By Brad Harrub
Dear friend, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile. Oh, I see you “smiling” in social media posts, but there is a distinct difference in your smile today, versus 2-3 years ago. You’ve lost that spark that used to light up your entire face. There is a bitterness and hardness in your posts that makes me sad. It seems that you have gone off to college and have been “enlightened” by professors who want you to have a more open mind, and in the process, you have turned your back on almost everything you were taught when you were younger. And that “enlightenment” has brought with it a dark cloud that hovers over you.
Enlightened by the world, but not God?
You now champion the pro-choice movement. You protest at Black Lives Matter rallies. You demand gender equality in everything. Your posts center around things like being empowered, toxic masculinity, and white privilege. You have surrounded yourself with likeminded liberal friends and have stopped talking to the Christians you grew up with. And, sadly, your relationship with God has grown cold. It’s painfully obvious to anyone who has known you for a few years.
I realize that according to your college courses I am a big part of the “problem.” I am a conservative white male, which according to some of your professors ranks me just slightly above being a terrorist. And I also realize that you are likely not to pay much attention to what I say because I am a white male.
However, I would beg you for just a few minutes to focus on a single word: soul. Do your newfound political alliances enrich the soul God gave you? Do your friends honestly care about where your soul will spend eternity? Do your professors that are filling your head with all of this new liberal information even believe you have a soul? If you died tonight, where would your soul spend eternity? When is the last time you thought about your own soul?
Deep down in the recesses of your mind you know the evidence is there that Jesus walked the earth. You know the tomb was empty. You probably even miss some of the songs you grew up singing. Please reconsider the path you have started down.
You probably suspect I am going to make this plea about “us” versus “them.” That’s not my goal. I am a sinner, just like your new friends… and so my goal is not to have you pick sides—my goal is to rekindle your love with the only person who has walked this earth who was not a sinner—Jesus Christ. It’s not about whether I agree politically with your new ideology. It’s not about taking “sides.” It’s about whether we can be united in Christ, and redeemed by His blood.
Yes, I will freely admit to you that the church has not gotten everything right. I will admit there are hypocrites in the church (just like there are in all groups). Hypocrites (and everyone else) need the blood of Jesus! I will even admit that I grew up in an educational system that emphasized the accomplishments of white men. But none of that changes the very real fact that you and I need Jesus. He (and He alone) is the source of true peace, joy, and salvation.
I beg you to take some time over the next few days and think about your soul. Think about your inner peace and where your allegiance is. Consider how much true joy and happiness you have in your life. And then ask yourself, am I on His side—because at the end of the day that is the only side that matters. I hope you will think on these things.