At the beginning
Of my journey into conservative Christianity
I heard this sermon:
“If Christians were rounded up and put on trial, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
And I thought, Of course there would be. I know my Bible. I pray. I have memorized countless verses.
But then, at the beginning of the AIDS crisis, when Christians were condemning homosexuals and saying this disease was proof of God’s judgment on their immoral lifestyle, my brother, a Presbyterian minister, honored people with AIDS and their caregivers by having a dinner for them at his church. I thought about that action for years. Now there’s a conviction.
In the middle
Of my thirty years of homeschooling
I heard a homeschool convention speaker say:
“Ninety percent of homeschoolers vote in national elections when they are old enough to vote. That fact alone should have politicians shaking in their boots.”
And I thought, That’s a pretty remarkable fact. That’s a lot of power. Dear God, may they use it wisely.
But then, I watched my own homeschool convention heroes fall one by one. Joshua Harris renounced his faith. Cheryl Lindsey was excommunicated. Doug Phillips had an affair. They all are, after all, very human. And that voting power is a little scary.
And now,
I watch “Christians”
Wielding a sword and showing no love.
Dear God, I pray, convict me of compassion. May there be evidence of that in my life. Not power. Not judgment. Just kindness.
This is my submission to SoCS where the challenge was to write a stream-of-consciousness post using the words, “at the beginning.“
It’s also a response to the W3 Challenge this week in which the poet of the week challenged us to use one or both of the following images and write Prosimetrum or Versiprose: both forms combine alternating passages of prose and verse.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 