Sunday, September 25, 2005
A Really Interesting Eternal Perspective
Mike over at EP is complaining about those of us that grew up Christians and complain about it.
Mike's point is well taken. Those of us that grew up in the church missed out on a lot of pain that others had the "pleasure" to enjoy.
Sometimes, I wonder if that phase is not necessary? Not the whining part, the doing something stupid part. One day everyone in that phase wakes up and figures out its not about restriction, it's about grace and goodnessess and they experience God in ways not possible previously. I'm not talking about a "shall we sin so that grace may abound" thing here, I'm just saying that for many, we don't understand what we have until we don't.
But there is something deeper that I'm not sure someone in Mike's situation fully understands. When you come to the church out of the depths of sin, sin in the church is not all that surprising. But when you grow up steeped in the church and believe it to be a bit of God on earth - and the reality that it is just another bunch of sinners trying a little harder than others comes in on you -- usually by that institution of God defecating on you somehow -- your faith can be tested in the deepest of ways.
Most children struggle when they come to the realization that their parents are not omnipotent and perfect. Children of the church all, at some point, come to the same realization about it, and it can be life shattering, and bone jarring.
Few things pain me more than how cavalierly the church deals with those it hurts. "Well, they have to learn." "It's part of the maturing process." "The well-being of the church is more important than the well-being of a single individual." "They have unreasonable expectations."
There is an old cliche -- The church is the only army that does not tend to its wounded.
The power of the gospel is most evident in the lives of the people that have claimed it. The Holy Spirit uses us as the grand illustration of good news. The pain of discovery that the illustration is seriously flawed may be unavoidable. But one of the best ways to improve the flaws can be found in how we aid those experiencing that pain.
Mike's point is well taken. Those of us that grew up in the church missed out on a lot of pain that others had the "pleasure" to enjoy.
The church restricted these people from engaging in many of the behaviors that I plunged into without restraint. As a result, these people didn't get to have the experiences that I had or the memories that I still reflect on. Things like being arrested for underage drinking, almost getting busted numerous times for drugs, being watched by the police, known as a bully by classmates. They have been denied the privilege of having memories of immoral relationships and one-night stands; they don't get to look back on a dark history of breaking the law, lying to parents, stealing money, malicious trespassing, drunk driving; they don't get to wonder about blocks of time for which they have no memories due to taking a few too many sopers at once.Personally, I think the Christian griping Mike is complaining about is a phase most life-long Christians go through. At some point, temptation overwhelms us, we do something stupid, and then rationalizeize it by complaining about how restrictive our Christian upbringing was; how Christ's love is not really that restrictive.
Sometimes, I wonder if that phase is not necessary? Not the whining part, the doing something stupid part. One day everyone in that phase wakes up and figures out its not about restriction, it's about grace and goodnessess and they experience God in ways not possible previously. I'm not talking about a "shall we sin so that grace may abound" thing here, I'm just saying that for many, we don't understand what we have until we don't.
But there is something deeper that I'm not sure someone in Mike's situation fully understands. When you come to the church out of the depths of sin, sin in the church is not all that surprising. But when you grow up steeped in the church and believe it to be a bit of God on earth - and the reality that it is just another bunch of sinners trying a little harder than others comes in on you -- usually by that institution of God defecating on you somehow -- your faith can be tested in the deepest of ways.
Most children struggle when they come to the realization that their parents are not omnipotent and perfect. Children of the church all, at some point, come to the same realization about it, and it can be life shattering, and bone jarring.
Few things pain me more than how cavalierly the church deals with those it hurts. "Well, they have to learn." "It's part of the maturing process." "The well-being of the church is more important than the well-being of a single individual." "They have unreasonable expectations."
There is an old cliche -- The church is the only army that does not tend to its wounded.
The power of the gospel is most evident in the lives of the people that have claimed it. The Holy Spirit uses us as the grand illustration of good news. The pain of discovery that the illustration is seriously flawed may be unavoidable. But one of the best ways to improve the flaws can be found in how we aid those experiencing that pain.
