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Discontent

by Aaron Griffith  
11/01/2007 / Church Life

So, for a while now, I've been going through one of those times that we Christians fear. One of those times when everything you believe comes into question. It's like your own mind has turned against you and you have to fight to believe. It's tough, but if we're honest, we all go through it. I don't know why, perhaps it's to maintain or refocus our vision, to prevent us from falling into the decaying pit of religiosity. Whatever the reason, it's not easy and it's not the least bit fun. But, there is Hope. If there is anything at all that I am sure of, it is this, that our God has made himself clear, through His Son, that He is the source of Hope, unending, uncompromising, radical Hope. Hope that soon my journey will lead me out of this valley and on to new horizons of joy and deep and profound communion.

It's not so much that I have become skeptical of Jesus, not at all. If anything, during this valley experience, my faith in Him, and He who sent Him, has only deepened. It's the Church. The more I study His word, the more I see the impotence and irrelevance of our congregations. I see a sectarian people, divided by race and class. Everywhere I look I see multi-million dollar church buildings going up and catchy slogans meant to attract the wealthy and those who only wish they were the wealthy. I see Pastors that feel more like salesmen than shepherds, spewing songs of self fulfillment and providential prosperity. They preach to self righteous and self serving congregations who are so consumed with growing their organization, building new buildings, and what type of music they like, that they are blind to the plight of the poor that they step over on the way to church every Sunday. I see smiling plastic people, dressed in the finest clothing, driving the finest cars, building monuments to "their success" and ignoring the cry of God to do justice in a world wrought with incomprehensible poverty, devastating disease, and oppression of the most heinous kinds.

Instead, our best "Christian" thinkers and "Christian" musicians write books and record CDs, then take the message that God placed in their hearts and put a price tag on it, a price that the poor often cannot afford. The very people that need to hear most cannot afford to purchase the wonderful resources available to the rich. Our great "Christian" leaders spend more time "defending Christ?" by attacking the very people we are commanded to love. We protest Gay marriage and abortion as if the sins of those involved are more an affront to our God then the ones we harbor within our very own hearts. We ferociously fight, very public, battles about keeping school sponsored prayer and the ten commandments in our public schools when they do not belong there. A public school should not teach religion or sponsor any, that's our job as parents, as brothers, as sisters, as friends and coworkers! Our educators certainly shouldn't be leading our children in prayer! Especially since, if they did, most parents aren't involved enough to know who, or what, they are praying to. No one can stop our children from praying anywhere, anytime. How will this world "know us by our love" if we are always making them our enemies, and promoting ourselves, instead of offering them the same Grace and Mercy that was afforded us on the cross of Christ? But for a small minority, we are a useless people. We have taken the gospel of Jesus and perverted it into something grotesque. We are lukewarm and it makes me want to vomit.

Oh Lord, how I long for you to raise, in this generation, a church saturated with your blood and aflame with Your spirit. A people Church that loves Mercy and Does Justice walking humbly with You, clothing itself with Your Righteousness so that the world may not see us, but You in us, and therein believe that Your words are the Truth and the Hope of mankind. May we go to the lost without judgment of their sins, but with Your love that covers it. May we never forget the price that was paid to free us from bondage and never weigh the price of the freedom of another.

Since 2003, Aaron Griffith has been a follower of Jesus Christ. He and his wife Rian have two beautiful girls & together they lead Isaiah 58:10 ministries sharing the transforming grace of Jesus by serving the needy in their community. Aaron also serves as a worship leader & Men's Ministry leader.

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