There is a large gap in Christians and it's between original, born, bred and raised Christians and new believers. We all follow the same belief, that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. More plainly put for my non Christian readers, we all believe Jesus teaches us how to love one another well and how to follow in his footsteps , (we do this rather horribly in my opinion as we all fall short of His way).
The gap I am talking about is so painfully obvious to new believers and excruciatingly obsolete to Christians raised in the Church and in a family that only ever knew faith. The divide shows up when you see how people worship (sing), how they interact with one another, how they gather, speak and pray. It also shows up in more subtle ways, like discrediting conversations and feedback from new entrants, as if their faith in Christ isn't the same as existing, life long Christians. Now, don't get me wrong, there is definitely a learning curve to faith and exploring scripture and the bible just as much as there is a maturity that happens when deciphering the written word. The same maturity happens as each person sheds layers of their old habits and starts to apply their faith in new ways to truly grow their own relationship with how Jesus wanted us to live and treat one another. What I wrestle with is performance. How does one know they have reached an understanding of Jesus' character?
When I read about who Jesus was and is, I develop an idea of his character and how he shaped the people around him that he spoke to. Jesus wasn't in a church preaching, in fact, he was hated in the synagogues and was seen as a nuisance, challenging the laws and thought process of the time. He was on the ground level, talking to people, face to face and not on a stage. He wasn't selling out arenas with tickets for purchase. He was despised by the Pharisees for his outlandish views on how to treat your neighbour, ones work ethic, on punishment and most of all, his mercy. He was hated for offering grace! How crazy is that? When I started to deep dive into his character and how he flipped tables when the church was turned into a marketplace of sellers and buyers, I resonated with his rage. A rage I've felt multiple times in a church setting when asking questions like "why do some people have to yell out Jesus during worship" and " why do some people always have to be the first to speak up and be heard?". Even more rage hit me when I scroll through Instagram and have Christian content telling me how often to pray, read, highlight my bible, attend church, etc etc. It's like this checklist that someone invented that if not complete, must mean you aren't a true Christian. But that's not what Jesus taught.... and none of this checklist exists in the bible. Often, there's reference to how to pray, and it's quietly alone. (There are many examples of how to pray, worship etc but this is a whole other topic).
We've turned Church into a requirement, Scripture into a cute tag line to post, and created a culture of silence in the church. Where the larger your following and arena must mean you're holier than your fellow Christian. Is this what Jesus was really telling us to do? He told us to go and make disciples yes, that means teach people. It doesn't mean make carbon copies of people, it means teach the values and the parables so that we can lead better lives, help people and reach Heaven. It means having a personal relationship with God, a real connection, real dialogue. When I think about Jesus, I think, what would he tell us today about todays' problems? How would he guide me on gay marriage, on politics, on social media and the divide in our cultures today? I ask myself, what would Jesus say to me today if he asked me to be a disciple and follow him? What new parables would he explore with us if we was walking with us on earth? We have the Holy Spirit yes, but imagine if Jesus was right there, right now with you, what would he say?
Keeping in mind that the Bible needs to be deciphered and understood in the time that it was written in, how would we as a body of Christ apply Jesus' sermon on the mount today? These are the questions I want answers to, and just by simply asking a question I would stir a pot so big that a tidal wave would form if this was in a church. Why is that? We, as Christians spend so much time arguing with each other about scripture and which part of it is applicable that we've forgotten that arguing with each other is the exact opposite of what we should be doing! Heck, it's not about winning, it's about what connects us all together. Where is that middle ground now?
I was reading through James today, chapters 1 and 2. There is a story about two men entering into an assembly, one wearing gold and fine clothing and the other wearing shabby, filthy clothing. The finely clothed man was given favour in seating and the shabby looking man was told to sit at the feet of the man in gold (usually reserved for servants). In verse 4-5, Jesus says "have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" Earlier in this chapter he even goes as far to say "let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger" (James 1:19-20 ESV). There are so many examples of this teaching in the bible, yet we are some of the worst examples to people of this. The mingling with the outside world is minimal and often, those that were raised only in the church setting have lost complete touch with reality of what it's like to live in this world of hate, hurt, anger and suffering (the list is long but this is just to name a few).
How can we impact someones life for the better if we never enter into it? Take a page from your own bible and enter into conversations and be present with people. Let go of what you think they might be like and let go of what YOU want for their lives. Heck, we all want everyone we know around us to be in Heaven with us at the end but what are we doing about it? We sit at the sidelines and talk about the ways the world is broken but then shut ourselves in, closed off in our own homes for prayer without actually sitting with the people we want to help, asking the hard questions. Questions are meant to explore and understand, we are meant to listen. When did asking questions become an assault on our community? In order to find a middle ground and grow as a community together, we need to understand one another and merge the original Christians with new believers. People are hungry for safety and certainty and connection, we HAVE THAT in Christ, we have that in each other but we start to lose out on our faith when we are the first to offer a bible quote to fix someones problem. That is not how the real world is and not how to get through to someone who is really struggling.
I leave this rant with an observation and a conversation I recently had with a friend and pastor. "We're taught to portray the image of Jesus in our actions and lives and being, we're missing the part where we need to look for Jesus in others".
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and even more, would be happy to explore this further. I have so many questions and am grateful for the ability to remain open about my faith and my struggles with it.
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