“It
is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but
to make us progressively aware of a mystery. The Lord is not so much the
object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.” Kallistos
Ware, Eastern Orthodox bishop, UK
But
isn’t it always the “easy answers” we seek? How often do we read the
Scripture with an open and prayerful heart rather than to search for answers to
specific questions or to try and prove a point to someone?
We
are typically not comfortable with an incomprehensible yearning from within
that may well be the Spirit speaking to us, so we fail to simply submit to that
yearning and let it become whatever it may be. More often than not, we
attempt to answer that yearning in a tangible way that makes sense to us and
benefits us personally. We let our own internal mechanisms lead us,
often, in the opposite direction from that of the Spirit of The Lord.
What
accounts for the dwindling numbers in the Church? Why are so many leaving
the Church altogether? A quick search on the Internet will gain countless
opinions and insights from “experts” who seem to think they know, and much of
the problem they think they find is a lack of adequate “programs” for a
particular demographic. While there may be some truth to this, I think
the problem the Church is experiencing goes much deeper. I don’t think it
can be reduced to just one thing, and I am confident the solution will never be
humanly inspired.
“Hope
that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with
perseverance. So the Spirit helps in our weaknesses. For we do not
know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit makes intercession for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans
8:24b-26 NKJV).
In
other words, we must allow the mysterious to remain a mystery until The Lord
sees fit to reveal it for the sake of the whole Church. Of course there
is one thing we must do: we must first actually care about the whole
Church rather than just our own personal little corner of it.
That,
I think, is the missing element; the concern for something beyond
ourselves. When we find it within us to care and to pray for the whole
Church, we will find so much more than we ever thought we were looking
for. That is a Kingdom Promise that comes from trusting The Lord fully
and unreservedly.
Blessings,
Michael
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