commit to posting short, pithy updates about my thoughts, life, faith, religion...anything that happens to be ricocheting around in my brain at the time. I hope I haven't lost all of my readers, but perhaps this way I may be able to win them back...and thus what follows is posed as a question.
I met someone I knew from a while back on the train today, who'd stopped going to youth group and given up on "being a Christian" because of what she perceived as a cold attitude towards her when she started to "backslide". So, what gives? Why do we, who claim to be followers of Christ, DO this to people? Okay, I'm sure that almost every youth group can lay claim to hosting a few "backsliders", but is the right thing to push them away, or just "be there" for them, quietly encouraging them to make the right choices? Think about it, and let me know what your thoughts are on the matter.
3 comments:
Jude 22-23 says "And have mercy on those who doubt, save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh" We need to hold on to our friendships with them, but we also need to be honest about where their choices are taking them and exhort them to sort out their lives with Christ. We also need to be careful that we are not influenced negatively by them.
I pretty much agree with the above comment. Saying, "Hey! All you need to do is love them!" isn't true because it takes more than love to make changes. Sometimes it takes being accountable to others, and not just standing by and watching them go about their business.
But pushing people away isn't Christian because that's not what Jesus did. At all.
Yes, absolutely! I don't agree with passively loving them while they drive themselves into the ground, but in my friend's case, all it took was a lack of friendliness on the youth group leaders' part and she was convinced that they were shunning her. In that case, if she had been befriended by one of the leaders, they would have been in a position to influence her for the better.
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