Many who are disinterested in church have been mistreated by the church. It’s tragic to hear about bad experiences that have led to people scrapping church altogether. If you’re someone who has been mistreated, disrespected, or simply ignored in church, I want to apologize to you on behalf of them.
Even though your experiences are legitimate, I want to do anything I can to make sure you don’t miss out on God, himself, because someone misrepresented him to you.
Imagine if you had 5,000 friends on Facebook, or maybe even 20,000 followers on Twitter. Can you imagine the complexities and the range that would exist between followers? There would be a mountain range of differences between each person. Some would know you personally; others have only visited your page once. Regardless, they’re all considered to be your followers.
Would it be fair for someone to dismiss you altogether because of something bad one of your followers said to someone who is interested in following you? If you’re a fair and sensible person, I would guess not.
Well, that is what happens to God all the time. People dismiss his goodness, grace, and gifts because of something stupid one of his followers did or said.
Experiencing hurts in the church leads to people dismissing God and dismissing other Christians. It’s a sad and frustrating thing, but it really happens.
Are these thoughts striking a chord with anyone? Have you dismissed God and other Christians because of a stupid follower?
How would you feel if someone dismissed you because of one of your social media followers? I hope this opens the door to give God a chance.
Confession time! I have certainly misrepresented God, as a pastor. I fall short. There have been times where my greed bleeds through, my selfishness arises, and my pride discourages. Furthermore, I have mistreated God because a follower mistreated me. And I bet I’m not the only one out there.
For our own sake, we must understand that God is the only one who is perfect. I am not perfect, but want to point you to the one who is—Jesus. Don’t miss out on God because someone misrepresented him to you.
He will never fail you. He knows what is best for you. He loves you unconditionally. He never sins. He is eternal. He knows you better than you know you. He is a safe place. He is good. He is God.