The deeper I dive into the gospel, the more I realize its great depth and the horrible shallowness of religion. When I talked with Jered, the Starbucks manager who is my contact for our “partnership” with the New City Café, he asked me this week about some of the volunteers from Starbucks who would be helping at the café. (Jered is a good manager and I believe he was looking out for his guys.) One of the volunteers is a homosexual, one a non-Christian, and the other a seeker (someone exploring spirituality). I think that the heart of Jered’s questions were – Is it OK for them to work in the café? And How would they be treated?
I assured Jered that the Starbucks employees (who were volunteering their time) would be welcomed and received well! The point of the café is to meet new people in our culture, build new relationships and BE Jesus in our city.
Religion says YES it is Jesus, but you aren’t really one of us until you meet this list of qualifications – don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t curse, can’t be gay, can’t be . . . When people don’t meet our religious “qualifications” we dismiss them, or worse we ostracize them.
The Gospel says not only YES it is Jesus, BUT adds Jesus is ALL there is! That is what struck me about Philippians 3:1-11 as I studied this week and preached today. Jesus is all there is – He satisfies God’s righteous requirements (and Him alone) and He satisfies the longing of our souls (and only He can).
As I was preaching today I was reminded of Jered’s questions. And my mind was flooded with thoughts about how Religion would respond to the homosexual (I admit I am a recovering religionist). Religion most often would say – clean yourself up! Stop your sinful lifestyle, and then you can be a Christian. But the Gospel says - God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Jesus died for us while we were filthy sinners – enemies against God. The truth is that I cannot clean myself up good enough – it is impossible! The truth is that I am as needy – even now - as a homosexual (or an addict, or a child abuser, or a thief, or…). I need Jesus. And while I was a thief, an addict, a liar, an abuser, a user, . . . – a sinner – Jesus died for me. What right would I have to judge one who did not claim Christ? None.
I was/am also stirred with the reality that in this Philippians 3 passage, it isn’t the homosexuals, or the alcoholics, or the users, and abusers that do not believe in Christ that God nails – it is the religious! You DOGS – You EVILDOERS – You MUTILATORS.
In the end – when we judge those who do not claim to be Christ followers, we judge the wrong people!
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. (I Corinthians 5:12-13)
OK Ramble over.
