Wounded Spirit

I'm reading Frank Peretti's book, Wounded Spirit. I bought it 4 years ago, and I'm finally getting around to it. In it, he addresses the damage of bullying and the long-term ramifications such treatment can have on one's psyche and faith. He argues that allowing bullying to happen or simply ignoring it inadvertently teaches that God is not concerned with justice. He goes on to speak about the need for an absolute moral standard to even address such issues. But I want to focus on his argument that our lack of action contributes to others' misconceptions of Jesus.

He's right! Millions of people point to a hurting world filled with injustice and ask how we can believe in a righteous God. Bono wisely pointed the finger at the Church. And the reality is the Church has worked hard to make a very relevant gospel irrelevant. God's Word is vibrant and real, and it's only when we water it down and soften it's edges that it becomes irrelevant. When we seek to make God's message more palatable and less offensive, it usually ceases to be the Word of God.

The Church's problem is not that the Bible is too harsh, it's that we've made it too easy. Instead, we should asked how we can believe in a righteous God and not address the injustice in the world. How can we allow children to starve and people to die alone from AIDS? In this instance, I think Bono and Jesus (and Gandhi) are on the same page.

But we can't sit around and blame the Church either.

Matthew 25:31-45 tells what will happen when the Son of Man (Jesus) comes in glory. Read here "the ultimate climax of all things ever." And Jesus gives us some insight into how he will judge us:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.        Matthew 25:34-36

Jesus goes on to say that "whatever [we] did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of [his], [we] did for [him]" (Mt 25:40). You see it's not enough for us to join a church that loves the poor and needy. Jesus won't be doling out the judgement based on the missions team at your church or your denomination's commitment to the poor, the widow, or the orphan. He's going to judge us on our own individual acts of love to his brothers and sisters...our acts toward God's children. 


It's too easy to complain about the church!  And it's too counter-intuitive because...


we ARE the church! It is unthinkable that I might allow (or worse cause) anyone to question the goodness of God through my inaction. Can God intervene and cure all disease? feed the poor? give clean water to all those in need? Of course, he could. But that's not his plan.


Irresponsible? Heartless? Stupid? 


I might land on stupid, but it's not God who's thoughtless...it's often us!


Throughout Scripture (Ex 22:22, 23:6, 23:11; Lev 23:22, 25:47-48; Deut 10:18, 14:28-29, 15:4, 24:14 & 17, 27:19; 1 Sam 2:8; Prov 14:21 & 31, 17:5, 19:17, 21:13, 29:7; Isa 1:17; Micah 6:8 - just to name a few and not even to touch the NT, which is the appendix anyway :p) God declares that we are to care for the poor, the needy, the hurting, and broken people. God has inexplicably chosen us to love his children. We are asked to demonstrate the love of God. 


Why? Because modeling the actions of the Father make us more like him. Practicing his love and compassion conform us to his image. So my question is not am I doing enough. My question is can I be doing less?


Less, that is, to minimize the misconceptions of who God is and ultimately more to tangibly share God's love with a world in need?