Hello there.
I know that you don't know me, but I have become very aware of who you are. I don't say this to be at all disrespectful, but the response that you made to the Orlando shooting is something that I no longer can stay quiet about.
Yes, this is days after the initial newsreel. Yes, this is days after many other people have responded and other events have happened. But, I have chosen to sit quietly to genuinely understand the best way for me to respond in this situation:
I will not condone your behavior in response to this shooting. I will not acknowledge you as a representation of who Jesus is to this world. Because you are not. The fact that the deaths of these people is finality in their separation from Jesus is not something to celebrate. The fact that there is now absolutely no way for them to have an opportunity to see who Jesus is and how much he adores them is heartbreaking.
Again, I will not condone your behavior in response to this shooting, nor will I align myself with the claim that you are a Jesus follower. If you claim to be a Christian, someone who follows after Jesus with his whole heart in a desire to honor and glorify Him with your life, then this absolutely should not have been your response. As Christians, we have been called to connect people to Jesus and help them grow to love and serve Him. It is because of people like you that so many are disgusted with the idea of having a relationship with Jesus.
The reality is this: The more that you choose to point fingers, point out sinful behavior and shut down any chance of relationship with people who don't have relationship with Jesus, the more you push them further from Him. Because of responses like yours, many people will not make decisions to put their trust in Jesus because you are the only "representation" that they have had the opportunity to see.
This is what I know. As Christians, we have been called to love each other. As Christians, we have been called to love people who don't know Jesus. This is a wonderful example of not loving like Jesus. This is a wonderful example of people being driven away from possible relationship with Jesus.
Because of your response, many people now see this amazing, loving God, as an angry, hateful God. They aren't going to see Him as the One who came as a sacrifice for us because He adores us and wants to be with us. They aren't going to see Him as the One who provides and protects us. They aren't going to see Him as the One who rejoices when just one of us turns to Him. They just won't. And it's heartbreaking.
I want to leave you with a gentle reminder: You cannot expect people who don't know Jesus to act like they do. You cannot hold people who are not Jesus followers to the standards of those who do. That would be like expecting a baby who doesn't even know what walking is to start roller skating; it doesn't work.
Our response, as people who know and love Jesus, should be a loving one. A lot of the time, we are going to be the only Jesus that many people have the opportunity to see. Let's be the people that show the grace and mercy that Jesus gives, because honestly, none of us deserve it anyways, so what would make you think that they don't deserve it, either?
