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The Suicidal Missionary
By Eric Bryant

Suicidal Missionary

Have you ever found yourself knowing what you ought to do, but you don’t want to do it?

Maybe it’s getting up early, so in an act of defiance you hit the snooze button five times in a row.  Maybe you bought that gym membership with every intention of using it, but you decide the walk from the car to the office will be enough “exercise” for the day.

Let’s get more personal since most of us are probably church leaders:  have you ever seen someone needing help, but you know they are just too much trouble so you avoid them?  Have you ever known you were supposed to love someone, but you have a hard time even liking them?

I recently read a familiar story that included some surprising details I somehow had missed over the years.  The story revealed that a very successful missionary, in fact one of the most successful missionaries ever, was not simply reluctant, he was suicidal.  Jonah would rather die than see the people of Nineveh forgiven by God.

We all know the story.  We’ve all seen the flannelgraphs or maybe the Veggie Tales re-enactment.  Somehow the fact that Jonah wanted to be thrown off the boat to drown in the sea rather than simply asking for the boat to be turned around wasn’t included in these Sunday School versions.  Only after reconsidering for three days in the digestive tract of a giant fish, did Jonah finally share the message of warning from God to the people of Nineveh.  Just think, what message would you be able to create without distractions and in this most improbable of places?  And what message would be so powerful that 60,000 people would turn to God? 

"Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."  (Jonah 3:5).

One of the greatest sermons in history was only 8 words long.

Ok.  Well, maybe Jonah’s message was not that impressive, so it must have been his heart for the people that they felt?   Actually that wasn’t it at all.  Jonah was beyond irate and beyond depressed at their willingness to turn to God.  Jonah wanted to die (again).

Jonah prayed: "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 3:10-4:3).

This moment shows such a stark contrast between a loving and merciful God and His angry and judgmental messenger. 

Why did Jonah have such hostility towards the people of Nineveh?  Simply put, Jonah saw the people of Nineveh as his enemies.  He despised what they had done towards his people in the past.  He hated their religion, their politics, and their lack of morality.  As a result, Jonah placed a limit on who God should love.

Whether we have intended this or not, the world tends to see people who follow Jesus as sharing the same attitude that Jonah did. 

Rather than being exclusive and judgmental, we have to work that much harder to become inclusive and loving.  We cannot show the world God’s love if we do not truly love the people in our world.

One of the most important changes we can make to overcome this perception would be to create communities in which people are allowed to belong before they have to believe.  Rather than being considered and even treated as outsiders, we need to invite our family, co-workers, and neighbors into our lives and into our communities as friends. 

As followers of Jesus, we have been “set apart” and “sent out.”  We are “set apart” in our behavior, and “sent out” in our relationships.  The more religious we become the more these ideas become reversed.  We end up being “set apart” in our relationships, and “sent out” from those we are to love and serve.   We are “set apart” in how we relate to others, not to whom we relate. 

I know I have been hard on Jonah, but in the end, after Jonah was rescued, he went into the city.

Maybe our question is:  where will we go now that we’ve been rescued?

Eric Michael Bryant serves as an elder, speaker, and navigator overseeing the leadership team at Mosaic in Los Angeles. Starting as a volunteer in the parking lot at Mosaic, Eric later worked with students and then helped catalyze new venues across Los Angeles.  His book, Peppermint-Filled Piñatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love, is a guide for overcoming the negative Christian stereotype by embracing the people Christians “love to hate.” Eric lives with his wife, Debbie, and two children, Caleb and Trevi in the middle of Los Angeles County.

23 Comments »

  1. Great insights.  God says to “GET UP!” and “GO!” When Jonah and people like him (like me too often) have different plans, we MAKE OURSELVES our OWN GOD

    Comment by Ray McKay Hardee - May 12, 2009 @ 01:27 PM

  2. New insights on an all too familiar Bible story. Thanks (I think! ;) for giving me something to really think about.

    Comment by Cheryl Russell - May 12, 2009 @ 01:49 PM

  3. thanks, eric!
    “We cannot show the world Gods love if we do not truly love the people in our world. ” Couldn’t agree more. So, how to we grow in this and maybe soften our hearts to the communities that christians love to hate (i.e. homosexuals, abortion issues, class-ism, political positions)
    i’d love your insight.

    Comment by Ade - May 12, 2009 @ 02:12 PM

  4. Very good.  We have to be conscientuous of our own preconceived prejudices.  Too often we cast out or cast judgment on those who don’t quite fit into our tribe.  It is a struggle we all have and need to overcome.

    Comment by David Duque - May 12, 2009 @ 03:01 PM

  5. “One of the most important changes we can make to overcome this perception would be to create communities in which people are allowed to belong before they have to believe.”

    So true. We have to show them that they are loved w/in community. Then they’ll want to know more about the life changing grace of Jesus.

    Comment by Blake - May 12, 2009 @ 03:03 PM

  6. Thanks for the comments, guys!

    Ade, I wrote alot about creating a community that embraces people Christians “love to hate” in my book “Peppermint-Filled Pinatas” which just came out as an audiobook as well at iTunes.

    If you (or anyone) want(s) the notes from the Origins breakout I did called “Hindus, Homosexuals, and the Hard to Reach” at Catalyst West, send me an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and I would be happy to send that along.  Just put “belong before believe” in the subject title.

    By the way, I have recently heard there may have been as many as 600,000 people in Nineveh!

    One more thought: It dawned on me that Jonah may have had the message of God for the people, but he did not share God’s heart for the people.  May we avoid this same trap!

    Comment by Eric Bryant - May 12, 2009 @ 03:48 PM

  7. Completely agree Eric.  There’s a lot of people who like to proclaim the judgment of God with the same type of attitude Jonah had.  We privately don’t want them in our “club.”

    Comment by David Duque - May 12, 2009 @ 03:59 PM

  8. Very good!! I loved the live “we can make to overcome this perception would be to create communities in which people are allowed to belong before they have to believe”. This is so true!! We need to be the face of Christ to lead people to christ.

    Comment by Chris - May 12, 2009 @ 07:13 PM

  9. Eric - great insight once again. Thanks for the powerful message and challenge.

    Comment by Gerry Ozmore - May 12, 2009 @ 08:26 PM

  10. Great thoughts Eric.

    I wonder how the church can continue to do this as so many church leadership and staff focuses so much time on churched people. I always wonder if there’s a way that our church’s most valued leaders would be able to spend more time with people in the “trenches” so to speak and model what it really means to love the other and “belong before they believe” so that more of our congregates can see that modeled.

    I feel like there’s still a disconect between American church life and work life. There’s a big movement away from that I think and it’s awesome to see.

    Thanks for the reminder to love those in our own world first.

    Comment by kevin - May 12, 2009 @ 10:10 PM

  11. Kevin, it is amazing how we can get sucked into spending time with only those who believe as we do. 

    I think part of it is our consumeristic mentality.  We think Jesus’ invitation to follow Him was for what we can get rather than what we can give.  As a result, we focus on our own walk with Jesus rather than helping others start theirs.  I know I have slipped into this before.

    When Jesus invited us to follow Him to become fishers of men, He was inviting us to help change the lives of others.  Instead we act as if Jesus’ invitation was “Come follow me, and I will take you to heaven, meet your needs, protect you from the world, teach you great truths, give you songs to sing about me, or answer your prayers.”

    As leaders we need to model developing friendships with our neighbors, co-workers, and families no matter what they believe or how they live their lives.  As we serve and love others,we will be amazed at the opportunities we will have to move conversations from superficial to significant and then on to spiritual.

    One other thought, our Sunday gatherings need to avoid using insider language so that the “unbeliever in our midst” can connect to the same God we do (1 Cor. 14:24).  This also helps those in our community know how to communicate with those who do not know “Christianese.”

    Comment by Eric Bryant - May 13, 2009 @ 09:48 AM

  12. great post eric. remember as a young man sitting in church, my doodling on my bulletin, i mean listening to the sermon (lol), was interupted by gasps. turning my head i watched as an elderly african american man made his way down the aisle. there’s more, but it think you get the point. one of the stories that shapes me.

    if we were really honest i believe we would find “their” stories nto much different tahn “ours”, but hte only way to know is to hear it. i am as guilty as the rest in walking by and pretending not to “notice”, on the way to much more “important” endeavors. that we may be given noticing eyes and broken hearts.

    Comment by brian miller - May 17, 2009 @ 01:53 PM

  13. The claim that Jonah was suicidal seems to be a far stretch from what the text actually teaches. For some reason Eric believes that wanting to die is equivalent to wanting to kill yourself. If that’s the case then we must also assume that Paul was suicidal when he said that he wanted to depart this life to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23). Would Eric make the same claim of someone who in the midst of great suffering wanted to have his life ended so the suffering would also end as suicidal? I would guess that he would consider such a thought to be insensitive and yet he wants to lump Jonah in this category without any knowledge of the intent in his mind.  By the way, if Jonah was so suicidal why didn’t he just throw himself off the boat instead of telling the crew to throw him off?

    What does Eric mean “without distractions”? Let’s think about that for a moment. First, you’ve just been swallowed by a large fish - yeah that’s not distracting. Second, consider the words of Jonah himself:

      “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. Jonah 2:2-5”

    Does that sound like a man that was completely undistracted, I think not.

    Eric makes a claim that it was Jonah’s message, actually it was not Jonah’s message at all it was God’s message. Jonah 3:1-2 makes that clear: “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” ” Did you see that, God says preach the message I TELL YOU. Notice in verse 5 of chapter 3 that the people did not believe Jonah they believed God. Their response was to repent of their sins and turn to God seeking forgiveness. That is the meaning of the sackcloth and ashes.

    For some reason Eric seems to equate Jonah’s message with his attitude. I will grant that Jonah’s attitude was completely wrong, but his message was from God. God is not only loving and merciful, but he is also holy, righteous and just. In this case his mercy is revealed when he relents and spares Nineveh from destruction, but He has the same message for them from the prophet Nahum which he fulfilled by utterly destroying the city. Listen to the “angry” message of God from Nahum:

      The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.  God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies;  The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet.  He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts.  The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.  Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, And the rocks are thrown down by Him.  Nahum 1:1-6

    So how does this fit with Eric’s premise because if the message is what makes one “angry and judgmental” than what does this say about God. Of course, Eric’s premise is completely wrong when comparing it in the light of the Scriptures.

    Did Jonah place a limit on who God should love, or did Jonah limit himself. He clearly understood that God wanted to show mercy to the people of Nineveh, why else would God need to send Jonah to preach of their pending destruction. God sent Jonah to warn the people that His wrath was about to be poured out, but if they repented He would relent? Jonah understood God’s love, it was his own heart that had the problems. The problem with the world is not our attitude, its our message. They seem to think because we warn them of God’s judgment that we have a judgment attitude. The world is wrong. We warn people of God’s wrath and give them hope in Jesus Christ and the world hates us for that. But that’s what we have been called to do. The message Jesus had was “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” In fact Jesus tells his disciples “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and the REPENTANCE and FORGIVENESS of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations…” Just because the world calls this judgmental (including Eric Bryant) this does not make it so. It is a message of hope and a warning in love and compassion.

    Let’s also consider for a moment, when God wants to save someone by his sovereign will and He wants to pour out his grace and mercy upon a people or an individual, He will do so despite our attitude as long as we are proclaiming the true gospel. I am not condoning Jonah’s attitude, in fact I think it was completely wrong as God makes clear in chapter 4, but when the message was declared as God had commanded a whole city was saved in spite of Jonah’s attitude. What it really says is that it is more important to be obedient in proclaiming the gospel regardless of our emotions toward a person or a people.

    Eric saya:

      One of the most important changes we can make to overcome this perception would be to create communities in which people are allowed to belong before they have to believe.

    Really! So the message is not really that important it’s more about the atmosphere. Can anyone give me a Bible verse for this? And if that’s what were to be doing then the Holy Spirit must have missed the memo when he killed Ananias and Sapphira for lying to Him. I’m fairly confident that no one was feeling that the church was a community where they would be allowed to belong before they believed. In fact, Acts 5:11 says that a great fear fell over the church “and upon all who heard of these things” - meaning the unbelievers. Now would you want to go to a church where people were dying at the door to just hang out?

    Let me give you one more quote from Eric:

      I know I have been hard on Jonah, but in the end, after Jonah was rescued, he went into the city.

      Maybe our question is: Where will we go now that weve been rescued?

    Two points: First, where in the world does Eric get the fact that Jonah “went into the city.” The Bible says nothing of the kind. Is Eric adding to the Scriptures? And exactly how was Jonah rescued. The last thing we read is God rebuking Jonah. Here are his exact words:

      But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.  “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”  Jonah 4:10-11

    There’s no mention of Jonah being “rescued.” All we know is that Jonah had a wrong attitude towards the people of Nineveh and God rebuked him for it. We are not told of Jonah’s response or his actions following the rebuke. Where does Eric get this stuff?

    The second point is Eric just a moment ago pointed out that we needed to create communities were people can belong before they believe, but in this last statement he says “Where will we go now…” Which is it for him? Are we to call people in to a community, or are we to go out to the world? Now I’m all for sending people out to the world to declare the good news of Jesus Christ just as we have been told, but Eric seems to be a little confused.

    By the way, what community of faith did Jonah have so that people could belong before they believed? And yet a whole city was saved, AMAZING!

    Comment by Michael Cordich - May 17, 2009 @ 06:02 PM

  14. Rather than being exclusive and judgmental, we have to work that much harder to become inclusive and loving.  I think I understand what you are saying here; however, I think this statement presents a possible danger if understood in the wrong way.  Yes, we must affirm that God has and will continue to save all kinds of people (I Corinthians 6:9-11).  So God is inclusive in that He commands us to proclaim the gospel to all.  At the same time only those who are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God can inherit the Kingdom (I Corinthians 6:9-11).  So God is also exclusive in that only those who repent and believe can inherit the Kingdom.

    Likewise our responsibility is twofold we must be inclusive as we proclaim the gospel, in word and deed, to all (Matthew 5:13-16; 28:18-20) and we must be exclusive as we proclaim Jesus Christ, the one name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

    The issue with Jonah was that he did not want to proclaim the gospel; rather he sought to be the arbiter of divine judgment by withholding the gospel from a people whom he hated.

    Comment by Keith Walters - May 17, 2009 @ 07:40 PM

  15. @Michael,
    I get what you are saying about Jonah being suicidal; however, his circumstances are quite different than Paul’s so I think that is a poor comparison.  He is the assisted suicidal missionary, he wants to die but wants others to be responsible (i.e. the sailors or God).  Erics article brings up a good point, which I also think is the point of the book of Jonah.  The book is a rebuke against Israel for her failure to be a blessing to the nations, which happens to be a part of the Abrahamic covenant.  This is the same attitude demonstrated by the Pharisees in Jesus day and by many churches at the present time.  We must not be like Jonah and flee God rather we must repent of our attitudes and proclaim the gospel to all and embrace all who repent into the fellowship of Christ.

    Comment by Keith Walters - May 18, 2009 @ 11:29 AM

  16. Keith,
    Here’s the problem: Eric said that Jonah would rather die then go to Nineveh. Now I can understand why he came to that conclusion, but is it faithful to the text or just an insertion by Eric. The text makes clear that Jonah asked to be thrown overboard after he was asked “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” If we wanted to make a conclusion from the text why not consider something more probable, like Jonah wanted to save the lives of those on the ship.

    Let’s also consider the fact that if Jonah wanted to die then why does chapter 2 include his prayer and desire for God to rescue him from the fish?

    I would have to disagree with your last statement. I don’t see Eric calling for a proclaiming of the gospel and an embracing of all who repent. What Eric is more concerned about is creating communities where people can belong before they believe. That’s much different than what you have stated. I think you and I would be closer to agreement then what Eric teaches.

    Comment by Michael Cordich - May 18, 2009 @ 12:16 PM

  17. @Michael,
    I do not think your conclusion, Jonah as self-sacrificing savior of the sailors, is more probable.  Look at the text.  By throwing Jonah overboard the sailors understood that they were killing Jonah (Jonah 1:11-16).  Prior to throwing Jonah overboard they asked God not to hold them accountable for killing Jonah.  Jonah was in disobedience to God and rather that repent he sought to satiate Gods wrath by his death.  As for chapter two could it be that through this display of Gods grace mingled with Gods judgment that Jonah was brought to repentance?  Indeed that seems to be the case as the language of chapter two indicates.  I would recommend reading a commentary on this for a further explanation of the language in chapter two.

    You said, I dont see Eric calling for a proclaiming of the gospel and an embracing of all who repent.  I dont attribute that statement to Eric, in fact I argue against what appears to be inclusivism and a lack of emphasis upon the exclusive gospel in comment #14.  I said Eric brings out the point of the book, which I described as a rebuke against Israel for her failure to be a blessing to the nations.  I think Eric says this when he explains, Jonah placed a limit on who God should love.  Whether we have intended this or not, the world tends to see people who follow Jesus as sharing the same attitude that Jonah did.

    As far as communities where people can belong before they believe I am in the process of critiquing this on my website as I think this concept needs to be more cautiously applied, so head over and comment on my critique.  Here is the link, http://keithwalters.org/2009/05/16/eric-bryant-on-reaching-the-“hard-to-reach”/

    Comment by Keith Walters - May 18, 2009 @ 02:33 PM

  18. Keith,

    Thanks for your comments.

    I agree that the sailors were clear on what it meant to throw Jonah overboard as they even attempted to return to land rather then tossing him over the side, but the subject is not the intentions of the sailors, but the intentions of Jonah. So when I stated another plausible option I was not trying to provide a through exegesis of the text, but to say that Eric’s conclusions were based on assumptions and opinions not forthcoming in the text itself. We should all be cautious about inserting intentions on the biblical characters without specific texts to back up our conclusions, or without being more clear that these are merely our opinions and subject to error.

    I went back and read your comments on #14 and I would agree with your statement, I was pointing out in your comment to me that you didn’t seem to agree with Eric, which you clearly have reservations about. I guess I was not clear.

    I would also agree that “a” purpose for the book of Jonah serves as a rebuke to Israel, but Eric is making connection between what God intended to reveal as a rebuke, as you have stated, and the worlds perception of Christians. God’s perspective is right in His judgment of Israel and Judah, but just because the world hates the church for openly speaking out against sin and presenting the exclusive claims that Jesus is the only means of salvation does not mean that their assessment is correct in that the church hates them and is attempting to determine who God should love.

    Comment by Michael Cordich - May 18, 2009 @ 03:56 PM

  19. Hello Michael and Keith!

    Thanks for taking an interest in this very important conversation.  Communicating all I wanted to communicate in a brief article (which is half as long as comment #13) is difficult.  This is why I wrote a book on the subject called “Peppermint-Filled Pinatas,” and why I have invited you to continue the conversation over lunch, Michael.

    Let me clarify a few things in response to your comments:

    I don’t know Jonah’s exact state of mind, but I think we have all agreed he did not have the right attitude.  The text seems to be quite clear he would rather die than see the people of Nineveh rescued by God.  My point is this: Do we have the same attitude or tendency to see those who believe differently as our enemies?  Ironically, Jonah had a very good reason to despise the people of Nineveh due to their savage treatment of his people.  We don’t have the same excuse.

    By a lack of distractions I meant that he did not have a lot to do in the belly of the giant fish.

    I commented in #6 that “Jonah may have had the message of God for the people, but he did not share Gods heart for the people.”  I disagree that our attitude doesn’t matter as much as long as we proclaim the Gospel.  If it didn’t matter, then God wouldn’t have rebuked Jonah in chapter 4.

    Acts 2:47 describes the early church as “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”  Wouldn’t it be amazing if people without faith in Jesus were intrigued by our love and character rather than repelled by our attitude?

    Jonah was rescued = God had a giant fish swallow him rather than allow him to die and then he caused the fish to spit him out.

    Jonah 3:3 “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh” = Jonah went to the city.

    One way to make sure we don’t have the same attitude as Jonah is to help our communities allow people to belong before they believe.  We need to ask ourselves:  Do we personally have relationships with people who do not follow Jesus?  Are there people who do not follow Jesus connecting to our local church community?  If not, then what should we do about this?

    When we define the church as the Sunday gatherings or the buildings in which we meet, we miss our calling.  Those of us who have a relationship with Jesus = the Church.  The Church should be “set apart” in our behavior and “sent out” into our relationships.  Too often those of us who follow Christ are set apart in our relationships - not developing friendships with others who do not yet believe that Jesus is God.  Allowing people to belong to our lives and belong within our communities gives them the opportunity to see how real God is and how He transforms our lives and can transform theirs.

    Paul even refers to the unbeliever who comes to one of the Corinthians’ gatherings (I Cor. 14:24).  Unfortunately, too many churches are not seeing that happen because we only allow people to belong if they first believe as we do.

    Michael, you are correct when you wrote: “I dont see Eric calling for a proclaiming of the gospel and an embracing of all who repent.”

    Instead, I am calling for the proclaiming of the gospel AND embracing of all those who need to repent.  Too many Christians only embrace those who believe just as we do as you suggested should be the case.

    I think we need to follow Christ’s example and embrace those who have not yet believed as well.

    Hope that helps!

    Comment by Eric Bryant - May 18, 2009 @ 05:09 PM

  20. Keith,

    More on the “belonging before believing” idea can be viewed at this site: 

    http://ericbryant.org/2009/03/18/belonging-before-believing/

    Comment by Eric Bryant - May 18, 2009 @ 05:51 PM

  21. Eric,
    “I am calling for the proclaiming of the gospel AND embracing of all those who need to repent.”  Fantastic!!!  I wish I had phrased it that way in my reply.  Thank you fr your clarifying thoughts on belonging before believing, they were very helpful and I agree.

    Thanks for the e-mail and I am not sure what is up with that link.

    Comment by Keith Walters - May 18, 2009 @ 06:29 PM

  22. Hi,
    Just wanted to add a humble opinion to the above.  I agree wholeheartedly with what you said and love your article.

    As someone who has been very hurt by the church in many deep ways, I became a very judgemental and cynical Christian in the last several years.  The story of Jonah actually gave me much hope during this timeperiod knowing that I can pour out my heart to God, openly and honestly as Jonah did.  There is so much that the Lord has revealed to me these last several years.  Namely that those who judge others typically do so for several reasons. 

    1)  They have been extremely hurt in the past by those they judge
    2) They have sin in their own lives and use it as a defense mechanism because they are afraid
    3) Simple ignorance

    We live in an evil world, and we all have sin in our lives.  Whether its murder, homosexuality, pornography, or judgement and self-righteousness, the answer to it all is love.  And not just a fluffy, fuzzy feeling.  But a love that is ruled in responsibilty, self-sacrafice, and righteousness.  Namely, living out Jesus - especially to those who are judgemental, for their sin is really no different from our own. 

    I think the real question is how many of us have really chosen to love those who are the most difficult to love, the self-righteous.  Christ died for them too.  Choose to do it, armed with prayer, and watch even the hardest of hearts melt.  Love covers a multitude of sins.  If we can love our brothers and sisters as deeply as Christ did, gently exhorting them in the right timing, they will in time see their own sin and change their ways.  Judgement is likely just a manifestation of what they have felt from others in the past.

    Anyhow, just a humble opinion.  Hope it helps. :)

    Comment by Ngoc Du - May 26, 2009 @ 08:27 AM

  23. The church needs this message!

    Comment by Nadine - May 27, 2009 @ 12:56 PM

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