These past few days, with travel to Nairobi and saying goodbye to a teammate, I have had several experiences that have made me think, and I wanted to share them with you. Some of you may think that I’m over-analyzing things, and for the specific instance, that is possible. But my point is to present observations and hard questions for everyone to ponder, and I think the questions are valid, with or without an example.
While on the bus from Nairobi to Kisumu, we drove past a church whose name included the words “Miracle Center”. Now, I will be the first to say that I am extatic if there are miracles happening in that place, but the name really struck me. Is that the best way to be displaying or advertising the church? Sure there may be miracles happening there (or not), and I’m sure that if they are, they are a blessing from God. But still… What happened to the attraction of the love of Christ displayed through His body? When did, worldwide, that love become insufficient to attract people to the church? Why do western churches feel that they must offer free food and fancy buildings to attract people?When did the church become a “miracle factory”? Even though miraculous works in our lives may be a benefit of our faith, when did they take prescedence over the gospel of love and grace? If these are the things that our churches are based upon, are we not demeaning the name of God- putting Him “on-demand” for the things we need and worshipping Him only for what He can and does do for us (i.e.- providing wealth – don’t get me started on how much the “health and wealth gospel” angers me- or miracles, or whatever) instead of who He is? When did we forget the holiness and power of God and trade an eternal perspective for a “What can I get out of this for me right now?” mentality? When did we lose sight of the foundations of our faith- love, grace, mercy, redemption, but especially a loving, dynamic relationship with God? How do we return to these as an entire body?
On the same bus ride, we also passed a bus for a Catholic school. On the back it read, “Academic and Spiritual Excellence”. Well, spiritual excellence is certainly a good thing to attain- I hope to be “spiritually excellent” as well- but how is it that a school can make that claim? Is spiritual excellence something that can be quantified- observed and measured? I thought our faith was about a relationship with the holy, loving Trinity- the God who created us, the Son who loves us and died for us, and the Spirit that dwells in all of us. Sure, there are Biblical mile-markers for us (such as, “If you love me, you will obey my commands”), but are these really measureable in human terms? Observable, yes, but I do not think you can in any way measure them. We all continue to sin, though we pray for increased faithfulness. Are these commands not meant for personal checks and growth? How then can they be applied corporately to an institution or a group of people such as a school? I think, as Donald Miller says in Searching for God Knows What, that it’s all about the relationship we have with God and the condition of our hearts. After all, the two greatest commandments are “Love God and love others”. It’s not about formulaic approaches to try to reach God (i.e. religion), nor is it about holding to the correct systematic theology, saying the right things, or even holding all the right beliefs. Certainly, we need to hold certain correct beliefs in order to still adhere to our faith, but many of the world’s smartest individuals have continued to disagree over the finer points of doctrine. Why? God cannot be contained in our theologies (they may help us to understand Him better, but they are pitifully inadequate). He’s a mystery and much bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. For surely, the finite can never comprehend fully the infinite, and to pretend that we might be able to do so is to create a false god of our own understanding. We were created in the image of God. It would be a fatal mistake, however, to believe that we can therefore create God in our own image. If we are to seek spiritual excellence, why don’t we concentrate on our relationship with God, loving others, constantly examining ourselves, putting off our sinful nature, and seeking to discover more about this wonderfully awesome and mysterious God whom we serve? I think that’s a much better use of our time than adhering to religious formulas and bickering over the difference in their practice.
P.S.-
Please be praying for our team as John has left and gone home. We were watching a slide-show of pictures from this trip last night and noticed the difference in our faces and eyes. At the beginning there was an innocence and an abounding joy. Now, if you look at our faces, we all just look embattled. That’s not to say that we have no joy, but this trip has been wrought with difficulties, and many of us have been worn down. We saw a rainbow as the sun was setting as we were riding the ferry back from Nairobi. I took that to mean that God was promising to sustain and fill us for the rest of our trip. So, please just pray for our team to be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, to walk in the victory which we have obtained through Christ, and find our rest and comfort in God’s presence.
Please be praying for our team as John has left and gone home. We were watching a slide-show of pictures from this trip last night and noticed the difference in our faces and eyes. At the beginning there was an innocence and an abounding joy. Now, if you look at our faces, we all just look embattled. That’s not to say that we have no joy, but this trip has been wrought with difficulties, and many of us have been worn down. We saw a rainbow as the sun was setting as we were riding the ferry back from Nairobi. I took that to mean that God was promising to sustain and fill us for the rest of our trip. So, please just pray for our team to be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, to walk in the victory which we have obtained through Christ, and find our rest and comfort in God’s presence.
