I paid a visit to my childhood church (name reserved). I dashed to the children service hall to see whether my favorite Sunday school teacher was there. To my dismay he has left the church. I was stunned into a reflective silence. I decided to investigate this conundrum.
I heard the sides of the stories. I felt disappointed. But I was still curious to know why he left. I learnt it was lack of acceptance. This incident reminded me of how some of my friends left churches for the same reason.
Many today are bitter and wounded because of unforgiveness. I understand healing start with the individual but on a flip side, the church, must understand that People make mistakes and stumble. People struggle with failure and defeat. People long to do what is right but often fail. More often than not, people know the truth and still violate it, hoping they will reap more friendly dividends than they do. And when they are in the throes of some defeat, they are most tender, and those moments of hurt and disenchantment and struggle can become critical for reshaping and redirecting their lives. But if one is not sensitive and empathetic during this fluid period, one can take on another path.
Love is as much a question of the will as it is of the emotion. And if you will to love somebody, you can.Christianity will seem to have betrayed those who turned to the church (made up of individual Christians) to receive a healing touch and found no help, no one to offer comfort. I know someone might be facing a dark night alone, feeling that Jesus has let him down and has not met him in the time of struggle, let me ask: Is it the Jesus of the gospels that has failed you, or is it the church that bears his name that has failed you?
Please keep the answer to yourself.
People die every moment when they feel they are not good enough and guilt weigh them down. Sadly, in our world today someone else’s tragedy especially in the church has become entertainment to everyone else, people celebrate others downfall than their achievements. Forgetting that the most painful and costly ramifications are paid emotionally.
Usually the victims that fall pay the price.In short, the mission of the church is not only to bring people to God but to take God to those who are wounded by the experiences of life, to touch those who are broken, to bring healing to those with damaged emotions.
I have heard it said that the longest journey in life is from the head to the heart. Another way to say the same thing is that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. When people fall, let’s reach out to them.
When God said in the Bible that David was a man after his own heart. He never meant to say David led a perfect life but because God could reach him in the midst of his failures and his tragedies.
Let’s do same for others.
Be Kind.Let the Church be Kind.
