“Christianity
is not about theological purity. It is about following what Jesus taught
us and exemplified with His own behavior. Throughout history, Christians
have disagreed with each other on many different points. The Practical
Christian does not seek to have all come to agreement on these various points,
but seeks agreement on only one thing: If you are following the teachings
of others and applying the name of Jesus Christ to them, you are essentially
committing fraud.” Rev. Guy Lynch
For
many of the so-called “millennials”, Christianity is not very practical.
This young generation is not falling for the magic prayers of the faithful nor
are they biting any longer the empty rhetoric coming from the pulpits of many
churches that call people to “get saved” but does not call people to actually
imitate Jesus’ very life. The Wesleyan Methodist tradition refers to
“practical divinity” in that we are compelled by Christ to put faith and love
into action just as St. James condemns “faith without works”.
For
too long the Church has gotten caught up in the Sacraments (or ordinances) of
the Church as sort of a “check list” of pious things we must do – and indeed
Sacraments do feed the soul! – but “holy” living is about much more than what
we can do or gain only for ourselves. If our concept of “holy” living
means only to “go to church” once in a while and does not involve others, especially
the “least of these” to whom Jesus refers, then our living is not very “holy”
but is, in fact, very empty when measured by the standards established by our
Lord. And if there is some misbegotten statement that “Jesus did these
things so we don’t have to”, I submit the one making such a shallow statement
has not actually read and studied the Gospel accounts themselves.
“I
never knew you”.
If Jesus is good for His word, we cannot overlook this statement and the
context in which our Lord was speaking (Matthew 7:23). But Jesus
also continues with, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man who build his house on the rock” (Matthew
7:24); the rock upon which the solid foundation of faith can be built, the
faith that will not be swept away by the storms of life. What this could
easily mean is that what we believe has no meaning, no real foundation, if
there is no “practical Christianity” putting this faith into action.
The
“millennials” are not missing the boat. Rather they are choosing not to
jump aboard a less-than-seaworthy craft. They can see the leaks, and they
have noticed the absence of a compass on a ship that will be completely at the
mercy of the currents of a very fickly worldly culture. Let’s face it:
the “millennials” are challenging the “ekklesia” to show them Christ in
the world today. They’ve heard all the stories and they want to believe
it all to be true, but they need – need – the faithful, those who
claim to know, to show them the way.
Christ
is “the Way”, and we claim to know Christ. How about we begin to show
them what we’ve actually been missing for quite some time? Only
then will it be declared, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.
Now enter into the joy of your Lord.”
For
the fullness of life,
Michael
No comments:
Post a Comment