I hesitate to write about this, simply because as a follower of Jesus, I am called to be a peacemaker. This post may have folks on both sides hating me, and that's ok. It's to be expected when you feel led to seek the approval of God and not man. I hope that those that read this will read through eyes glazed with grace, but I understand if not. Still, I will press on.
I am normally not the kind of person to look for the shock value when I write. I have nervously typed out the word "whore" in my writings before and obsessed whether or not using that type of wordage would somehow blemish my witness. I guess that's why I am thankful that at the end of the day, it is not my desire to please man; rather God. But like I said, this may leave both Christians and un-Christians alike not too fond of me, and that's ok.
Let me drop the first bomb and just get it out of the way: I feel sympathetic to Judas Iscariot.
Judas is the epitome of betrayal. His mockery of the marginalized came in many forms, sometimes acting as if he cared if the hungry ate, only to secretly hide his own greediness as he stole the money that people collected to feed those in need. He was a truly despicable person. Yet somewhere at the end of his story as Jesus' trial and impending crucifixion draw closer, we see a panicked Judas. Rushing back to the religious leaders and realizing what the cost of his betrayal would mean, Judas begs them to take back the money that he was paid for selling out Jesus. Though the Bible doesn't describe it exactly this way, my translation of that conversation would sound something like a frantic man having the biggest realization of his life, and begging to give back the money. Then as he realizes that the harm has been done, in all of his panic and shame and regret, he throws the money at the feet of the leaders as he rushes off to hang himself.
Judas was indeed human and while there is no one else who can claim that their actions directly impacted future generations as he did with the betrayal of Jesus, we find him panicking at the thought of the weight of his consequences. And just like Jesus reminded the criminal hanging beside him at Calvary, His sacrifice won the victory that would have those who call Him Lord free from the bondages that hold on to us; a chance to claim that victory over our own lives. What is the difference between me and Judas? I could point out some things, but at the end of the day, I was once just as lost as he. Panicked about what my life had become, the mistakes I had made, the choices I was running from: I guess you could say that when you measure it like that, I was Judas. No, I didn't directly betray the son of God or anything, but when I was lost, my claim to know an unknown God would have been the same answer as Judas's. What would it have looked like for Judas to receive intervention from God?
Abortion. It has to be one of the most heatest debates in our nation right now, and everybody has an opinion. "Abortion is murder!" "My body, my right!" We have all seen the political posters and most of us can identify what side of the fence we stand on, yet there is one area that seems to be neglected in the midst of this battle between life and death, and these are the mothers.
Judgment is possibly the easiest thing any of us does, and we do it so easily, don't we? We see someone driving a nice car, we assume they are wealthy. We hear about someone shopping at the Salvation Army, we assume they are poor. We hear about a shooting and assume it is in a poor, or even worse, black, neighborhood. We are quick to label abortion as murder and thus labeling the person that has had the procedure a murderer. We forget that Jesus himself came to seek and save the lost, including one murderer who would become the voice of Christianity throughout the uprising of Christ's kingdom early on: Paul. A divine intervention with the voice of God on the road to Damascus changed the course of Paul's life and it was because of this conversion, many people now understand what it means to encounter Christ and have him change your life. Me included.
Church, my plea is not that you would compromise your beliefs, but that rather you would start to operate outside of the black and white, but look inside the gray. As a person who has watched someone whom I love very dearly go through an abortion, the weight that they carry over the precious life that once lived inside them is insurmountable. I have had countless conversations with women who felt like they were no longer welcome back into the graces of God, let alone a church because of their decision. The church is supposed to be a place of healing, and when we turn those away or treat them any different because of a decision that they made, we are losing the message of Jesus. He came and proclaimed to offer life and offer it in abundance. His offering of love and healing was a message for all, not just those who had led a blemish-free life. And without that message of hope, the legacy that Jesus created for all of us merely becomes a hypothetical point for which there is no need for the kind of reckless love that he would offer to those who chose to turn from their sin and be healed.
For the drunken ones, for the addicted ones, for the betrayers, for the murderers, for the thieves...
Or just for me.
