Stop Hoarding God’s Love
Today’s guest post is by Matthew Snyder. Check out his website and follow him on Twitter @matthewlasnyder. As always, leave your comments below.
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“Half-assed Christianity just isn’t my thing,” he said.
Every couple of nights in college, one of my closest friends and I would walk. We had no destination in mind because where we were headed was irrelevant to us – it was more about the journey we had in getting there. Sometimes we walked the train tracks and other times we’d walk the river, but we always had the best conversations. That was the journey for me.
I don’t remember what we were talking about the night that he made this snide remark about living the Christian life, but it’s stuck with me ever since. I’m constantly asking myself if I’m half-ass-ing my walk with God.
I mean… it’s more than just being fully devoted to Him in my “quiet time”, right? It’s also about loving like Him, about being Jesus with skin on, and stewarding the love He’s put in my own life into a hurting world around me.
I can’t help but think about all of the times that I passed the homeless guy on the corner who wanted nothing more than food to eat, the lady crying on the park bench who just wanted a shoulder to cry on, or the friend who told me their most painful secrets while I browsed Facebook on my phone.
Those are real stories and that was really how I “loved”.
I know I’m not the only Christian who turns a blind eye to a hurting world. You do it too.
Sometimes love requires more effort than I’m willing to put forth. Jesus never said it would be easy! But when I don’t love, I’m polluting the love that God’s given me and I’m robbing others of an encounter with a loving Father.
I’m tired of being that guy. I’m tired of starving the hungry, denying the depressed of their joy, and the hurt of their healing. I’m tired of seeing the Church do the very thing that I do.
What if we got our act together and stopped being hoarders of God’s love?
I’ve been one and I’m over it… because half-assed Christianity just isn’t my thing.
