Give Me Your Eyes

I heard a song this week called "Give Me Your Eyes." It made me think more and more about why I'm in this business. You know, I grew up surrounded by the Southern Baptist faith. I didn't go to church much, until I was much older I guess you could say I never went to church but I was acutely aware of the "churchiness" around me. When I was exposed to a community of faith, it was Baptist. But I must be honest...and this was just my experience (please read further with that filter)...I learned more about law, rules and "looks" than I did grace. Grace was something I just never learned about in the church experiences of my youth. It was more about getting saved, getting baptized and keeping out of Hell. You did this by, the old adage, "Don't drink, don't smoke, don't chew, don't run with girls who do!" I'm serious. I was dogged by the rules. I think a lot of folks have had this experience. Not just in the Baptist church but all churches. You know why? Because it's easy.........let that sink in. It's easy to learn the rulebook. It's easy to do "just enough" to say, "I'm in. I'm Saved" Let me assure you of something. That has nothing and I mean nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is a lifestyle. Yes, you must make a profession of faith. But that's the baby step. Living it out, seeking to walk out this life with the eyes of Christ...now that's difficult. But it is the Call. I've been thinking about how I see people. Do I see them in my humanness or do I see them as Christ sees them? My experience as a pastor has been that "church people" are the WORST gossipers in the universe. We often kick folks when they are down and do not think twice about making hurtful assumptions about people's lives. The Enquirer has nothing on the local church. If I were in dire straits, I would hesitate to tell someone in the church. I didn't say I would not, but I would hesitate. Because instead of the church being a place of refuge for the broken, the dirty...even the nasty. Often, it is full of assessors, judges and Pharisees. I know I'm not winning friends and influencing people right now but hear me. The reason most churches in the United States are dying, stagnant and stiff is because we are in a word...mean. Just downright mean. Now you may think I have had a recent experience with this. I haven't. As a matter of fact, my parishioners are good to me. My church takes really good care of my family. They invite me to dinner, give me gifts, compliment my preaching and hug me every chance they get. But these same folks gossip about people in the community, kick their neighbors when they're down and walk past obvious needs everyday. I see folks who go to great lengths to preserve their power and protect their turf. And I feel like a pastoral failure. And you know, I look at them and see my own reflection. But I want to do life differently. I want to live out what I preach. But I don't want to do it alone. So, I am making a new commitment to take off my sunglasses and live seeing others with the eyes of Jesus. Because my brother, my sister...that is Christianity. Don't buy the bill of goods the Pharisaical legalizers have sold you. The buying has been done on a hill called Calvary. Let's live this thing out with the Eyes that give us life...in spite of us. After all, we're in this thing together.