If you haven't noticed, I like coffee. (My blog title may have been a good clue) I love black coffee, I just can't help it! However, that does not mean I like all brands of coffee. "Chock Full O'Nuts" instant coffee is like drinking black tar with floating grains of sand, "yuck!" It must be forced down in choking gulps while enduring scorching pain on the back of your throat. Or have you ever drank 3 hour old premium roast from Speedway? Let's just say after drinking it, I had to go home and shave my tongue on more than one occasion.
Do you think these few bad cups of battery acid have ruined coffee for me for all time? No way! There are far more oasis' of great tasting java than you could ever believe: Bigby, Starbucks, Tim Horton's, Dunkin Donuts, Seattle's Best, Krispy Kreme, and even our local Maxine's can brew a wonderful satisfying cup of Joe! I will NEVER let a few bad swigs of black tar keep me from finding that single cup of dark-brown Ambrosia? To be a true coffee connoisseur you must have the courage to risk! Tragically, so many amateur drinkers give up the daring quest because of one or two bad experiences of Speedway premium; or they took a sip of a bitter instant out of a medium styrofoam tumbler in the church basement. Very sad... It may sound crazy, but thousands if not hundreds-of-thousands of people have completely given up on Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, for the same sad reasons: "Christians are hypocrites," "Church is so stale,""TV evangelists are crooks!" People have allowed a few bad cups of coffee (hypocritical Christians) ruin the greatest adventure mankind could ever pursue, knowing Christ! And what is even worse, those of us who are Christians allow the hypocrite argument to stick. We actually treat this as a legitimate excuse and "give up" defending the body of Christ far too easily. Instead of keeping quiet, ask the person using this argument... "Did you stop listening to ALL music because of the embarrassing 'Disco Years' or Miley Cyrus' juvenile twerking?" "Did you quit watching TV altogether because Barney the Purple Dinosaur sang 'I Love You' with creepy kids or Jerry Springer exploited trailer park felons on daytime TV?" "Have you written off all movies because some producer made a profit on 'Howard the Duck' or put 'Sharknado' on the Sci-Fi channel?" "Have you given up using money entirely because there may be some counterfeits bills in circulation?" Off course not, all those statements sound preposterous! And yet when someone cries "hypocrite!" we are expected to just humbly admit the church's failure and slink back into our boring old building. "News Flash!" The church is designed by God to be filled with failures and recovering hypocrites. Every person has been made to need & worship the one & only perfect man! (On a side note: there are some tremendous Christians to be found in the church; and when you meet them, I guarantee, you will never find kinder or more giving people!) I have found every single person who accuses others of hypocrisy are hypocrites themselves! The truth is all of us need Jesus. The reason people point out hypocrisy is because they don't want others to notice their own hypocrisy. Romans 2:3 says, "So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?" All people like to judge and criticize others because it makes them feel good about themselves. Don't let people hide by using the "false" hypocritical smokescreen against others. If someone is seriously thirsty for a good cup of coffee, if you really want to know Christ, you will not allow a bad brew of "Chock Full O'Nuts" to stop you. Simply pull into the Bigby drive-through and ask for a tall blend of Bigby's best! And then...you will find...a great cup of coffee is always worth the wait. So is Christ!
4 Comments
Kristy
4/15/2014 11:26:50 pm
WOW! You have put perfectly into words what I have felt for such a long time. I get so angry at those who drive others away from the church, but have never before had a great illustration like this to use. Thank you so much for sharing! I know have ammunition. :D
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stacie
4/16/2014 12:25:02 am
"The church is designed by God to be filled with failures and recovering hypocrites." I always felt like when I heard this from others my reaction was, "right...the church is filled with imperfect people!" Thank you for this encouragement today! God knew I needed it! Again...thankful for your raw honesty.
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chris
4/16/2014 12:49:11 am
my one objective is to help the church love the Savior...for too long we have backed away from the person who just isn't looking to know him but to bash others.
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stacie
4/16/2014 01:22:18 am
"like" oh man! This blog doesn't have a like button for your comment.....I'm going to miss that about Facebook! goodness. Leave a Reply. |
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