Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
November 29, 2011
Read Ephesians 4:31
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
Several years ago I was sitting in a cafe after a long trip. I had been driving for several hours and I was tired. All I wanted was to get into the hotel room and crash for the night. However in my fatigue I overheard something that shook me out of my evening fog. A young man was sitting at a table talking with two others and I overheard him say something about someone he had just met earlier that day. He said, and I quote, “Yeah I met his guy today, he’s a Christian, but he’s a nice guy….” Wow! Did you catch that ? He met a Christian but despite that fact he was still a nice guy! The tone in which he said it made very clear to me that this young man found it surprising that this Christian was a nice person. Apparently his experience with Christians before that had not been so positive. Unfortunately it seems this isn’t an isolated incident.
In another instance a pastor was talking with a young woman who was confessing some horrible things she had done to satisfy her drug habit. She was looking for redemption, a life change, a ray of hope. The pastor suggested to her that she might go to church some time. She looked at him with disbelief and said, “I can’t go there. They will just make me feel worse.”
Friends we, as Christians, have a serious P.R. problem. We are trying to sell the Good News when the world isn’t sure we have bought it ourselves! We sing Amazing Grace over ourselves then cry judgment on everyone who isn’t like us. Just read any number of Christian bumper stickers and T- shirts and you will see that we have a serious need to put away the things Paul referred to in our verse for today. We’re angry at the Government, angry at the Muslims, angry at Gay people, and angry at each other. We’re walking around in bitterness and marked by slander. Is it any wonder the culture doesn’t take our gospel seriously?
Our culture is not going to be won to Christ by our big buildings and fancy worship services. They will not be won by our clever sayings and clear arguments. They will be won when they see our love. The presence of the Holy Spirit gives us the unique power to put away bitterness, and anger and wrath and slander. We have the power to drop the resentments of the past and walk in the freedom of forgiving and redeeming love.
Listen, the world is not impressed with how right you are in your theology, but in how real you are in your faith and love. They will never believe Jesus is the way to heaven until they see that Jesus is our way of life. So let’s put away our angry picket signs, and pick up crosses of love and forgiveness. Let’s make it so that when people talk about us they aren’t so surprised to find that we’re pretty nice people after all.
Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)
