It's a fairly well known fact in Christian circles that Christianity tends to die during times of peace and tranquility. When our lives are just exactly the way we want them to be, there's no reason to trust in a higher power. We are well fed, and our every desire is, mostly, provided for. Why should I pray to an invisible being to care for me when I seem to be doing just fine on my own? It's not until all hell breaks loose that we begin to look for help beyond what man can provide. That is why it is in persecution that Christianity becomes real for the majority of people who say they believe. Nothing like a gun to your head to make you quite certain of where you stand.
That makes me wonder though. We are called as Christians to not be complacent. We are called to be passionate, on fire witnesses for Christ and His kingdom. If that is the case, far too many of us have done just the opposite. We have allowed ourselves to buy into our culture that tells us we don't really need God. So we sleep in on Sunday mornings. Or we decide that it's not that big of a deal to do our devotions every day. After all, it's not like its that big of a deal if we skip church once, or skip our Bible reading occasionally. It's not like God is going to send fire from the sky. It's our life, so why should it matter? Because we are told to act differently. It is our job to show others the light of Christ, and if we don't, then God will certainly find someone else who will.
In looking at my own life, my parents are a great example of this to me. Neither one of them grew up in strongly Christian homes, although my Dad still went to church every sunday. Mom had a little exposure to Christianity when she was a child, but did not become a Christian until college. Dad became a Christian in High school. Both of them are far more devoted than I feel I am most of the time. And it's the same for every other adult I know who had it rough growing up and became a christian later in life. They all know what it's like for life to be tough, and they know how much easier it is when you have God on your side.
I never had to worry about that stuff. I grew up in a Christian family. My parents were never divorced, and I became a Christian when I was 7, old enough to know I was missing something, but young enough so that I can't really remember the difference, if there was much of one. I have always taken my situation for granted. God has always provided for me. And I have consistently let Him down. It's something I am quite aware of, but not something that generally bothers me enough to do much about it. That is, I go in spurts of 6 months, or so (sometimes less, sometimes more) where I am hungry. I want to read my Bible. I want to go to church. I want to spend time with Him. These usually occur right around the time I am experiencing some kind of major transition in life. For example, when I first moved to Texas, the only way I made it through that summer was because God provided for me; and the only reason I got to stay was because He gave me a job and place to stay.
See the pattern? When life is rough, I lean on God. When it's not, I don't. It's a common occurrence among Americans, and other first world Christians, I think. But the question then, is, why don't we do something about it? If we can't change our feelings while we are being provided for, then why don't we ask God to do whatever it takes to bring us closer to him? I think the answer lies in our very complacency. We can't ask God to take away our blessings, and to make sure that we lean on him, because then our lives would not be so great. And we like being comfortable.
We ask God to make us more passionate, but we are not willing to undergo what is necessary for that to happen. As a result, nothing changes. Perhaps God would not go to the extent of making us lose our jobs, or our housing, but we have no clue to what extent He would go to make our passion real. Because of that, we'll never ask. The potential results are just too scary.
No comments:
Post a Comment