Funny, I don't feel loved
Had an odd experience this last week. In the mail sent to our house was a small envelope addressed to “Clouser family”, but it had no return address. The post office stamp was from Greensboro, which is a neighboring city to the town we live in. The envelope was about the size of a “thank you” card. When I opened it, there was a card with a hand written message that said “Just a quick note to let you know you are loved…” and a gospel track. The track was from a recognizable Christian website, and it did an “ok” job of presenting the gospel.
What felt weird was that the sender had not signed the card. No name, no church, no organization…nothing. I have no idea who this letter was from or what they are about. I’m assuming good intentions – that prior to the pandemic, they would have come to my door to talk with me in person. Maybe the sender is bed-ridden or confined to their home for some reason, and they feel like this is their only opportunity to “minister” to others in their community.
But even after assuming all the possible “good” scenarios that could have brought this anonymous card to my mailbox, I had several emotions…but none of them were a sense of “feeling loved”.
We can all agree that the world is a messed up, broken place. We can also agree that no one is perfect, and that we’ve all contributed to the mess we find ourselves living in. However, let’s be black-and-white honest here, there is no middle ground when it comes to Christianity – either the gospel message is true or it’s not.
Christianity claims:
The God and Creator of the Universe came to earth 2,000 years ago to once and for all fix the relationship between God and humanity. Jesus made the outlandish claim that He would guarantee Eternal Life to anyone who believed in Him for it. When He died on a cross, He took the punishment for all of humanity’s mess and imperfections…He paid the price for our sin. With justice served, sin was no longer a barrier for an individual’s relationship with God. Then, three days later, He came back to life – which proves He can follow through on His offer of Eternal Life for anyone who believes in Him for it.
Or:
Some guy named Jesus lived 2,000 years ago, got blamed for insurrection against the Roman empire, was executed, and people made up a story about him being alive again.
My point is that either Christianity has the most important message in history to share with humanity, or it’s worth bupkis. There is no middle ground. And…IF you believe the first, IF you have believed in Jesus for the Eternal Life that He alone can offer: Why not sign your name (or your church’s name) to the card you took the time to mail to my house?
I have no issue with Christians reaching out to those who don’t know them personally. Did you know that the apostle Paul once wrote to a group of believers that he hadn’t met before? Here’s what he told them:
Colossians 2:1-3
For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery – Christ. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Paul wrote for their encouragement and love…and he was willing to sign his name on it. Since I have already believed in Jesus for Eternal Life, I can empathize with the person who sent me the anonymous card…but if I didn’t know anything about Jesus or if the Christian church had burned me at some point in my past – how “loved” would I feel by an anonymous card with a gospel track stuffed inside? Why would I believe something that another person wasn’t willing to identify themselves with?
Christians, as ambassadors for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20) we should be willing to put our name on everything we do. Our message won’t be believed otherwise.
Keep Pressing,
Ken