are there any REAL Christians left? where has true authenticity gone? has everyone given up and bowed to conformity? why must we all want to be just like everyone else? will no one stand up? be unique? will no one be bold? will no one say what no one else dares to say? is everyone too afraid of being "different"? is there anyone else who sees the ever-shrinking supply of truly deep people who long to live out their unique calling? must we all look the same, talk the same, dress the same, and think the same? Jesus certainly did not conform, Jesus was not the "norm". why are we so inclined to hide our true selves and instead blend in with crowd? we are called for more than conformity...we are called to reach a lost world...most of whom do not fit in "the box", we are called to be like Christ...who was the definition of DIFFERENT.
where are those of us truly reaching out to the lost? to the poor ones, the addicted ones, the unbathed ones, the criminal ones, the ones living in tiny apartments or under bridges? where are the ones talking with prostitutes and the adulterers? why aren't we standing at the well giving the "least of these" the water of life? why aren't we really reach out to them? are we? are we REALLY???? i just don't see it. not from where I am standing. (then again, where I am standing is just so pretty...)
where are the Christians actually following in Christ's footsteps? did you pay attention where his feet walked and who his life intermingled with? it wasn't pretty. it was REAL though and it reached so many...and it reached them DEEPLY. are we reaching anyone really? much less DEEPLY? are we comfortable and content with the status quo? isn't it easier to not think about it, to look away, to remain numb and unburdened by the droves of lost souls aimlessly wandering this planet? wouldn't it be nice if it just weren't your problem? how about we just give a bit cash to a charity? how about we attend a local mission effort at a food bank or homeless shelter a couple of times a year so that we can check that off our Christian to-do list?? how about we just tithe and let the church handle it?
makes me sad, make me frustrated, makes me long for my true home away from this world, sometimes I fear that we are too far gone to reach, sometimes I don't like this world at all and don't want to be here. sometimes Christians infuriate me. sometimes I am embarrassed by them...and by myself. we were not made for this world...so why do we desperately seek our comfort here? we are called to bear a cross. but are we? are we really burdened by a cross? or are we faking? are we impostors? i think most are impostors sadly...perhaps I am too. (heavy sigh...)
how can people come into contact with the love of God, shown through Christ and his death and still be so shallow and luke-warm? so fake and bound by conformity? we are not much like him...truly. we are impostors. i have been. perhaps i still am. how do we wear his name and still sleep at night?
I am soooo burdened by all of this. Are you?? Is it just me? Am I the freak? Would that be such a bad thing?
6 comments:
Yes. No. Maybe. No.
Poor Lance, he sounds as "conflicted" as the rest of us. But, I know what your problem is. You've been reading that "Book" again. And, you've obviously been reading those 4 Gospels in it again. IF you ever want sleepy, dreamy peace, not the peace that passes all understanding, but peace that absolves and dissolves responsibility, you MUST stay out of that "Book" and stay away from those 4 Gospels.
The reason you are soooo out-of-step with most folks is simple. You are walking in His steps, they're not. It really is that simple. No wonder you don't feel comfortable here.
But, you will be comfortable later, with Him!
Yep....those pesky 4 gospels :o) I've been spending some "extra" time in those recently too. And spending that time in them and trying to truly understand how He did what He did is a constant reminder to me, you, and I know others, of how "short" we come up most..no actually ALL of the time. I'm right there with ya!!
Lance took my answer! He answered your last four questions exactly as I would have. Great minds...
Good post again. And a great call to action.
Wow...no wonder you can't sleep.
wow this post has opened a whole can of worms for me. it was definitely something that hit hard. i talked the talk for so long and never walked the walk that shedding light on it like your post does - wow.
i'm conflicted, convicted, adversely affected and exposed.
i love how your dad says "you've been reading that book again". that rocks :)
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