It's been a long time since I've written anything, but I've felt like I haven't been retaining much of what I've been learning since I stopped posting in my blog, so I figured what God showed me today was worth posting so that I would remember it and also because it needs to be shared.
I haven't been very consistent with attending church this year (I've partially justified it by my attendance and leadership position at Wesley, but I've genuinely missed being at an actual church rather than a campus ministry. The last couple months I've also had several gigs that have interfered with me attending my usual church. But today I finally got to go back, and I was taken aback by just how guarded and borderline critical it seemed, not of me but of other denominations and specific controversial preachers. While I do agree with some of the points made and that the controversial statements of said preachers quite obviously contradicted my own understanding of biblical faith, I felt offended on behalf of the Church as a whole because of the attacks being made against individuals and their followers.
Maybe the criticism stood out to me just because I've been noticing my own tendency to be critical of the majority of Christians. But regardless, I think the overall skeptical nature of this generation has become one of the biggest downfalls of the Church because it has caused us to turn against each other. We put down the teachings and beliefs of other Christians just because we happen to not be learning the same thing at that point in time. We question everything anyone says, and while I admit that we are told to test the spirits and not take everyone at their word, if straightforward skepticism becomes the identifying trait of Christians, then something is wrong. The line of distinction between us and Westboro Baptist Church is starting to fade. We boldly point out the faults of anyone who claims to be Christian but has even one differing opinion from our own, and we pronounce them condemned for it. That may be a harsh way of putting it, but I believe it's true.
Now, I realize that this post is pretty ironic because I'm criticizing the Church's tendency to criticize the Church. But I think it's time for us to focus less on the flaws of the whole Church and turn our examination inward to recognize and correct our own individual flaws. As Alan, my high school small group leader said, part of what goes into fearing God is acknowledging how we have wronged Him throughout our lives so that the wrongs others do to us don't seem like that big of a deal in comparison; and it's time for us to start fearing God. We need to be so repentant of our own sins that we can't help but be forgiving to others because of the forgiveness God has shown us. We need to learn to love despite our disagreements. I need to learn to love. Of course, love does not condone views and actions that are clearly out of line with God's will, but it most definitely is not founded on criticism.
May we learn to be humble in our faith while remaining firmly rooted in the Truth. May we learn to encourage others while not neglecting to promote the Truth and dismiss lies with gentleness and respect. And may the Lord grant me the privilege of being the first to take my own advice and fall in line with His will, to love the Church as He does.
In keeping with seeking humility, I invite anyone who disagrees with me on any point to say so, as well as anyone who would like to comment or who would like me to elaborate. This goes for this post as well as any past and future posts.
Well said
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