Innocent Bystander

I have been a huge M.A.S.H. fan since I was young boy. I watched the reruns on TV everyday. It was one of the few programs I looked forward to. Even as an adult now, I still love to sit down and watch the episodes over again. Recently, I was able to get the entire series on DVD. One of the episodes,War is Hell, had an interesting discussion on war and hell. It was between a Catholic priest (Father Mulcahy) and a Doctor (Capt. Hawkeye).

Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse. 

Father Mulcahy: How do you figure, Hawkeye? 

Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell? 

Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe. 

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander. 

As I was thinking about this quote, I realized that Hawkeye, was close to something, but not quite right. In war many innocent people are casualties. But what about his view of Hell. Yes it is true that sinners go to Hell, but how many of those sinners are people who never heard the gospel? Innocent children, teens, and adults, who have never been reached out to?  How many people do we have in our lives that could be considered innocent bystanders? Do we have those in our lives that we don’t know for sure if they are going to Heaven or Hell? Are we sharing the gospel with them?  After all, there is a spiritual war going on, and we, God’s people are called to share with those who don’t know the gospel. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as thogh God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). It is up to us to make sure that Hawkeye’s statement is true, “There are no bystanders in Hell.”

What About Love?

Recently, I watched a documentary about the Church and the Culture wars of America, called Lord Save Us From Your Followers. One of the things I found interesting was the idea of having a civilized conversation about Jesus and faith. All to often our conversations are anything but civilized. In America, faith almost seems to be denominationally driven.  We seem so focused on making sure that we are right and any other Christian is wrong. We often reduce complex issues down to a simple bumper sticker slogan. Is it any wonder then that non believers look at the Church they no longer see Christ? 

Is this Church that the Bible envisioned? What should the church look like? Paul tells that we are to be ambassadors of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:19. So what does that mean. Webster defines it  either an official envoy or representative for diplomatic purposes. This means that we are to reach out peacefully to non-christians and to each other. That is the message that has been lost in America. It is time we realize that God created all people. He loves his creation. He sent his son for “WHOEVER” believes.

 So how do we show this love? It is time we welcome people as they are. Do they drink? Welcome them. Are they homeless? Welcome them. Are they Divorced?Welcome them. If you are a Baptist, welcome the Methodist. Are you a Protestant welcome the Catholic. We are all part of the Body of Christ, each a vital and important part. We all look to Christ as the head. If the church today would do that, just imagine How the Spirit could work.

Instead, We seem to focus only on the hate, the differences. That needs to stop. How can we judge a world that does not know Christ by the same standard we judge ourselves? How can we judge our brothers and sisters in Christ? We may seek the spirit of Church, but when did we become the judges? I ask that you join myself and countless others who are trying to welcome all with love that Christ gave us.