Deep Friendship
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the scripture is John 15:12-14 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
If you say, I do not think that anyone should convert other people; what you are saying is, My view of God is better than your view, and your view is narrow. You are doing the very thing at that moment that you are forbidding that person to do. You are saying, Do not say that your view of God is better than someone else; but when you say, Do not claim that you have superior truth and all of that, you are actually refusing to do the very thing that you are making other people do. You are saying, I have a view of spiritual reality that is better than your view of spiritual reality.
There is always a certain exclusivity in your beliefs about God because everybody has beliefs about God even if you are an agnostic. You are betting your whole life on your belief that there is not one or that you do not need to know one. Everybody is basing their life and their eternity on that view of God, and everybody thinks that their take on spiritual reality is better than other people. You also think that the world would be better off if more people believed like you do. There is nothing wrong with that.
Here is what is wrong. How do you treat people who differ from you? If you hate bigots, do you not feel superior to them? Then you are a bigot. If you are deeply religious and you only love people who love or believe just like you or who are moving in that direction, why would anyone want to believe or convert to your view of God?
The most transforming thing that facilitates an encounter with God is unconditional love in a powerful friendship. If you love people in deep friendship regardless of what they believe, what you believe is going to look pretty credible.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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