Love, Cyberspace, and Grace

I met a man this week.  We didn't meet in person; instead I met him in cyberspace.  In fact, due to the anonymity of social media, he doesn't even know that I met him.  What amazed me about this particular person was the way that he presented himself to the world.  His entire demeanor was from a place of disdain and cynicism.  As I scrolled down through his Facebook posts it became apparent to me that he is an atheist.  I honestly have no problem with people who don't believe in God.  That, of course, is their right.  A person should be able to believe whatever he or she wants to believe. However, what bothered me is that he is an anti-theist.  He is one of the people in the world who does not want others to believe in God and when he encounters someone who does, he intentionally attacks the person through hateful comments and ridiculous accusations.

But even more than that, most of his attacks (in fact all of the ones I read) were aimed at Christians.  This particular individual pointed all of his barbs and vitriolic comments at people who are Christ followers.  Again, I suppose that that does not surprise me.  After all, Jesus told us that there would be people in the world who hated us because the world hated him.  In fact, I have been personally vilified for my desire to follow the teachings of Christ.  However, usually these attacks come from people in the church and not from the world.

My initial reaction to this man's hatefulness was repulsion.  I had a hard time wrapping my mind around some of the things that he had posted.  I could sense the deep disdain that he has towards people in general and disciples of Jesus in particular.  It seemed as though every breath of his body was mustered in order to destroy instead of to build.

But then I was surprised by how I felt next.  Instead of feeling superior (pharisaic) in the way I looked at him, I began to pity him.  I wondered what had happened in his life to make him so filled with hatred.  Was he hurt by the Church...by people who claim Christ as their savior but behave more like agnostics?  Was he disappointed by Christians with their pie-in-the-sky theology that doesn't translate into actual behavior?  At some point did he believe, only to have that belief turned into disbelief as he watched churches fight over the silliest theological differences?

I suppose any or all of these scenarios could be true.  I certainly understand church politics and I see how professing Christians treat one another and their neighbors.  Gandhi once remarked to E. Stanley Jones that "I do not reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It is just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."  So my best guess is that this man, who is about my age, that I met this week has probably seen the worst in Christ's body.  For that I am truly sorry.

The other thing I realized from my encounter is that only by God's grace am I not like this man.  I have seen plenty of fighting, hatefulness, and meanness so many times that I simply want to walk away.  But something I read has kept me firmly rooted in my belief in God.  "God is love, and those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them.  This is how love has been perfected in us, so that we can have confidence on the Judgment Day, because we are exactly the same as God is in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment.  The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love.  We love because God first loved us." (1John 4:16b-19)

You see, I know where my heart was before I knew God.  If I would never have learned to love, I would be just like this poor man I met on Facebook.  But I'm not.  It is only because of God's love, God's grace, and God's mercy that I have as much love in me as I do.  I recognize that I'm not where I want to be yet.  However, I also know that as I continue to choose love over hate and as I choose forgiveness over resentfulness, then God's Spirit will continue to make me look more like Jesus.  And dear friends, looking and acting like Jesus, not going to heaven upon death, is the ultimate goal of every disciple of Christ.

So I'm going to pray for this man.  I pray that he encounters someone in person who is a true disciple.  I pray that he sees the true love of God played out in his community.  I pray that God doesn't give up on him and continues to pour grace and love into his life.  And finally, I pray, that if I ever meet him in person that I continue to love him because God does.  Until next time...

Pastor Dustin