Walking in His Waterprints

Okay, now this is funny. Looking at my stats for this blog a month ago, I noticed I was getting some traffic from a porn site. Yes, that's right...porn. Well, I thought, my outreach is heading in the right direction and paid it no nevermind.

A month later, I was contacted by a webmaster requesting a link exchange. The webmaster believed that my blog would fit perfectly into their "collection of quality links" on their site. In hindsight, his insistence that the email was not spam should have been my first clue that this request was not your typical link exchange request. Nevertheless, I clicked on the link and was bombarded with pictures of a woman displaying her ta-tas.

My blog is a perfect fit for a porn site?! I was offended! The more I thought of it the more I realized that quite possibly, the webmaster may have taken my "no judgment/no hypocrisy" message a bit too far. So, I had to laugh. Let me state, while free will exists, I will not contribute to the degradation of women. Porn webmasters, you’ve been warned. :)

While I speak out against hypocritical, judgmental and condemning evangelism, it does not mean that I endorse behaviors/actions that can be hurtful to the self or to others. It simply means that it is not my place to judge or condemn, and neither is it the biblical position of Christians to do so. Unfortunately, Christianity has earned such a reputation and it has reflected on my Beloved Savior poorly. Such "evangelism" is the antithesis of Christ's true evangelism and is indeed no evangelism at all.
The truth of the matter is we ALL have freedom of will. The principle of life is we ALL choose to live life as we see fit. Anyone and everyone CAN have sex whenever, with whomever they choose. That is a fact. It is also a fact that there are consequences to choices such as these that may not necessarily yield the best result for your life....consequences are a fact of life...a principle of nature. You reap what you sow. You can be a sexual being and display yourself in a sexual manner...you may contract illness because of it. Your spouse may become offended. You may feel self-loathing. You may be viewed as worthless...the list goes on.

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. - 1 Corinthians 10:23

I am content to believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a competent Judge. He doesn't need my help.

Christ's true evangelism can be found in many places in the New Testament, but one story is a popular one...the woman at the well...

Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with [his] journey, sat thus on the well: [and] it was about the sixth hour.
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. – John 4:6-24

Christ sets a clear example of sharing His own Gospel. Notice, while He mentions the woman is currently living with a man of whom she was not married to, it was NOT His focus. He doesn’t tell her to cease her lifestyle or condemn her, as He has every authority to as a Son of God, but rather He preaches spiritual reconciliation by INVITING her to partake in “living water” He so freely offers to all who would receive.  A “water” when it is received, revives (quickens) that soul that was dead due to separation from our One and only Creator God. He invites and explains a spiritual life of reconciliation. While there is MORE edification that comes with this dialogue between Christ and the woman, the difference between His Gospel, and the poor imitation society have been subjected to, is clear.

What is interesting to note, while the disciples said nothing of Christ’s interaction with the woman at the well, they “marveled that He talked with the woman”, a reflection of the same attitude that is prevalent in Christianity today. (John 4:27)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until Christ returns; His message is not one of condemnation, but of salvation. A salvation that comes through reconciliation. Many are quick to quote John 3:16, the message of John 3:16 is not fully realized when taken out of the context of its surrounding content (another serious issue that plagues Christianity)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. – John 3:16-19

How can any flawed being judge a darkness in a man’s heart? No one can. Believers were not given that responsibility upon Christ’s ascension. How arrogant is one to think he/she is more than the Son of God to condemn others, where Christ does not? I dare say, they have become laws unto themselves and obey no God.

My point is simple, render unto God what is His (judgment) and focus on the task at hand, which starts with your own spiritual salvation. How can anyone edify another if they, themselves, are not edified?

Read wholesome, scriptures within their context, outside of anyone’s thoughts, opinions, and theologies. After all, your relationship with Christ and the Father should be based on what YOU believe, not what you were told to believe.

With love, In Christ…
Hannah