Last
week, one of my Facebook friends shared a post from author Richard Paul Evans.
Now
I will be frank, and admit that I am not familiar with Mr. Evans
work. When I am not at work, I suppose I spend far too much time on
my computer, taking care of the blogs, researching for posts, reading
the news, etc. I seldom read a book anymore, and I am out of touch
with who writes what lately.
The
thing I am talking about here though, is not about Mr. Evans writing,
but a post he made and asked to be shared regarding a letter he
received from an "anonymous" person from a church where he
had in his own words: "I came to your church to tell you
about God’s love for His children. And to talk about the beauty of
His forgiveness. I don’t think you heard me. Or, at least, believed
me. You wrote in your letter that I had no place in a house of God,
as I was clearly a sinful man and that my sins were “manifested
across my face”, revealed by my many facial tics."
Now,
I am not going to reproduce his entire response on this post, but you
can go
read it here.
It
makes me wonder, how the person who wrote him, deems themselves to be
so qualified as to judge the heart of a person. How do they deem
someone...anyone... to be sinful as being indicated by their "many
facial tics"?
Did
I miss out on something? Did Jesus Himself....any of the
apostles...any of the many saints...any of the great Church
writers... teach that we could always spot a sinner by his or her
"many facial tics"? If having facial tics is proof
that someone is a sinner, then who among us would not be constantly
plagued with tics?
The
"anonymous" letter writer apparently failed to read two
very, very important passages from scripture. The first being about
judging as found in Matthew 7: 1-2 and the other from 1
John 1: 8-10 where the Evangelist warns us about saying we have
no sin. It might also benefit anonymous to read 1 John 2: 9-11
as well.
The
thing that also got me was the assertion from "anonymous"
that Mr. Evans "had no place in a house of God"
because Mr. Evans, in the view of "anonymous", "was
clearly a sinful man".
How
can anyone not know...not realize... that the House of God is a
place for sinners, and full of sinners. Jesus
said to the Pharisees who caught the woman accused of adultery, "Let
he who is without sin cast the first stone". I can't cast a
stone. Can you? Can "anonymous"? Has "anonymous"
ever read Romans 3:23?
We
have all sinned. We have all fallen short of the Glory of God. The
house of God is meant for sinners. It is full of sinners. If the
house of God excluded sinners, who would be in it? Who could be in
it? Not me, or you who are reading this. The house of God is meant
for the sinners to come before God and to seek His forgiveness, and
His Redemption through Jesus Christ. If a House of God excluded
sinners, then there would not be any salvation for anyone. Indeed, a
House of God would not even exist!
What
"anonymous" also fails to see, is that Mr. Evans is bearing
his cross in Christ. He has been given a cross to bear, and he bears
it with conviction and courage. Many have crosses to bear...whether
they be facial tics...mental illness...physical illness...spiritual
weakness...all have crosses to bear and in different degrees. None of
us are told that we will never have to suffer.
Our
Lord suffered for us, so why should we think that since He suffered
for all of our transgressions, we should never have to suffer at all?
Saint Augustine of Hippo reminds us "God had only one Son
without sin, but never one without suffering".
Saint
Ignatius of Loyola also tells us "If God causes you to suffer
much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He
certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a
great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for
suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy
love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great
sacrifice of boundless charity."
Saint
Aloysius Gonzaga also said "There is no more evident sign
that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see
him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to desolation,
suffering, and trials."
So
"anonymous" willingly allowed themselves to miss seeing a
man willingly bearing his cross, in unity with Christ bearing His
cross. This person failed to do, what we should all do, and that is
to see Christ in each and every person we meet.
For
Christ is in all who believe and trust in Him, and follows His
commandments.
To
not see Christ in others...to only see Him in ourselves...is to deny
Christ and His salvific power.
In
the end, the letter from “anonymous” to Mr. Evans, says more
about the serious spiritual work “anonymous” needs to learn about
and practice than it does about anything else.
