I have been struggling with reconciling a couple of passages from the Bible and would appreciate some input!
I have been reflecting on the words of Christ who said something along the lines of, "If you cause any of these children to stumble, you would be better off having never been born." And, the words of Paul who said something along the lines of "Whatever is pure, right, noble, etc., think on these things".
At the same time, Jesus made a point to hang out with the most "offensive" people of his day including tax collectors and prostitutes. Certainly his actions 1) caused people to stumble (the Bible tells us as much) and 2) caused Jesus to be confronted with the ugliness of sin and to come face to face with actions that were not pure, not right, not noble, etc.
So, as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, how are we to live our lives? Should we do all in our power to avoid things that are unpure, not right, and not noble? And, if we do, how are we to reach out to those that are struggling in sin?
If we follow the other path and allow ourselves to be aware of sin and to be in relationship with those struggling with sin how do we do so without causing others to stumble? And, how do we do this without failing to think on things that are pure, right, noble, etc?
Would love your input!
2 comments:
It doesn’t seem to me that there is anything to reconcile. If we did everything in our power to avoid things that are not pure, not right and not noble, then we would wall ourselves off from a hurting world – kind of like walking around with sterile gloves on, afraid to touch people and shouting that we love them from a distance. Jesus did surround himself with what society considered the worst kind of people engaged in the worst kind of sin. He allowed the prostitute to wash his feet with her tears, but at the same time, he attempted to teach the Pharisees (whose actions were perhaps much less pure, less right, less noble) about the grace and forgiveness of God. I think the people who “stumbled” because of his actions were those who were blind and deaf to the message he was preaching. Jesus did not just act, he taught…and so if they had been listening to his words they would have heard the kingdom of God preached as an accompaniment to his actions.
Reaching out to those who are struggling in sin IS pure, right, noble, etc. And if we are worried that our companionship with those who are struggling with sin would cause others to stumble, then we are not communicating the message of Jesus very effectively for those people. My reading of scripture is that those who Jesus talks about being in danger of stumbling are children. When we mistreat them, it often robs them of the tools they need to make good choices and live productive lives. We are held accountable for that.
So yeah, it’s good food for thought.
One of my seminary professors likened the concept of not causing another to stumble to walking along side a toddler. You can relate to this with your son. You don't drag him along faster than he can walk, or take off and leave him behind, or make him struggle up the steps alone. Rather you walk beside him, showing him the best route, holding his hand when he needs help or reassurance, and sometimes letting him do it all on his own. As he grows physically he will be able to better keep up with you without stumbling. So it is in our Christian walk. We walk beside those who are spiritual toddlers (or babies) and we don't leave them behind; we walk at their pace while they are growing. Jesus walked alongside the sinners, because how else would they learn?
Post a Comment