Reviewing things I’ve seen in the past few weeks provokes a few thoughts about faith.
The biggest barrier remains the vast pool of cultural thought patterns, by which false images become associated with Scripture. People understand the words well enough, but don’t comprehend the meaning from the alien culture of the Bible. Sometimes I wonder if it would make more sense to pretend I’m not even a Christian because of the vast pool of sewage associated with that label. People just do not realize what a hideous crippling effect Western Civilization has on following Christ.
I can get people to verbally confess that they don’t really understand what is in their own best interest. I can get them to assent to the idea that God is in charge of every detail of their existence, but they immediately demonstrate not a scintilla of understanding when they go home and plan their children’s future. Even the church gets in on the act, preaching as gospel the vast pile of intellectual assumptions that somewhere among the options presented by mainstream American society can be found God’s way of living for us. When I start describing what the Bible says is proper for such concerns, they look at me like I just grew a third eye.
My home continues to be open to people who want to worship with us, but I can never go back to a regular church. The vast weight of assumptions behind what it means to be a church is so alien to my calling, I simply cannot see myself ever returning to it. We generally don’t struggle with worshiping in song and so forth, but the moment they try to preach or teach, they call forth all kinds of stuff simply alien to the Bible, but more to the point, alien to my convictions. We dearly miss the fellowship of believers, but they cannot tolerate us. Maybe some day we’ll encounter folks who aren’t so shocked by the differences.
Why do the evil prosper? Because they only get what they want, not what really matters. Why do the righteous suffer? Because they are supposed to learn how to despise this life. When we stop caring about this world, an awful lot of anxiety dies. With the decrease in anxiety comes a better clarity of purpose and resolve. When you realize that includes your dearly beloved family, and that they are property first of the Lord, not yours, then you recognize how you can love them without trying to own them. The best legacy you can leave your children is not caring about the things that almost everyone in Western society insists children must have. Don’t accept childhood materialism as the norm. Don’t accept anything the world regards as normal for anything, including children.
So while the confusion of material property with blessings is big enough, the other major issue is confusing emotions with the Spirit. There is virtually no commonly accepted language for discussing this. It’s as if I would have to pull people away from their normal daily affairs for at least a year of study in a cloistered atmosphere so they could begin to differentiate. It’s almost enough to make me start a cult.
Almost.
This is a very difficult time for the truth. Maybe when God’s wrath crushes enough lies and folks have shed their old patterns of trust in things that cannot stand, then I’ll have a chance to say something they are ready to hear. Until then, I can only make sure I understand it for myself and the handful of folks who read my stuff online.
May God set you free to see His truth.
