Push and Pull

Let me tell you about Juliana (real name used with permission).  She is a young lady that I work with.  As far as I know, she is not a believer, though she is not antagonistic towards talk about God.

She said something that struck me a few weeks ago.  While I was speaking to Jenny (see the post from a few weeks back here) about her upcoming wedding, and as I was asking her about her fiancée’s church membership (or lack thereof), Juliana basically wondered, out loud, if I was trying to convince Jenny and her hubby-to-be to join RFH.  I explained that I was not doing that, but that I firmly believed that Christians should belong to a local church that was doctrinally sound whether it was RFH or not.

Then she said, “You’re a religious drug pusher.”

Interesting…

Now, Juliana is a sassy young woman with a sarcastic streak.  I think she was only joking (though I could be wrong).  And I would hardly consider myself a religion pusher, a faith pusher, or even an evangelist for that matter.  Either way, it makes no difference.  The very fact that a joke like that would be made goes to show, I think, the perception of Christians that share their faith or even talk about church.  We are perceived as people who “push” our beliefs onto others.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that is an unfair perception.  All too often, our genuine desire for people to know the Lord is obscured by our pointing finger, our accusing tone, and our lack of compassion.  All too often, we are unwilling to hear the person – who is made in God’s image, believer or not – and far too willing to dominate the conversation, showing them very clearly that we not only disagree with their worldview, which we should, but showing them just as clearly that they themselves are to be dismissed as readily as their beliefs, as far as we are concerned.

But when Jesus came for the sake of the lost, He didn't judge.  He didn't accuse.  He didn't argue.  He didn't belittle.  He didn't condemn.  (Oh, except for when it came to those holier-than-thou religious folk…) 

Instead, He listened.  He showed compassion.  He showed that He valued every person created in His image even if they didn't believe the truth; even when they judged, accused, belittled, condemned, and argued with Him.  He was never a “pusher,” but a puller.  He drew people, pulled them, to Himself instead of pushing them into believing. 

The next time you find yourself in a conversation about Him, please, don’t do what He did not do.  He did not build a wall between Himself and the world.  Rather, He tore the veil between us and Him.  Jesus built a glorious bridge to God at the cross.  We can’t push people across; we can only point them to the other side and the wide-open arms that await them there.