Open Letter, pt 2

August 31, 2017

To the person watching the screen,

This is probably the hardest of the letters to write. And it’s not primarily because it’s the section that would preach most clearly to me, since I’ve often found myself in this position over the past fifteen years. The reason it’s the hardest is because I’m at a loss for how to best go about writing this. I could come with the “you’re helping people stay enslaved in sin” approach, which if you don’t know Christ doesn’t mean anything to you, and if you do know Christ just adds unnecessary condemnation to your plate. However, I could also come with the “Jesus loves you” approach, which if you don’t know Christ won’t change your outlook on this sin, and if you do know Christ it will come across as, “cool, I knew that.” So I don’t exactly know what to say. Except for this:

The Law of God is divided into two portions. “Love God and love people.” This law is universal, and not simply for believers. The whole world will be judged for failing to live up to this law. And while the only way to truly love other people is by being confronted by the life-changing love of Jesus (which I will hit on in a second), the fact is that we are expected to love people—thinking of them and their good before we think of ourselves and our selfish wants. In fact we were preprogrammed to be selfless and loving, but when sin came in with Adam and Eve, hatred, selfishness, and apathy entered—making love an almost impossible reality. This is why everyone falls in and out of love so easily. We don’t know how to think of others’ needs before our own.

So here’s my conclusion: if you’re a believer, you’re called to love fellow believers, your family, your neighbors, and even your enemies. In short, you’re called to love everyone without question. No one should be exempt from your love. And this love—believer, family, neighbor, enemy—must always be selfless love. Therefore when you are gazing at a person/persons on a computer screen, you are fulfilling your own selfish pleasure and not at all being loving. In which case you are not fulfilling the basic requirement of being a Christian as described in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (emphasis added). What are pornstars but very literally orphans and widows? By gazing at them and enjoying what they’re doing, you are not looking after them, but looking at them and doing nothing for them.

If you’re not a believer, you more than likely don’t care about following God’s law. You don’t care about truly loving others. You really want to just get what you can out of this life—selfishly or otherwise. Here’s the thing though: as a nonbeliever, you are judged by what you do. Revelation 20:12 makes that blatantly clear. If you don’t love others as Christ loved, you will be judged for that. However, if you turn to Christ and put your faith in Him, your imperfect love will be placed on Him, and you will be judged by His perfect love. Everyone is judged by what they do: if in Christ, you are judged by what Christ did, if outside of Christ, you are judged by what you have done yourself. If, as most, you are an unloving, selfish person, you will be judged as such. If you trust Christ, you are judged as a perfectly loving person, even though you will occasionally, and frequently, fall.

So let me explain why I can say that Jesus is so loving. He came to earth—from God—as an infant. God in the bod of a totally helpless babe. Selfless. He grew up, never disobeying his parents—loving and compassionate—despite the fact that they weren’t perfect parents. And then He started a ministry of love where He gave hope to society’s outcasts: tax collectors, prostitutes, military rebels. And then, to prove just how much He loved them, He died on the cross that we all deserved. Three days later He rose to prove that His life was spotless, even though He spent time with society’s outcasts. He never sinned; He loved perfectly; and He is God Almighty.

I plead with you to place your faith in Him and turn from your life of sin.

And if you already believe, please recommit to Him and living like Him in this world!

I am on this road with you. Let’s walk it victoriously!

Sincerely,

JW

Part 1: girl on the other side of the screen

Part 3: guy on the other side of the screen

Part 4: person behind the camera

Open Letter, pt 1

August 31, 2017

To the girl on the other side of the screen,

Let me just begin by saying, “I love you,” and it’s based on that truth that I write what I write in what follows. I realize that that phrase has probably been destroyed for you over the years. Perhaps someone told you, “If you do this, then I’ll love you,” and if that’s true, I’m immensely sorry for you. It crushes my heart to know that those kind of things are said and done. When I say, “I love you,” I also don’t mean, “I love what you have to offer.” That’s not love.

Let me explain what true love is. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” And while we’ll probably never meet, my prayer is that you would stumble across this post and be affected by it for better. Loving people is not about what I can get out of it, but how the recipient of the love can benefit. Considering that Jesus was known during His time on earth as a “friend of sinners,” which specifically referred in many instances to being a friend to the sexually deviant, I want you to know that Jesus doesn’t consider Himself too good for you.

And even though your experience with religious people throughout your lifetime may have showcased the exact opposite, and even though you probably now think, “there’s no way for me to escape this life, because who else would hire me so I can make a living?” I need you to know that there is hope for you still. As long as you’re still breathing, Jesus is calling out to you, saying, “I don’t condemn you. Leave your life of sin.”

Perhaps you think, “Why would I want to have anything to do with Jesus? Christians are just a bunch of holier-than-thou, stuck up, prudes.” And I would agree that too often that assessment is true, but I would also say that based on the way Jesus lived, Christians should absolutely not act this way. Jesus embraced with open arms those who were hurting, low, and despised by the “religious people” of His day. Jesus died the death they had all earned—I have earned, you are earning—in order to say, “I love you enough to suffer for you,” because there is no better way to empathize with someone than to suffer in their place.

He died on the cross 2,000 years ago, taking your sin upon himself. When God says, “Do not commit adultery,” which means, “Sexual activity outside marriage is off limits,” and a person engages in sexual activity outside marriage (of which I am not innocent either), that sin alone is enough to earn eternal death because it is against an eternal God. But when Jesus died, He said, “I am willing to die this death in their place, Father. Accept me in their place.” And the proof that God accepted Him was when He was raised again three days later. For this reason, I plead with you: Believe in Jesus, and leave this life you’ve grown used to. It doesn’t have to be this way for you. Jesus offers something better.

If this message affects you for the better, please seek out a church to join. Please don’t stop looking for one until you find a church that teaches Jesus as central and lives like He lived—loving those that are hurting. Praying for you.

Sincerely,

JW

Part 2: person watching the screen

Part 3: guy on the other side of the screen

Part 4: person behind the camera

The People God Used

The past year has been extremely tough, and as such I just need to thank the people who—prior to me returning to California—have helped me stay sane the past six months.

First off, I need to thank Jeff and Christina for allowing me to rent their extra house from them for the months of December to May. It was extremely beneficial in many respects, including, but not limited to, easily allowing me to have a cat that helped me to stay sane and also helping me to remove myself from a very unhealthy roommate situation just prior. You guys rock. Thanks again.

Next, I need to thank Jacob. You’ve put up with me and my need to talk to someone from back home exceptionally well for the past 6 months. You also helped continue to convince me that California is where I need to be.  Congrats on getting married in a week, and I’m extremely sorry I won’t be able to make the wedding. :(

Next I need to give a shout out to the Facebook group I discovered partly through Ryan and Gregory. The Reformed Pub has greatly helped me stay theologically grounded and encouraged in faith and fun (jokes and memes mainly) for the past six months. Keep doing what you’re doing and ignore the naysayers.

Thanks to that Facebook group, I also have to thank Nathan. We met and talked over coffee at the perfect opportunity. I was seriously struggling in my walk and with the church I was at, and you introduced me to the Way Church and thus Seth and Matt. In addition, I love that we could talk theology late into the night.

In addition to Nathan, I also met Brandon through the Facebook group. Thanks for taking time to meet and talk theology, even though it was an already scheduled time. I bought Thomas Schreiner’s book and am eager to dive into it in the next few weeks.

I mentioned Seth a paragraph ago. Thanks for being eager to meet with me and encourage me in the faith. Your five sermons I heard over the month I was at your church were the five most biblical, gospel-oriented sermons I heard in-person the whole time I was in Missouri. Thank you. In addition, thanks for preaching your last one (of the ones I could go to) directly to me. ;)

In addition, I mentioned Matt. Thanks for being so welcoming to me, even though I was hesitant about getting involved somewhere that I’d ultimately just be leaving in a few weeks. Your time and encouragement meant the world.

Finally, it would be wrong of me not to give a shout out to Nick and Alysia. Thanks for organizing Taco Tuesdays and going out of your way to see if I could make it. Those times were superb, and some really great memories from Missouri. In addition, I must also thank Sunni (a superb store manager) for finally letting me have Tuesdays off for it around my last month of work. I’ll miss Walgreens 11666 for sure!

To conclude, thanks again to all of you. You mean the world to me, and I hope we can somehow stay in touch over the next months and years despite the distance. If you know the Lord, I’m praying for you to grow in Him. If you don’t, in addition to praying for your health and safety, I’m also praying that you would come to know Him. He is good, and His goodness is shown in the people He puts in our lives. He put Jesus in everyone’s life by sending Him to earth 2,000 years ago. Then He allowed Him to be crucified for our sins and raised Him up three days later for proof of eternal life to those who believe. Do you believe?

Thanks again, to everyone named in here. Praying for you!