18 years ago, I became a blood bought, holy rolling, sanctified and redeemed Child of the living God, who has saved me from the Pit of Hell and taken me from Glory to Glory, and all that other christianese lingo that seems to really desensitize what Christ really did. Here's my story, and some of you may not like what i'm about to say...some may give me a big "Glory Hallelujah, Praise Be to Jesus" after this. This is just things i'm noticing and where i'm at in this journey of mine. It all started 18 years ago, when i prayed what is called the "sinner's prayer". Someone lead me in a prayer admitting that i am a sinner and that I need God to forgive me, and become a child of God. So i then started reading books, going to church services, and finding new friends and doing like most of us do..seperating ourselves from the world. I began to really notice the call of God on my life. I noticed something though, and i'm not saying this arrogantly...this calling wasn't small, for some reason, I knew and still believe that it's bigger than I can imagine. For years, i read books on Chasing God, praying to God, living according to the spirit, and dreaming dreams. I went through the phase of man..I just gotta be in God's presence. You know...where you stay at the church services till well after the service is over. Where you go to prayer meetings and Chase God like never before. I had my WWJD bracelets, my christian 91.5 WCIC bumper sticker, had my 7 christian T-shirts to wear to school everyday just so i could be a witness. I even carried my bible..just to prove I wasn't ashamed. I even stood up in classes and did speeches why abortion is wrong. After high school, I started college and never finished. I kept involved in a college group. However, my heart was youth ministry, and i kept in that as well. I guess what i'm saying is...if it was the "christian" thing to do...I did it. I've prayed against abortion and homosexuality. I've read the purpose driven life and been filled with the holy spirit several times. I've even gone on mission's trips. I've prayed to get prayer back in school...I mean we are after all a Christian nation right? God after all wants us to have a Christian School, and a christian business, basically be this nice Utopia of a Christian community where everything is...Perfect for us right? I mean...then life would be grand and so much easier. Having laws that support the christian faith and allowing us to be free. What could ever be wrong with this? It does sound grand. This is where i'm going to burst some bubbles. Here's my thought's on all of this. Before people start crucifying me, I don't agree with Abortion, I don't agree with homosexuality and most liberal movements. I do own a gun, I do hunt, and I love my freedom. So most of the right wingers out there...don't worry, I haven't lost it. Most of what i just described is just about every christian's experience. Have you ever been doing something for so long, and everything you were doing was right...but something was still missing? See, this is where i'm at. If you keep up alot on statistics and the amount of people leaving church, you would think there's something wrong in the church. Granted, i'm not saying there isn't. Over the last several years, there's been a steady flow of people leaving the church. Alot of people are upset by this, and scared that there's a big falling away that is happening. I've heard that within several years, only 4% of the nation could be considered Christian. Here's just a thought....how many of us have ever done something because it was the "in" thing to do? How many of us have done things because it was expected of us to do it? 50 years ago, it could probably be said that it was expected for most people to go to church, to have a bible on their family table and for the most part be outstanding "christian" people in society. I mean, after all, most of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence where considered Christians. It was the "in" thing to do. Thing about this is, after time, you stop following the in crowd and do things that really matter to you. With that, I guess what i'm saying is, after time, people got tired of following rules and expectations and just stopped going to church. I guess the question i'm asking is...did people really fall away...or did they just stop pretending? I'm not one of those people that says if you leave the church you were never saved, but I do know something about a term called Fad's or phases..eventually..people drop them. Society changed, that's what happens when your just fitting in. Eventually you stop. We had a Christian nation, with Christian rules, with Christian expectations. I've been giving this alot of thought, and what some would call the church going down the tube, i call..God pruning his church. See, I think what happened is, people lived by rules and thought that they were earning God's favor because maybe they didn't have a business open on Sunday, or they went to church on Sunday's, but they missed out on the most important part...a relationship, something real. Here's just a crazy thought, but perhaps all the law's and tribulations that the government and media are giving Christians today isn't necessarily a bad thing. For too long, the church has been comfortable. The church has been all about being a social community or Utopia which Pastor Chris Spicer calls it in his book the 8 characteristics of highly effective Christians. How do you seperate the real from the fake? How do you grow? Is it by staying in this place of utopia or actually having to learn things the hard way..by going through them. I personally believe the days of the Utopia are gone. We can pray against abortion, homosexuality,etc, but if we pray that it becomes illegal...won't we just be going backwards? I mean, do we really want people to do the christian thing, because it's what's expected or because they want to? The church in Acts was born out of persecution and trials. They were the real people of god.
If God truly is coming for a pure and spotless bride...I think it's going to come through hardships and persecution...not a Christian utopia of people just waiting for the Glory land.
After 18 years of following Christ, I've realized that being like him, means going through what he goes through. Christ dealt with these same utopians..they were the religious people of his day. I ask you and myself, are we playing it safe with our Christian society, or are we really wanting to be like Christ? Just food for thought here...but when Jesus met the lady at the well, she didn't need another law telling her not to have affairs or sleep with people...that was only a symptom of a greater need in her life. Laws will never fix the real issues. Maybe we should focus more on fixing the real issues than trying to make symptoms illegal.
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