reflections
i've been learning a lot about the body of Christ in my time here in Guatemala. some of it has been amazing. it has been a blessing to find other Christians here and to know that we are family. the Church is an incredible blessing from God. i came to a foreign country knowing no one, but i have been surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ for much of my time here. there is a Bible study every tuesday at my school during our 30-minute morning break. there is an english worship service and Bible study on thursday nights - and though it is a bit different than the worship services that i am used to at home and at ACU, the most important thing is that this group of people gathers to worship the same Lord and Savior who loves and saves us all. we are family. when i have needed prayer, i have not hesitated to stop by the café where the church meets to talk to somebody. they even give away free Spanish New Testaments for you to share with other people. and i've had a couple of good friends in my time here who share my faith. we have been able to walk together, to help each other through the daily struggles of life. i have been blessed by the body of Christ here in Antigua.
on the other hand, some of the things i've learned about the body of our Lord have been heart-breaking. i've made friends who are not Christians and one of their biggest excuses for rejecting God's calling on their life is that they have seen the "church" and they want no part of it. there is a DC Talk song from back in the day that begins with a short monologue. it goes something like this:
the number one cause of atheism in the world today is Christians -
who acknowledge God with their mouths and then deny Him by their lifestyles.
that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
i shared those lyrics with one of my new friends and he said "yeah, that's pretty much been the case for me." he was only being honest. but it was like a slap in the face or a blow to the chest. i love the family of God, and i praise God for adopting me into His family. but where have we gone so wrong? "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God" but instead we have become a stinch in the nostrils of the lost. and this is not the scent that "to some is the stinch of death and to others is the fragrance of life" that Paul wrote about. this is the stinch of hypocrisy and sin that nauseates those who get a whiff. one easy example to support this train of thought: the crusades. but let's leave it there, because i wouldn't want to hit too close to home. i wouldn't want to talk about the racial divisions in the Church. or denominational battles that bring people of faith into positions of enemies. and i definitely don't want to approach the topic of "Christians" who go to church 2 or maybe even three times a week, and have happy families, and live in the suburbs and fulfill the american dream, and drive past the same homeless person or the same low-income housing project every day and take no compassion on the poor and the widows and orphans - and those sinners, the very people Jesus Christ came to seek and to save. and by no means do i want to get into a discussion of politics and faith - those two things should remain separate at all times. or better yet, just associate one political party or the other with our faith and support it whole-heartedly without critically thinking about ALL of the issues as they relate to our job of being Christ in the World.
it is a mystery to me. we are supposed to be Christ's hands and feet and voice in the world, but we are fallen people incapable of "becom(ing) the righteousness of God" - and yet i believe that He has already made us just that. He has given us the Holy Spirit and He works in the world through us - His very body. praise God that He is Sovereign, and He has overcome the world for us.
Jesus lived a pretty radical life. He touched people. He went to their homes. He got involved in their lives. and His call to us is pretty radical - pick up your cross and follow Me. be perfect, as I am perfect. go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them everything that I have commanded you. love those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. love them, just as I have loved you.
i, for one, think he meant it.
so what do we do now?
on the other hand, some of the things i've learned about the body of our Lord have been heart-breaking. i've made friends who are not Christians and one of their biggest excuses for rejecting God's calling on their life is that they have seen the "church" and they want no part of it. there is a DC Talk song from back in the day that begins with a short monologue. it goes something like this:
the number one cause of atheism in the world today is Christians -
who acknowledge God with their mouths and then deny Him by their lifestyles.
that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
i shared those lyrics with one of my new friends and he said "yeah, that's pretty much been the case for me." he was only being honest. but it was like a slap in the face or a blow to the chest. i love the family of God, and i praise God for adopting me into His family. but where have we gone so wrong? "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God" but instead we have become a stinch in the nostrils of the lost. and this is not the scent that "to some is the stinch of death and to others is the fragrance of life" that Paul wrote about. this is the stinch of hypocrisy and sin that nauseates those who get a whiff. one easy example to support this train of thought: the crusades. but let's leave it there, because i wouldn't want to hit too close to home. i wouldn't want to talk about the racial divisions in the Church. or denominational battles that bring people of faith into positions of enemies. and i definitely don't want to approach the topic of "Christians" who go to church 2 or maybe even three times a week, and have happy families, and live in the suburbs and fulfill the american dream, and drive past the same homeless person or the same low-income housing project every day and take no compassion on the poor and the widows and orphans - and those sinners, the very people Jesus Christ came to seek and to save. and by no means do i want to get into a discussion of politics and faith - those two things should remain separate at all times. or better yet, just associate one political party or the other with our faith and support it whole-heartedly without critically thinking about ALL of the issues as they relate to our job of being Christ in the World.
it is a mystery to me. we are supposed to be Christ's hands and feet and voice in the world, but we are fallen people incapable of "becom(ing) the righteousness of God" - and yet i believe that He has already made us just that. He has given us the Holy Spirit and He works in the world through us - His very body. praise God that He is Sovereign, and He has overcome the world for us.
Jesus lived a pretty radical life. He touched people. He went to their homes. He got involved in their lives. and His call to us is pretty radical - pick up your cross and follow Me. be perfect, as I am perfect. go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them everything that I have commanded you. love those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. love them, just as I have loved you.
i, for one, think he meant it.
so what do we do now?
posted by kentbrantly at 12:30 PM
3 Comments:
I agree. God has called us to so much more than we realize. It has been difficult for me this year because I have become aware of the evil in my own backyard and the atrocities around the world. I think that we need to actively promote the Kingdom of God; that means taking a stand and getting involved in other peoples’ lives that we might usually ignore. It is time to be His hands and feet.
Denominational battles and racial divisions break up churches, however I believe its the most common of all sins among Christians that cause the world to not believe: gossip, selfishness and greed. Its this kind of contradictory behavior that comes from the same lips that praise God's name on Sunday that hurts the most.
One of the greatest reasons Christianity spread in the early Church were the martyrs who were willing to die for their faith in Christ for few of the Greek philosophers were willing to lay down their own lives for their beliefs. And here in our modern world, Christians struggle to lay down their selfish pride in the name of Christ…
You don't know me, I'm Lindsey...I just found your blog randomly, but what a great post! I read what you wrote and I have had basically the exact same thoughts many times before. It can be so frustrating to look at the world and see the corruption and sin that is so overwhelming. And I think of Phil 2:14-16 where Paul says "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that YOU may become BLAMELESS and PURE children of God without fault in a CROOKED and DEPRAVED generation, in which you SHINE like stars in the universe as YOU HOLD OUT THE WORD OF LIFE." Man, this is a crooked and depraved generation and I will never be completely blameless and pure, but I am supposed to be shining and I am supposed to be holding out God's word. I believe that is truth, so what's so difficult about it for us Christians? Why so many hypocrites?? Why so many Sunday Christians? It probably has to do with the struggles we have with sin cause it's our nature (struggling...Romans 7). As I travel to different places in the world, I realize how huge this world is and how lost it is...and I'm supposed to be fulfilling the great commision, but I fail miserably. Sorry about the rambling...didn't mean to get on my soapbox.
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