I’ve seen it first hand. I guess I’ve been living in a bubble or under a rock, but it is obvious now. The world is a bully and Jesus is the target. Mr. Cozi and I attended the Birmingham Sidewalk Festival this weekend and in two of the packed-house main features, people actually cheered when there was a derogatory reference made about Jesus. I was shocked. I mean this is the south! We live smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt. And, for lack of a better description, it made me feel sorry for Jesus.
Now, I know that Jesus is so far above all of their jeers and filth that He needs no help or sympathy from me, but, still, I was disgusted by the lack of reverence. I couldn’t help but picture Jesus as the “nerd” walking the halls of a high school where no one saw Him for who He really is. Or as a child on the playground being slapped and bullied by the “cool” kids, because He is not one of them. I can’t stress this enough – He is King, royalty, THE Son of GOD, Lord of Lords and the Lily of the Valley. He is ALL-POWERFUL and Sovereign over all things, people and festivals; but my heart ached for Him as I witnessed first hand the hatred and persecution of the Almighty. He is no longer just rejected. He is hated.
It was, in my opinion, as if He were being crucified all over again. As Christians, we are being “taught” by the world to be more tolerant. Less judgmental. Less assertive with the spreading of the gospel, but the world is a bunch of hypocrites. Where is their tolerance? Why are they permitted to judge us and make us out to be the evil ones? And by all means, please answer this, why are they pushing their agendas down our throats with a pitchfork and we are not even suppose to gag?
Well, that is exactly what I wanted to do in one particular movie. It made me so sick, that I wanted to throw up my popcorn. There were no X-rated sex scenes. No profanity. And no sick cannibalism type violence in this movie, but the swagger used by the writers/directors of this film was quite terrorizing. Lightning bolts, fireballs and pillars of salt came to mind. I feared for their lives, while not wanting to be anywhere in the zip code of their existence when THE REAL JUDGMENT comes.
Now, let me clarify something here that I don’t think the bullies will ever understand. To a Christian, there is only one judgment, and a white throne and gnashing of teeth are involved. There is only one Judge, and we are not Him. We can’t send anyone to Hell, nor can we choose who is to spend eternity with the Truth. However, we are taught to recognize sin as sin and steer clear of it. There is a difference between judging sin and recognizing sin. And, I recognized it last night.
I have chosen not to name the film here because I want no more attention drawn to it than it had among the few hundred who saw it last night. And I will close this conversation with this…
I am thankful for the ROCK that shades me from the ugliness and happy to climb back under it on this beautiful Sunday morning.
