Before I say anything else, Old People’s Bible study is awesome. It is a struggle to try and contain it in an hour and a half… or forty five. I am always blessed.
The men were in part two of the Bible study series Not a fan. The video aspect can be slow at times, but, if nothing else, it is deeply layered. Gary and Erik were friends from a young age, never quite fitting in at school and getting into trouble. They’d drink and party together, and this behavior persisted in some form until their forties. Gary had been divorced, and Erik wasn’t far away from the same – his wife had just handed him the papers. With the sudden stress, Erik has a heart attack that eventually leads him to make a decision to follow Christ… and leave Gary behind. After a few years of getting his life and marriage together, Erik tries to reconcile with Gary, but Gary is unresponsive. Another few years later, Erik has a fatal heart attack which forces Gary to evaluate the past friendship and Erik’s subsequent transformation.
Sorry. I know that was a lot.
At the beginning of the video, Pastor Kyle Idleman recounts a story about his young daughter. She spilled pink nail polish on the couch, panicked, and hid the stain by flipping the cushion over. When the stain was discovered, she broke down and ran upstairs. When Pastor Kyle was comforting her, she asked, “Do you still love me?” to which he responded with an overwhelming yes. Her mother went so far as to say that there wasn’t a stain large enough to make them stop loving her. Over the next couple of weeks, something strange took place in their daughter: Whenever company was over at the house, she took them to go see the stain and tell the story.
So that’s the background for the discussion, which inevitably found itself on the question, “Why are non-believers and believers uncomfortable hanging out with each other?” After all, Gary and Erik were best friends until Erik’s conversion. One of the men talked about Christian jargon. If he walked into a conversation between two guys about computers, he might stick around for a few minutes to be polite, but would end up ditching because he didn’t know a thing about computers and couldn’t relate to or understand the conversation. And there’s merit to that point – we end up using a bunch of long, loaded words and inside jokes, and someone on the outside might feel uncomfortable or simply lose interest.
But at the same time, the idea of the stain came up. Jesus washes us clean, right? We are white as snow, with no more staining sin.
This is where non-believers and believers cannot relate to one another. There are two kinds of people: The people who see that they are imperfect and stained; and the people who pretend that they’re not. And Christians should be able to relate to both of them.
Most of the time, when we talk (or sing) about sinful life, even if we know better, we use a bunch of phrases like ‘sanctification’ and ‘forgiveness.’ “Sanctify me, clean me, and wash my sin away.” “I’m dead to sin, presented without blemish before the throne of God.” And unwittingly, we have only given half the picture. Our stains are suddenly not badges of honor testifying to the glory of God.
And just as suddenly, you’re not a real human being. No one can relate to you.
Isn’t it odd? In Jesus’ time, the people attracted to Him were the stained people, and the people who took offense were those pretending to be clean. And now, somehow, the perception is that Christians and stained people can’t relate very well to one another.
