Today’s Scripture Reading (April 15, 2018): 1 John 2
I am in fairly constant contact with several
people who are in the process of deconverting from the Christian faith. They are often filled with angst, and that angst is often directed at me. Admittedly, as a
pastor and visible Christian, I make a convenient target. Each one of these
friends has a slightly different story to
tell, and I try to listen to them as they tell it. But there is one common
denominator in all of their stories. One of the main reasons for their
deconversion is Christians. Each one of them has
suffered hurt, and what they would interpret as hate, from people who claim to
be followers of Christ. And I have to admit that we are often not great
advertisers for the faith. I believe that there are a few reasons for this.
First, not everyone who calls themselves a
Christian, is a Christian. The Christian Church is
filled with people who have never fully accepted the claims of Christ.
We know that. Some of these pretenders grew up in the church, and they are simply mimicking the things that
they believe to be Christian. Some simply want to fit into a social situation.
The Christian Church is often a magnet for the lonely and rejected who want to
find a place where they belong. But mimicry or wanting to belong does not mean
that they accept all that means to be a disciple of Jesus.
Second, we are all damaged. Admittedly, my
deconverting friends don’t want to talk about this one, but it is a very real
truth. All of us are damaged property. Some of us might hide it better, but that
doesn’t make this fact any less the truth. It is impossible to move through
this life and not receive some damage. Now, some of us are more damaged, but no one on this planet is unscathed by life. We
are a damaged product of our planet. We can blame the damage on life or original
sin, but the reality is that we are all damaged. And the truth is that, for
every one of us, when we are placed in
stressful situations, that damage tends
to leak out.
Third, we are in process. I have been a
Christian for decades, but there is a marked difference between who I am now
and who I was ten years ago. I know there will be a marked difference between
the person that I am now and the one that I will be ten years into the future.
Some of that might be the process of growing older, but I believe that most of
it is the process of God working in my
life. There is a huge difference in the character of someone who has been a
Christian for a week when compared to someone who has been a Christian for a
decade or several decades, regardless of age. We are in process. And we will
never be the perfect Christian until after we reach the end of this life. Which
means that if you meet a breathing Christian, then you are in contact with a
Christian who is in process
There are more reasons why we are not great
advertisements for the faith, but there is also a litmus test. A real Christian,
of any maturity, loves. Again, all of my deconverting friends have felt a lack
of love from Christians, but according to
John, that is simply impossible. The
truth is that they have felt a lack of love by people in the church, but they
weren’t Christians. Christians are defined by how
they love. Now, I also need to let some in the church at least a little
off the hook. Not all of the blame can be placed
on the people in our churches. Did I mention that we are damaged? Often that
damage means that we cannot receive the love that is being offered to us. We misinterpret it. We place motives on actions
that just are not there. But for a Christian, we desire to persistently love even through even those situations. And there
is nothing that anyone can do that will stop us from loving the people that we
come into contact with in the world. This is who we are in Christ.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 John 3
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