Clarification, etc.

Dear cheesy radio station that I still listen to for reason unbeknownst to even myself, optimism is inarguably a good thing but I’ve had it with your Christian fluff. Humans are capable of experiencing a wide array of emotions and I’m pretty sure that there’s reason for this. To pretend that everything is okay in the midst of crisis and chaos is to deny oneself the ability to become vulnerable enough to let Christ intervene. Furthermore, it paints an extremely false picture of faith. If everything were easy all the time, faith would be practically meaningless. There is no need to advertise Christianity as a means to end all pain.

This world is one strange place and ultimately we’re all just trying to figure out what it's all about. I don’t think that it’s our job to run around shoving our revelations and beliefs down other people’s throats. Take Solomon for instance, God bestowed upon him infinite wisdom not so that he could correct everyone else's foolishness. Even the best of intentions can be construed as condescension. The inextricable stigma attached to Christianity deems us judgmental and close-minded. That may not be true for all of us but we didn’t get that reputation from nowhere. We’ve got to stop making assumptions about where other people are in life and start LISTENING. The most effective evangelism doesn’t come from shoving beliefs down someone’s throat, but rather from patiently and carefully constructing a relationship with someone. What’s more is, I’ve noticed that a lot of conversion attempts are more an effort for said Christian to feel better about themselves than for the other person to actually come to form a meaningful relationship with Christ. Just like marriage doesn’t stop at “I do”, our job isn’t finished once someone welcomes Christ into their lives. Discipleship and availability are vital parts of pouring into someone.

Listening to this particular radio station a couple of days ago, there was a segment in which listeners were encouraged to call into to tell the DJ about something “selfless” that they’d done for another person that day. I cannot even reasonably express how disgusted I was by this. We’ve got to start realizing that we aren’t God. We are merely a means through which Truth can be spoken.

The idea of serving as a vessel for Christ leads me to another point that I think it’s important to touch on. We often place a supernatural importance on the church. But in reality, the church is not a building. In fact, the word “church” is derived from the Greek “Ekklesia” which translates to “Called-Out Ones”. (In Classical Greek this actually holds a political meaning but nonetheless, that makes it “an assembly of citizens summoned by the crier”) We are the church. But until we can die to self enough to grasp that change within ourselves as a body is not only desirable but absolutely essential, we will serve as an interference between the Divine and humanity. 

Romans 12:3-5 reads:

 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others

God loves the murderer, the pedophile, the woman who had six abortions, the homosexuals, the prostitutes, the alcoholics, and whoever else has been caste out by society just as much as he loves you. And let us not forget that God is everywhere and everything. We've got to start expanding our comprehension of what "God" is and where He lives. He is everywhere, sometimes it just takes a second glance before it is readily apparent.

Anyway, I apologize for this rather extensive rant and please note that I'm no exception to this rule. Below I've posted a poem by Derrick Brown and though it wasn't written for the meaning that I assign to it, this particular piece has come to have spiritual significance to me.



To embracing change,

Lauren