Let Me Bake It, and I'll Take the Commandments off the Wall, Too

Dear person who doesn't have faith,

I can bake the cake. I can understand why some might be hesitant, and I don't want them to burden their consciences, so let me bake it. 

Just do me a favor and NEVER let me consider my faith be more important than your faith. You are too important to Jesus for that. I'm not sure if you know it, but I subscribe to a set of beliefs that are so thoroughly satisfying and so full of hope that I don't need to worry about me and mine and what I want anymore. My greatest concern is that people who don't know or buy into these beliefs learn them and get to experience the overwhelming joy and comfort that comes with them. 

Whatever it takes, whatever cheek I can turn, whatever accommodation you need - if it has even the remotest chance of making you interested in Jesus, I'll do it. Even if you and I have fundamentally different philosophies about life, that's ok. I'm very confident that God's approach is best and I'll be selfless like he taught me until you can't ignore my selflessness anymore. 

My relationship with Jesus isn't in jeopardy when I do, because I trust him to take perfect care of me. He saved me, called me, sanctified me, and holds onto me. I haven't done anything to have the relationship that I have with him, and I'm not worried that he'll forake me now (he would be wasting a great deal of his effort.)

All I care about is that you get to know Jesus. 

Do you need a cake? Let me bake you one. Or four. And it (or they) will be the best cakes you've ever had, because I'm a cake-baker and my God calls me to do my best for his glory and your good. You can have my cake and eat it, too. Please. It's arguably one of the best ways for me to show you how interested I am in your well-being. 

I hope you like the cake. I really worked hard at making it good, just like I do all the cakes I make because that's what Christians are like. We work hard, we strive for excellence, we care about what we do so the lives of the folks around us are enriched and so that people can see that we care about making our God very proud.  

Yes, I know right and wrong, and just like you I do wrong things. But God led with love when he saved me, and it made me appreciate what he said was best. I suspect that if I do the same for you, you may end up interested in what God says is best, too. Not because I believe in it, but because it works.  

Thanks for your time, 

Pastor Kent Reeder - Illumine Church