Are Your Doors Open?

Are your church doors open to people who are different than you? How about the doors to your Christian circles, your life, and your heart? Are your doors open to those who look differently than you, dress differently than you, act differently than you, behave differently than you, and/or think differently than you?

Many may answer yes to that, but I challenge everyone to really stop and consider if that’s the case. Because I know many who profess this to be the case but whose actions show otherwise.

I saw it growing up in church my whole life, and I have experienced it with my own children – neither of whom have ever been typical kids. Over the years, my children (and in turn my husband and I) have been judged, labeled, scorned, ridiculed, condemned, ostracized, and rejected by many people of the church. And by “the church” I don’t mean the church that we were attending. I mean the church community as a whole – people in our daily lives and daily encounters who were professing Christians.

People proclaiming to spread the love of Christ, who instead spread hate and slander. People who were supposed to have eyes of compassion, who instead cast eyes of judgment. People who could have encouraged us to hang on, who instead hung us out to dry. People called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, who instead offered a stiff arm and a kick of the boot. People in a position to help, who instead inflicted harm.

While some people who were non-Christians were ones to extend love, show compassion, offer encouragement, lend a hand, walk alongside, and provide support. It’s like the parable that Jesus told of the Good Samaritan:  A traveling Jewish man was attacked by bandits who stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead. A priest and a Temple assistant (Levite) separately came along, and each passed him by. But a despised Samaritan came along who had compassion for him. The Samaritan bandaged him, took him to an inn to take care of him, and paid for his continued care. (Luke 10:30-35)

It’s not supposed to be this way. Christians should be the first to help – we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. The reason Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan was to convey this very point, as relayed in the preceding verses of Luke 10:25-29. A religious law expert had asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied asking him what the law of Moses says. The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”  The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 

Notice the words at the beginning of that last sentence: “The man wanted to justify his actions” – my family and I have experienced and witnessed the same today, where professing Christians take certain actions which they justify with religion. Like the religious lawyer, these people may know the letter of the law, but their actions do not show the love of Jesus in their hearts.

That’s not to say that my family hasn’t experienced love and support from anyone of the Christian faith. We certainly have and are thankful for every single person who has shown the love of Christ to us. Those who showed care and concern while others cast us aside. Those who encouraged and lifted us up while others tore us down. Those who rendered aid and walked beside us while others walked away. Those who stood with us in prayer while others either stood against us or stood by and did nothing. Those who kept their doors open and loved us as their neighbors – those whom we have pointed our children to as examples of what a Christ follower should look like. And my husband and I are trying to be such an example ourselves.

My husband and I have also encouraged our kids to not allow the treatment they’ve experienced to cause them to treat others the same way in return, nor to allow the actions of others to keep them from having a relationship with God. But instead to allow God to draw them closer in their pain and suffering, and to allow God to use their pain to give them eyes to see and help others in need.

And by the grace of God, my husband and I are seeing this unfold in our children’s lives. I’m thankful for this, but my heart still hurts for everything my children have been through. My heart also hurts for others who have experienced anything similar. Some of whom don’t have any type of support system – who may run to anything but Jesus if the doors of the church aren’t open for them.

I don’t expect the church to be perfect or to never make a mistake or misstep. We’re all going to get it wrong sometimes – that’s why we need God’s grace. I’ve made plenty of missteps and certainly don’t walk out my faith perfectly. Faith is a journey, where we learn, grow, and become more Christlike as we allow God to do His transforming work in us. And we are all at different points in our faith journeys.

I understand that, and that’s not what I am talking about. Nor am I talking about condoning sin. What I am talking about is a culture of judgment, condemnation, exclusion, and rejection that exists within the church community and Christian circles – this is not what Jesus has called us to.

After Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, he concluded with this as recorded in Luke 10:36-37: “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

That is our call as the church: to go and do the same. That is how we will reach a hurting and dying world.

Otherwise, we may find ourselves closing doors on the very ones that God is trying to reach.