A Great Struggle

I have been reading a book entitled, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. It is ¨nonreligious thougths on Christian spirituality.¨So far I have been enjoying it greatly. It might be one of those books I read again and again. It feels like it´s giving you too much at once and you can only work on so many things at once! This is also how I felt after reading the book Steven gave me for Christmas a few years ago...Let Me Be a Woman.
So today I was reading in the sun and I began the chapter, Love: how to really love other people. Donald reflects a summer of travels and backpacking. He spends a month living with pot smoking hippies in the middle of Eastern Oregon. It is there that he encounters people who love one another. There aren´t expectation and stipulations. Your ideas are listened to and perhaps challenged...but in a manner that is first resepectful.
After the month in the bush Donald makes his way to Colorado where he will be a counselor at a Christian camp. He is asked to shave and clean up a bit upon arriving. Hmmmm He then begins attending a unitarian church. He enjoys the love and acceptance it provides, but realizes the people in the church all have different theologies, philosophies, etc... How can this be? He writes, ¨On the other hand, however, I felt by loving liberal people, I mean by really endorsing in their existence, I was betraying the truth of God because I was encouraging them in their lives apart fom God...¨

So then the pounding question:
¨HOW COULD I MERGE THE CULTURE OF TEH WOODS AND THE UNITARIAN CHURCH WITH CHRISTIAN CULTURE AND YET NOT ABANDON THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE? HOW COULD I LOVE MY NEIGHBOR WITHOUT ENDORSING WHAT I TRULY BELIEVED WAS UNHEALTHY SPIRITUALLY?¨

One of his conclusions leads us to examine our relationships-love. Think of metaphors that cause trouble in relationships: we value people, we invest in people, relationships can be bankrupts, people are priceles.... we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money.

He gives the example of someone who lived a pagan life and spoke with swear words and was socially awkward....rather than loving this person he ignored him and thought badly of him...ultimately he WITHELD love.
How many times have I been annoyed by someone? How often have I witheld love? The thought is piercing into the depths of who God has called me to be.
The Bible says, ¨Talk with your mouth and your heart doesn´t show love...you are like a person standing there smashing two cymbals together. You are only annoying everyone around you.¨


Even with the ideas of love and how we use it as a commodity I still struggle. Ok, so my job is to openly love...no matter what. It is Christ´s job to change hearts and my job to love. I can deal with that. I can wrestle and struggle and work to love people...but I have when it comes to the next question I am stumped:
So what is the church´s job?

I honestly don´t know. Do we open the doors wide open and love love love while awaiting for Christ to change hearts? Do we close them and let people slide in? Do we openly point fingers at sinners when we ourselves fall short every second of every day?
This is a key question for even choosing a church to attend. What kind of community do I want to be a part of? One of the things that The Village has offered is loving the socially awkward. The ones who speak out in church and on the street and make you wonder.... the Village loves them and accepts them and welcomes their comments. I have seen Christ´s love in the church...for the first time.
So anyway, I know you have a lot of sifting through this long winded blog...but any ideas are welcomed and asked of!