An open letter to MAGA Christians

Dear folks,

I know you. I have relatives who feel like you do, who believe what you believe, who have essentially decent hearts but maybe not so much self-awareness.

Deep inside, you know when you have wronged Christ.

You know He didn’t want you to hate anyone else; He preached against that very thing. He protected the little children, and He protected a woman accused of promiscuity. He healed lepers, who were shunned from society — much like people with AIDS were not so long ago, and as many people are cast aside today. He loved everyone. He died for our sins, and rose again, and it’s darn hard to believe He would approve of some of the things being done in His name lately.

When you are a Christian, the New Testament is the most important part of the Bible. It’s where Christ’s words are, his parables, his examples for us.

Revelation is one of the books some folks turn to when they think the world is falling apart, and it has some thoughts that seem especially relevant now:

22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

If you find yourself wondering whether the people you associate with fit that first group or the second group, look closely at what they do, not what they say. Because right now there are folks who seek personal gain while claiming to be Christian. Those people have always been on Earth — look at Judas, if you want to return to the Scriptures — and they succeed, when they do, because enough of us want to believe the things they say. We want so hard for what they say to be true that we will look away from what they do.

But actions speak, and lies are easy.

And the very hardest thing to do is to admit you were taken in; it makes you look ignorant, or foolish, or worse. You have to admit your sins before you can be absolved of them, unfortunately — admit to yourself that someone lied to you and you chose to believe them. Confession means…confessing that you wanted to believe, and deliberately blinded yourself to the possibility that what you thought was true of someone was not.

This Easter, please look at those you love, and look at those you follow unquestioningly, as ask yourself: Is this someone who “does” His commandments?