“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.” – Galatians 5:22&23, 25&26
The more that I learn of Mahatma Gandhi the more impressed I am of the person and all that he achieved. I read of an incident in his life as a young law student living in London. He was highly attracted to the teachings of Jesus and saw in Christianity a quality that he thought would be helpful in deconstructing the caste system in his native India. The story goes that Gandhi went to attend a church service but was turned away at the door and told to go be with his own kind. In “My Visit With Mahatma Gandhi” by James E. McEldowney, Gandhi is quoted as saying, “I have great respect for Christianity. … I know of no one who has done more for humanity than Jesus. In fact, there is nothing wrong with Christianity, but the trouble is with your Christians. You do not begin to live up to your own teachings.”
From someone who spent almost 33 years in Christian ministry I can only say, “AMEN!”. Please do not misunderstand me. There are individual Christians that I have met for whom I have the greatest appreciation and respect. But one of the major reasons for my leaving the ministry was that I got tired of preaching a message of loving others to a group who, as a whole, seemed to only want to hear about a god who loved and forgave them. But they also wanted to hear that this same god was against those people, you know, the same ones they despised. Therefore, their hatred and prejudice was okay because they knew their god hated those people also.
What if the Christian community were to truly put into practice the things listed above as products of a life that is actually fulfilling the will of God? What if they would quit making excuses for their hatred and/or antagonistic attitudes against those with different skin colors, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender issues and such? What if they would sincerely seek to bring forth fruit that could truly enrich and nourish the world into a more healthy place?
It is time for those who claim to be led by the one known as “The Prince of Peace” to stop being instruments of destruction and division.
Think about it.
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