“Jesus doesn’t want you to be His lawyer. For two reasons: you stink at it and He doesn’t need you”— Bob Goff
In our world that relies on debates, arguments, and rhetoric to decide who will be the head of our country, we sometimes think that we need to do this for God too. We think we need to argue, debate, and out-smart the people around us who disagree with us. If we win, then it feels like God wins and we have put Him on the throne.
The reality is much simpler, God did not call us to debate and win arguments to prove that He is the best, most gracious, most loving being (even though He is)—He called us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Unlike in the political climate of today—where if you lose a debate, you lose power— God is not reliant on you winning. He has already won. He has called us to BE love. To be His ambassadors, to be like Him.
You are going to encounter so many people who think differently than you and you probably think they are dead wrong on a lot of things (and they might very well be wrong). But winning a debate means that you out-smarted or had more information or were willing to talk the loudest or that you were right. Winning a debate, normally, doesn’t bring love to the person sitting across from you. More than likely, it actually puts a divider between you and that person. Bob Goff says, “People don’t grow where they are informed, they grow where they are accepted.” If it is more important that you are right than it is that the person across from you feels loved, than you have proven that you’re smart but you have not proven God’s love.
In a world that is yelling very loudly, with a world in chaos, what if Christian’s were known for their peace, their love, their acceptance? What if we were known as those who loved well, even if we completely disagreed with someone? What if we became a haven, a safe space, a loving space for all people? What if we revealed Jesus in all that we did?
What if we were listening and loving in world that was yelling and hating?