Two Things

At our church last night, Jason Vanbinsbergen, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, spoke to us. He brought up some statistics that were somewhat startling.

He said that in a George Barna study, it was revealed that the following were the top three ways that Christians were viewed in this country by non-believers:
1. Anti-homo-sexual
2. Judgmental
3. Hypocritical

He also mentioned a quote which has been attributed to Ghandi: "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians."

Jesus told us, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34a-35)

It is really too bad that we as Christians are known more for what we are against than what we are for.

Jason told us a story about his 7 year-old son's hockey team which he helped to coach. He said that they would rotate goalies each game so every kid had a chance to play in front of the net. Jason was a goalie growing up so he helped to teach the kids what was necessary. He said he struggled with this at first because there is so much to know. He then boiled it down to two basic principles. He told the kids to 1. keep your stick on the ice (kids that age can't lift the puck, so if your stick is down you will stop a lot of pucks) and 2. after the puck hits your stick, fall on it immediately (on the rebound is when most goals are scored, especially at that age). He would tell the goalie, "If you can do those two things you will do great!"

We are told the same thing all throughout the Bible. "I'm going to boil this down to two things for you. One, love God and two, love people."

Pretty simple, eh?

The Patience of Love

I was reading William Barclay's commentary on the letters to the Corinthians last night. He shared a story that really got me. It involved Abraham Lincoln:

The American Baptist Harry Emerson Fosdick points out that no one treated President Abraham Lincoln, with more contempt than did his secretary for war, Edwin Stanton. He called him a "low cunning clown", he nicknamed him "the original gorilla" and said that the traveller and explorer Paul Du Chaillu was a fool to wander about Africa trying to capture a gorilla when he could have found one so easily in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln said nothing. He made Stanton his war minister because he was the best man for the job, and he treated him with every courtesy. The years wore on. The night came when the assassin's bullet murdered Lincoln in the theater. In the little room to which the President's body was taken stood that same Stanton, and, looking down on Lincoln's silent face, he said through tears: "There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen." The patience of love had conquered in the end.

Love is patient...

1 Corinthians 13:4a