First Baptist Church of Herndon

The Label You Live

Linda Soller | Jul 04, 2016

We all have lots of labels. Some are just the facts. I am an adult and I am a parent. Notice I didn’t say an old or young adult. I also did not say a good or bad parent. Those qualifiers would further define my labels. There are labels we select to describe ourselves, as we see ourselves. I am a knitter and I am a Christian. There are no rules in place to stop me selecting such labels. For others to agree those labels are accurate is a different matter. There are also labels we may be unaware of. Those are the ones others give us, although not always to our face, and often reflect our actions and attitudes. For most of us, our labels evolve as we ourselves change and experience life.

A small Baptist congregation gained recognition protesting at the funerals of veterans. More recently they protested at the funerals of those killed in Orlando. Baptist congregations enjoy a great deal of autonomy which is wonderful on the one hand, and clearly problematic on the other. It breaks my heart to think there are people who see that small group first as Baptists, and assume all Baptists are the same. I, on the other hand, am confident they don’t even represent a small percentage of Baptists, but there won’t be anyone from the papers asking me for my opinion. I personally question how Christian they can be, as the victims of their selfish, dare I say self-righteous actions, are the people who are guilty only of loving those who have passed away. I tend to think some lone individual has convinced the group of the need for such insensitive actions. In my mind, they are more of a cult, at the very least terribly misguided. Yet there they are, this very small group, on the national news. In contrast was another small group, who chose to put themselves out there dressed as Angels, to block the protestors from the mourners. A bit over the top, perhaps, but they made their point.  I thanked God for their efforts.

We live in a country where you can claim to be pretty much whatever you want. Our freedom is our national treasure, so that small group can call themselves Baptists and Christians. They are free to do so, as frustrating as that may be for the rest of us. The people around us will watch our actions, hear our words, and ultimately think what they want. In my heart I don’t think everyone believes this small group truly represents Baptists as a whole. Call me crazy, but I give mankind more credit than that. I am certain if you are reading this blog, you know better. As a Christian, as a Baptist, or whatever your denomination happens to be, we are called to love. We are told “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matt 5: 4).

In life, you have been given labels, and you have chosen labels. What labels will you live?

Happy Birthday USA!    : o)  Linda