Several elections ago, our state ballot included an initiative that confronted you with the question of whether a pre-born baby was “a person.” This personhood amendment was soundly defeated but you still had to vote — before God — and decide where you draw the line on personhood. Many didn’t vote on that amendment question. But, to not vote was a vote in itself. Just the fact that this issue appeared on the ballot was offensive to many who would have preferred not to be confronted with drawing the lines of life — before God, the extent to which God mattered to them.
The Christmas season is upon us now and it’s a time of joy and peace and celebration and God’s message to us is both “Fear not” and offensive. It is offensive to many who would have preferred not to be confronted with God, the extent to which God matters to them. And yet the very message of the Gospel forces you to choose. To not make the choice is, in itself, a choice. This is the real reason why people oppose nativity scenes in public places and cannot countenance people wishing them a Merry Christmas as they go through the checkout line in their stores.
If you are offended by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is your separation from God a matter with which you struggled only after exhaustive philosophical research or rather was it packaged neatly in something called a Harvard, Berkeley or other college degree? When was the last time you conducted personal research into matters spiritual? When conducting this personal research, did you have an open mind or was it biased by your personal experiences, being hurt by those of a lesser sort, including our fellow Christians? Are you really that untidy in your research protocols?
No college professor, priest, or Christian can determine for you your intellectual position with respect to the things of God. I cannot. That determination is between you and God alone. The size and depth of the chasm between you and God, intellectually or otherwise, are determined solely by you.
To ignore Him or wish He would go away will never happen in your life. You can be offended by the Gospel for a long time to come or finally determine for yourself what you are to do about this Jesus who is called the Christ? What keeps you from deciding on your own?
Here’s a suggestion: “Fear not.”