By Steve Dunn
I love this cartoon. I share its sentiments. I never have met a fruitcake I liked. I think
most fruit cakes are better suited as a door stop. I have no one I dislike so
much that I would inflict a fruitcake upon them; although I confess that in my
early adulthood I did “re-gift” a fruitcake to someone who actually wanted one
and was disappointed that no one had given them. (I think they are still my friend.)
Although a fruitcake is not a person and does not have
feelings, I sometimes wonder if my contemptuous dismissal of its attraction and
value to someone doesn’t say something negative about me as a person. Something that might create a hole in my heart
as a Christ-follower.
The Bible tells me that sin deserves my contempt but not
the sinner. Although God does not want
us to remain in our sin because it ultimately results in our spiritual death,
He does not stop loving the sinner. There is no contempt towards the person in
the words recorded in John 13:17, “For
God did not send His Son into the world condemn the world, but to save the
world through Him.”
Harboring contempt towards persons for whom Christ died
is the first step towards a judgmentalism that stops seeing the value that
Christ sees in them.
So maybe I need to give the lowly fruitcake a break.
© 2017 by Stephen L. Dunn. You have permission to reprint this provided
it is unchanged, proper authorship is cited, it is in a publication not for
sale, and a link is provided to this site or to www.drstevedunn.com. For all other uses, contact Steve at
sdunnpastor@gmail.com
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