What are we Thinking?

I don't know any other way to start this blog other than to get right to the point. I encountered a heart wrenching conversation tonight with one of my co-workers. I was joking with this person about lying and I said "that is a lie straight from hell." They understood that I was joking. All the sudden this person said, "I don't believe in hell... actually I don't believe in heaven or hell." This struck me odd, so I probed the comment. "Why don't you believe in heaven or hell?" They replied with a strong face but eyes that screamed hurt, "I wasn't accepted in my last church. I am a full believer in Pro Choice and they told me I was wrong for believing that." This person felt jaded by the church. They felt like the church was full of cliques and if you didn't believe what they wanted you to believe; i.e. Pro Life and not Pro Choice, then you were wrong and not able to be a part of their "clique". When this person finally chose to leave the church, they said no one came to visit them or their family.


My heart broke while listening to this story. I couldn't help but agree with them. I told them that the church is full cliques at times because we are all sinners but that doesn't mean every church was the way their previous church was. I invited this person to my church. Although I truly believe every church has its cliques, some people fit better together than others, we can't just let people go by the waste-side because they don't believe or think the way we believe or think. Obviously this person has some sort of story behind their decision of agreeing with pro choice. Something really bothered them to even speak of the topic. The wrong thing to do is tell them how wrong they are. The right thing to do is to invest in them. Show them Jesus. 


What really shocked me out of this whole conversation was the fact that this person now chooses not to believe in Heaven, Hell, or God. All because people were unloving towards them. What are we thinking!?! Although I think choosing not to believe in God just because people treated you poorly is an emotionally charged decision and not based on truth, I think SO many people do this. They stop coming to church because they don't feel involved or loved. And when they notice that no one even cared they left, it pushes them even further. People are running away from the church because of our lack of love and understanding. People like this don't understand Jesus yet, they don't have the Holy Spirit living in them. And we are just proving to them why they don't want any part of it by the way "followers of Jesus" are acting towards them. Instead of cliques, lets have groups of people who share in the best common interest... Jesus. No one needs to be left out. 


I am NOT PERFECT! I know I have been careless at times. Lets start caring for those who are "different". Show those people who don't follow Jesus with their lives a life that does follow Jesus. Because they are truly missing out. Lets not push them away from Jesus.