| I just want to be loved – is that so wrong? |
I asked my Buddhist friend if he minded whether I included our exchange in a blog post... I told him that my post would be "nothing too offensive"... but then while I was writing, I realized that I have absolutely no idea whether or not my words were offensive to him or to anyone else!
For all I know everything I say could be making you or someone else roll their eyes and say, "What a chump! How dare she?!" And honestly, knowing that I might offend someone does bother me. Not that I care if they like me or not – okay, who am I kidding? I do want to be liked. (Remember when Jon Lovitz would play that guy who would say, "I just want to be loved - is that so wrong?")
But more important, I don't want to hurt your feelings, or turn you off from getting to know God because I've portrayed Him as about anything but love and grace. Or been anything but loving and gracious.
I'm tempted sometimes to NOT write because it seems presumptuous... I know that evangelism is sometimes seen as being sort of paternalistic... Isn't that the word that's used to describe the British Empire who invaded lands for the people's own good? Okay, so maybe it is kind of like that – but I only want to see your heart invaded by the love and grace of God. Again, is that so wrong? Wouldn't it be cool if the sun never set on God's love and grace?
When I do write, I sometimes find myself tempted to self-edit to make it palatable to any- and everyone who might stumble over it. But I'm a Christian – it says so at the top of the blog. And Jesus told us to tell everybody. (Matthew 28:14) And for me, to NOT say Jesus, well... it would be kind of like living my closet... And it's really dark in there. And messy. And full of black clothes, concha belts and ankle boots. No, I have to be the city on the hill... the light on top of the bushel... the salty salt... (Luke 14)
And in the end, I'm only just musing – going over some ideas I'm having... Everything I say is as I understand it, and you are welcome to ponder my words or not. I view it as a conversation, even though I usually don't hear your side. Not that I wouldn't like to... Because I really would.
For all I know everything I say could be making you or someone else roll their eyes and say, "What a chump! How dare she?!" And honestly, knowing that I might offend someone does bother me. Not that I care if they like me or not – okay, who am I kidding? I do want to be liked. (Remember when Jon Lovitz would play that guy who would say, "I just want to be loved - is that so wrong?")
| Black clothes, check... concha belts, check... boots, check! I think these guys from The Alarm have been in my closet! It would be a shame if they didn't show us those outfits! |
I'm tempted sometimes to NOT write because it seems presumptuous... I know that evangelism is sometimes seen as being sort of paternalistic... Isn't that the word that's used to describe the British Empire who invaded lands for the people's own good? Okay, so maybe it is kind of like that – but I only want to see your heart invaded by the love and grace of God. Again, is that so wrong? Wouldn't it be cool if the sun never set on God's love and grace?
And in the end, I'm only just musing – going over some ideas I'm having... Everything I say is as I understand it, and you are welcome to ponder my words or not. I view it as a conversation, even though I usually don't hear your side. Not that I wouldn't like to... Because I really would.
