What We Sow

Wow! What a week it has been. Some of the past mistakes of previous generations have become more present amidst all of the information and noise that have circulated the internet and social media lately. There have definitely been periods in our nation and world history where God was shaking His head at us and wondering how we could stray so far from His Word. 

Even in the readings for one of my summer classes this week, I realized just how much power and force was exerted over people all over the world in the name of Jesus and for the sake of Christianity. The kings and queens of Europe would cause significant reformations in the Church because of their personal beliefs and the furthering of their agenda. Others would fight for things simply to make themselves look good in front of a group of people. Many were quick to point their fingers and blame others instead of evaluating their own mistakes. 

In our own country, the Pilgrims not only soon controlled the Native Americans shortly after arriving in North America, but they also forcefully made the Natives conform to their way of life and religion. One of the tenets that our country is founded on is religious freedom, yet we can see that even the founders seemingly wanted everyone to follow a specific way of life. I learned this week that the Pilgrims were defined as hypocrites to the Native Americans because they would preach one way, but act completely differently, even to the point of physically harming the Natives. Now, did the Pilgrims have good intentions in trying to spread the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ? Yes, but God only knows their hearts! As Christians, we are called to spread the Gospel, but not by means of hurting others, living a hypocritical life, or blaming our neighbors.  

We are currently reaping what the past generations of Christians have sown, and however good or bad the seed was, we must deal with it now. In my opinion, the Christian community is often the worst. We tend to be the most unwelcoming, judgemental, close-minded, and too often force our beliefs down other people’s throats without establishing a relationship or even getting to know a person. We focus too much on fixing and changing others without truly evaluating and working on ourselves. This leads to the hypocritical reputation, turning even more people away from Jesus. 

Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated  as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a  log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you  will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

And we see in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, “If I could speak all the languages of earth  and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy,  and if  I understood all of  God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

The Bible clearly condemns hypocrites and shows how no power is ever better than loving others. This week and into the coming months, I want to challenge myself to better reflect and evaluate the areas in my life where I am quick to blame and try to fix others for the sake of spreading the Gospel. I pray that my life, which represents Christ, be genuine in all that I do, and not only what I say. I’m not concluding to stop spreading the Good News of Jesus, but, I am arguing that our witness needs to be genuine and authentic, never self-serving, and always pointing to God. 

This week, I was reminded that tomorrow is not promised. God could take our lives at any moment and we don’t have any control over it. Therefore, I want to live for today, as if I knew I was going to die tomorrow. I want to do things today that I won’t regret or let fear get the best of me. I want to reflect the love of Christ in all of my actions so that I can genuinely be compassionate toward everyone around me. I want Christ to use me in small ways each and every day. 

Let us sow better seeds for the next generation of believers so that looking back, we aren’t called hypocrites and to know that we have truly bettered the body of Christ.

With Love,
Hannah