As I sat in the grimy public washroom, with tears streaming (I mean streaming like a waterfall) down my face, I really was not sure why it was that I was crying. All that came to my mind was the verse from childhood, about sticks and stones, but not one person said one word to me.
All I can say is that my heart felt like it was broken, heavy, grieving by what I had heard.
lets go to the beginning …
It had been a chaotic week for hubby and I and our kids had all gone in different directions, so we decided to check out a restaurant that we had never tried before.
It was nice to have uninterrupted conversation, though my attention was constantly diverted to another table, where four people sat, one of whom spoke quite loudly. Eventually my attention was fully pulled from hubby’s words, when I heard,
“those Christians. Who do they think they are?”
The words felt like a jab to my heart.
The man continued, for what seemed like a painful amount of time, sharing stories of ministers, priests, and people of many faiths who were hypocrites, not practicing what they preach. Though he was equal in his disdain for people of any faith, he seemed to be particularly hateful to those who called themselves Christian.
I sat there, the blood seeping from my face, the pain of a death by a thousand verbal cuts touching every part of my being. The tears welling in my eyes.
It was then that I excused myself to the washroom, to try to pull myself together.
I really was not sure why I was crying.
That man didn’t know me, I didn’t know him, yet we were both part of his bitterness, of my sin.
I have no idea how he has been hurt by faith, or, more likely, people of faith, but I know his vile attitude, and I know that his problem is not faith, not even Christ, but Christians.
I was aching, mourning, because the words of that man in the restaurant were the weight of our sins … how we destroy the name of Christ in how we treat others.
We, who share the name of Christ, also bear the pain of Christ …
Because it is the pain and burden of carrying our sin that Christ bore, that Christ bears.
But, when it is finished, this life we live,
when He is finished,
He will wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4),
and it will all be worth it.
In the meantime,
lets strive to do all that we do, in love (1 Corinthians 16:14),
so that we can be instruments that drive out darkness and hate.
itsawonderfilledlife 