You Have No Excuse

Luke 23:34–Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

They (or “them” as Jesus said) might not have known what they were doing.  They didn’t have YouVersion and Biblegateway; didn’t have a Barnes and Noble they could run down to pick up a Bible in the translation that “fit” them.  Sure, maybe they had read or heard of Old Testament prophets who said this day would come, but was THIS the Guy?  Yeah, he says he is, but then again, there’s a guy in Hawaii today who’s name is Jesus and he claims to be the “real Jesus” too.  We write him off as a nut…..and so did they…or ummmm “them”.  Which ever way you cut it, “them” had some sort of an excuse.  There were the 12 and a select few that had seen signs and miracles, but how much weight did that carry with the rest of the population?  If Joe Blow told you about signs and miracles I had performed, would you think any higher of me?  No, I’d hang on the cross, just as Jesus did.  Again, they had excuses……good ones?  Who knows, but they had em.

You and I, on the other hand, don’t have those excuses.  If you’re reading this, you have access to the Word.  You can choose to ignore it; you can choose not to believe, but YOU KNOW.  I get so sick and tired of all the hatred; all of the mean-spirited words thrown around; the silence, arrogance.  I left the social networking scene awhile ago, partly, for that reason.  It’s very difficult to turn it off, but I also learned that running away is not the answer.  If you’re bleeding, looking away from the wound will not heal it.

So what do we do?  Well, I’m not going to get into some intricate, detailed method to cure ignorance, but BE NICE.  Really, it’s that simple.  LOVE people LOVE! I mean, go out of your way, ask people how they’re doing and then LISTEN for an answer.  That has to be one of my biggest pet peaves…..people will walk by and say “how ya doin?” and then keep walking.  Don’t ask me if you don’t wanna know.  A simple HELLO will do occasionally.  Stuck in your house, like me, for the majority of your day?  That’s when this screen connected to the world becomes an amazing tool.  Life happened around July, when Eli was born, and I stopped, but I made it a habit every day to send encouraging words to 15 people every day.  No, 15 isn’t a lot, but it’s what I had time for and it’s better than nothing.  I’m going to get back in that habit and I would ask you to join me.  Send emails, Facebook comments, blog comments, phone calls, blog searches for total strangers.

I’ve written similar blogs before and, unfortunately, I will probably feel the need to write it again somewhere down the road.

I love the community of people that have migrated to this blog, twitter, facebook, etc.  We have the power to change the way people think of Christians.

Let’s do it.