Hurt by Christians: 8 Days to Bring Healing and HopeНамуна

Running the Race

People have no shortage of opinions on things and Christians are no different. Christians usually have an answer for what they believe and why. They can tell you all about what sin is, what political party to vote for, what grace is and is not, if you can lose your salvation, what denomination to follow, what the end times are going to look like, and especially what OTHER Christians are supposed to believe. 

This is especially the case on social media, from what I have seen, the typical Christian response to online forums or posts, to either believer or non-believer, has no shortage of opinion and “fact” based reasons as to why someone else is wrong and why they are right. 

The missing piece to this formula is love…

But, what’s love got to do with it?

With discernment, it is very important to know what you believe and why. You should be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within you (1 Peter 3:15). The world, the Internet, and books are filled with more information that you can absorb in one lifetime. The Bible has to be the foundation for all discernment. As we grow in maturity as Christians, we will be more and more confident, moving from milk to solid food as the Bible talks about in Ephesians 4:14.

As we build a solid foundation in our faith, how does that affect how we treat others?

We should grow in truth, but how do we share it?

It’s important to note that not all Christians are in the same phase of their walk with the Lord. We are “running the race” as Romans explains a race with runners at various stages. We can’t look at our position in the race and ridicule someone else for not being as far along. Encouragement goes a lot farther than discouragement. This doesn’t mean you have to ignore heretical statements spoken by another Christian, but maybe it does? It depends on the situation. If it happens online, you can simply log off or scroll past. You do not need to engage in every conversation or attack on the faith. If it’s a fellow Christian who has given you a platform to be able to speak in their life, then provide correction with love if they are in a position to hear. 

Someone who has been a Christian for a long time can forget what it was like to be newly saved. It can be overwhelming at first trying to understand the Bible. The world will tell you that it is filled with contradictions and antiquated ideas that aren’t relevant today. Newer Christians sometimes don’t know where to start, what to study, or even what to believe. If you include the fact that many churches focus on a “salvation message” without encouraging discipleship, newer Christians are left at the starting line without any fellow believers to help them on their journey. 

Paul knew what he was talking about when he compared our Christian journey to a race! Jesus waits for us to finish, ready to say “well done good and faithful servant.” Every pain we face, every doubt we overcome, and every battle we wage is worth patiently enduring the journey to get to the finish line and see our Savior at last!

Tomorrow we will look at how the church body is supposed to love sinners.

Knowing that all Christians are in different stages of the race, how can you show grace and love to those around you today? 

If you need to share truth with someone, how can you do it with love but without condemnation?