Thursday, July 08, 2010

Tolerance

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).

We live in an age of tolerance. Teachers urge our children to respect people who are different. So how is it that intolerance still exists, is even sometimes regarded as acceptable?

We are asked to respect other religions, but when Christians say that Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from sin and hell, churches are burned and followers of Christ are threatened with violence. We are urged to respect gays and lesbians, but if someone says that same-sex marriage is wrong, there will be a flood of hate mail and negative attention from the media. We are told that in the interests of free speech, every opinion deserves a fair hearing, but when it comes to evolution, all schools are required to teach this theory alone as if it is unchallenged fact.

We live in an age of tolerance. Yet many who promote tolerance are unwilling to tolerate Jesus Christ. You dare not make jokes about Jews or Muslims, but Christians are fair game. All over the world, countries are passing hate crimes legislation—but Christians are never singled out for protection.

The world is filled with advocacy groups. You have watchdogs ready to pounce if a person says something negative about race, religion, or sexual orientation. You have people advocating for the rights of animals and in defense of the environment. But you don’t see advocacy groups jumping up and making noise in defense of Jesus Christ and those who follow Him.

Maybe it’s because Jesus did not defend Himself when He was arrested on false charges, tried unjustly, and sentenced to a death He did nothing to deserve. Jesus was the Son of God, yet people insulted Him. Jesus came to show the way to heaven, yet people would not tolerate His message. Jesus had every right to lash out at those who treated Him so badly; He had the power to end their lives with a word. But Jesus did not lash out; instead He prayed, Father, forgive them. Jesus did not use His power to destroy sinful men and women; He used His power to break the chains of sin that linked us to death and the devil. Jesus responded to intolerance and hate with respect and love. He urges us to do the same.

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