Pilgrim Soldier

The longer I’m walking this path of discipleship the more convinced I am becoming that one of the biggest reasons that more and more people are disillusioned by the Church (and also why less and less people see the Christian ‘religion’ as a viable option in their lives) is because of the sheer lack of love shown between Christians. This is coupled to the language of hate that seems to be to stock language of many Christians towards those who they deem to be the worst ’sinners’.

Strangely as I read the New Testament the message that comes across time and time and time again is the message of ‘Love’! God’s love towards sinful humanity and sinful humanity’s flawed attempt to love him back. What I don’t understand is where nastiness and hatred fit into the picture!

What causes this question today? Well as one friend lies in hospital seriously ill, someone who I have never ever seen show anything but love towards God and her fellow humanity, I’ve seen others, on the very public forum of Facebook, who find it humorous to make nasty jokes or downright nasty (dare I say evil?) comments about someone they’ve never met and who is unable to defend himself due to his untimely death and at the same time proclaim their love for God. I seem to recall the Bible talks about that somewhere!

So where is the love in our walk? I’m not always good at it, but dear Lord help me get better!

Near where I live is a residential home for people with a fairly common illness. It is one that can be extremely difficult to cope with, and many of the residents were put in the home in their youth and remain there today in their retirement years. Having interacted with quite a few of the residents, I can safely say that they have been well and truly institutionalised by their living arrangements. The one who I know who has been moved out into the community, is struggling to cope with the day to day demands of ‘normal life’.

As I thought about this the other day, I got to thinking about the institution of the Church. As I look around some people I know who go to church, I am very worried about them. It seems that they have become institutionalised by the Church. They seem to expect the ‘Church’ to provide them with all their spiritual needs, so much so that it has become their sole source of spiritual nourishment and they don’t know how to feed themselves. They expect it to provide them with protection from the world so consequently rarely step outside it’s comfortable safety. They expect the Church to provide their entertainment and rarely complain when the same old same old is churned out day after day, week after week because it is familiar and safe. I honestly not sure how they would cope spiritually if the safety net was taken away and they had to strike out into the real world!

Is it too late for them? Is it possible for them to make the transition from the institution into the real world? I’m honestly not sure, but I do know that I’m praying for a real release of the Holy Spirit’s power so that they can break out into a meaningful Christian life that is not solely about their own spiritual needs!