It has been a long time since I've written a blog, but my heart is pretty unsettled tonight. So...here I am doing something I hardly ever do. I'm going to write about a very controversial issue.
Right now, my Facebook news feed is full of updates to people commenting on the "Support Kountze Kids Faith" group page. I want to admit, first, that if I were in high school during this issue, I probably would have been the creator of that group. Also, I'm not saying I don't "support" the demonstration of faith these kids have shown in using scripture on their football signs. I think that is wonderful.
What I really want to talk about is our "rights" as Christians. The word right implies that one would deserve something. These people are fighting for their "right" to free speech because the rest of America enjoys that right. I think that understanding the Gospel fully means understanding that you have no rights. Scripture teaches us that the only thing we deserve is hell. It teaches us that on our own, there is not an ounce of good in us. The most beautiful thing is that the Gospel is a love story about how Christ loved us anyway. He knew we were this wretched, yet he died on a cross to pay the price so we didn't have to.
What I'm wondering is- where do we "Christians" get that we deserve anything? It is a privilege to be in a country where we get to proclaim the name of Jesus without being killed yet we use that freedom to push our personal motives and to back our football signs. I don't get it. Our job as followers of Christ is to make Him famous yet we are boasting about how the Lions remain undefeated. What if we spent half of the energy we are into keeping our football signs into investing into the lives of the people who don't know this precious Jesus? I would love it if we could give up our "rights" for a little while because lately all they seem to do is convey hate.
Honestly, tonight I'm not feeling "proud" of my small home town and the statement they are making. I'm feeling overwhelmed with sadness that they can come together like this over a football sign, but I have never seen them come together like this to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus to the lost.
I'll end by saying: I'm writing this post in response to the issue as a whole. I know there are definitely people who have tried to bring the group back to stay focused on Christ and to discourage the hate being shown to non-believers. I'll also say that this is my view on the issue, and it may not be yours. That is okay.
