July 29, 2024
By now I imagine you’re aware of the huge controversy surrounding the opening ceremony of the Olympics in France. I’m going to throw in my 2 cents worth here……and you might want to put on your steel toed boots because I might just step on a few toes.
Christians that get online and spew hate toward nonbelievers anger me much more than nonbelievers spewing hate toward Christianity.
There have been multiple “explanations” of what the table at the Olympics was supposed to represent. The overwhelming majority of people saw it as a mockery of Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. For the sake or argument, let’s assume that it was. Even so, Jesus would have eaten a meal with every single person at the Olympics ceremony. Perhaps not at the Passover celebration, but He would have shared a meal with any or all of them.
Think about it: Jesus spent a lot of His time on earth with sinners. He invited them to the table over and over again. Sinners, prostitutes, Jesus welcomed all of them to His table. In fact, that’s one of the reasons the religious people hated Him and wanted Him dead.
People who are not Christians are not our responsibility to regulate. Sinners are going to sin. We should expect nothing less. And we shouldn’t be offended by that. What we should be offended by is the way Christians treat sinners who sin……after all, that’s what offended Jesus. He was far more upset with the religious people who mistreated sinners than He ever was with those who sinned. Instead, Jesus welcomed them and pointed them to His Heavenly Father. Remember that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, not to the shouting of His angry “followers.”
To be clear: I do not condone any religion (especially my own) being mocked. It’s wrong. But my heart doesn’t hurt for what they portrayed. My heart hurts for people who are not in a loving relationship with their Creator. Jesus doesn’t need me to shout about sinners sinning. He wants me to shout about the hope and the love they are missing out on. After all, He died for them just as much as He died for you and me. Angrily shouting at people that don’t know Jesus is in direct contradiction to the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Instead, let me suggest that we let this drive us to be more forthcoming with our faith – not in an arrogant, condemning way, but in an encouraging, loving and hope filled way. “For God so loved the world…..”, even those who produced and participated in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. And He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all…..ALL should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
And by the way, wasn’t it at Jesus’ last supper that He instructed His disciples to love others the way He loved them? Read that again.
Remember, we’re in this world but not of it. Let’s rise above it and show the love of Jesus to everyone!