"Is it the mission of the church to be shocked and offended every time the world thinks and acts opposite to our beliefs? Or is it our mission to weep for the lost and to bring the gospel to them? Are we to keep pointing our fingers at nonbelievers, or are we to wrap our arms around them and lead them to the Truth?....
I don't see my calling as one which puts me in the position of being perpetually horrified by what is going on around me, but one which compels me to help people fall in love with God. The apostle Paul's attitude toward the immorality and spiritual ignorance in the world of his day was not to condone those things, certainly, but to say, 'That's the way people apart from God are. Let's pray for them that God would open their eyes and release them from their captivity to the devil.' What shocked Paul instead was what he saw going on in the churches."
Rev. Steve Bierly - Sunday School Guide, April 23, 2006
very true. thanks for the reminder.
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