Too often when I encounter people who have walked away from
faith they relate a story of a Christian or a church that has wronged them in
some way. Others speak of the irrelevance
of the church to their generation. Whilst I
would agree that wrongs done by others and lack of true mission in some
churches are valid complaints I would say that these issues have answers that
can be addressed.
I have been harmed by others who claim to follow
Christ. My obligation is to forgive them
and not to blame God. I have seen
churches that do not live out the mission Christ gave us. They too have harmed me. It is my obligation to work within the church
to help correct the course of the journey.
If I blame God, disavow him, or sacrifice my belief in him I
am also doing wrong. If I choose to
indulge my anger and pain over forgiveness and grace then I should not be
surprised if I begin to doubt. Failure to
walk in grace yields doubt. The inner
pressure of anger and bitterness fuels disbelief.
I must assure that no matter how dissatisfied I am with
those around me and the way they treat the gospel that I do not blame God for
their wrongs. In choosing to give us
free will God allows for followers that do not live up to his desire for
us. If he tolerates this then so must
I. I cannot allow their failures to
cause me to forget my own. I cannot
allow a lack of grace in the church to overshadow the depth of grace I need.
I cannot demand that others be perfect until I am. I cannot blame God for allowing them to fail
until I cease failing him.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store."
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