3/52 stumbling block

I was afraid of a lot of things as a kid. Spiders. The dark. Heights. I've managed to outgrow most of these fears, but one has persisted. Though it has waxed and waned in intensity over the years, it doesn't appear to be going away. But that's okay. Sometimes fear can be good. It keeps you alive. (No one's going to care that you weren't afraid of the lion if it still eats you.)

My greatest fear is that I would be a stumbling block. I never want to be that person someone points to and says, "That's why I don't want to be a Christian." There are numerous factors that affect our faith decisions. It's too vindictive to blame any one person. But it's also wrong to say that it was mere hardness of heart. Growing up, I didn't have a strong aversion to religion. But I was strongly repulsed by a certain Christian in my life. I've always known that hypocrisy played a major role, but while listening to Henry Drummond's The Changed Life this week, I realized there was an even deeper underlying issue.

The Christianity that nearly drove me away as a kid was one devoid of love. It's so easy to get caught up in having the right doctrine that we forget-- the entire law can be summed up in two commandments: to love God and to love others. We often deceive ourselves by thinking rituals and offerings can prove our love. But in truth, when we love truly and wholeheartedly, then everything else follows naturally. 

"Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."-1 Corinthians 13:13