Do not Become a Stumbling Block to Others

Verses:  Matthew 5:27-30

My thoughts about the verses:

Christians often think that I have Jesus in my lie so I don’t have to worry about the sins I have committed.  We think God overlooks them so it is okay f I do little sins.  We think that God overlooks the thoughts we do as long as we do not commit the action. 

It is true that if you are a Christian God covers your sins.  No longer will God see the sins you did in the past or sins that you will commit in the future.  Yet, even though God doesn't see it people see them.  If we are committing sins are we not becoming stumbling blocks for others that see it?

I want to go one step further that this applies to the Church as a whole.  The Church has to make sure that it follows the rules that God has established.  Amazingly when we look at the Bible the thing that we find is that love is the most important thing that Jesus teaches.  Therefor the Church has to put love before anything else.  Love is the key ingredient to a successful and influential Church.

Yet, isn’t it sad how many Churches alienate people.  They pick and choose who can be members.  They forget to minister to those in greatest need.  They choose that what they think are the worse sins.  They chose to eliminate people who cannot accept their way of thinking.

Listen to what Jesus says we must remove the body part that would make us commit sin.  Therefor do whatever you can to keep from sinning.  Yes, you are forgiven but why go out to commit sin like you have an open permit to do whatever you can.  We have to prepare each and every day through prayer and the study of the word not to commit acts that can become stumbling blocks to others.

This also goes for Churches.  Churches should never be stumbling blocks on someone’s journey to salvation.  We need to understand as the Church as a whole that we are called to be opening and loving to all.  Jesus says that we should love our neighbor.  The only way to love your neighbor is to welcome them into the Church body.  Any Church that acts against this is acting out against the will of God.

Now being someone that was confronted and dismissed as not being a Christian because of being a Lesbian I have another view on this topic. After many years of dealing with this rejection I came to conclusions about the word of God.  I have also come to accept that I wasn’t the stumbling block.  I was being led by God to a place where I could be there for others that had reached these stumbling blocks in their home Churches.

It is hard to accept that a Church will not open its doors to all people.  It is just as hard to accept that Christians believe that they can sin in ways that go against the teachings of Jesus.  In both of these situations they are becoming stumbling blocks.  The Church as a whole has to come to the conclusion that they will no longer condone this behavior.  Any Church that is teaching the love of Jesus to all people needs to pluck those Churches that are going against the will of God. 

Prayer:

We thank you God for your gift of salvation.  We praise you for saving us when we were not worthy.  We thank you for teaching the story of love.  We ask that you help us not sin and become stumbling blocks.  We pray for those churches that do not accept all of your children.  Help Christians and Churches become places of love.  In the name of the Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted God in your life?  Are you trying daily not to become a stumbling block to others?  Are you praying for churches and others to show the love of Jesus by opening their doors and life’s to all?