There comes a time for every Christian where we become spiritually weak. That time comes when we are bombarded by problems, or we can’t just feel any movement in our spiritual life.
We must know that we are apostles. We are called to be “sent out” and not to be kept in. We should get out of the “ghetto walls” of our religion or church and go out to love others! We must stop talking of what we know, and start listening to them, because that is what love is. Just always remember what Jesus does to someone who is in need. Jesus does not preach to them. What He does simply listened to them and gave them what they needed.
When I was a new Christian, I enjoyed doing my devotions everyday, going to the church and our cell group meetings regularly, and bringing friends into the church. Everyday, I felt that my spiritual life was growing very fast. But the time came to me where I felt so weak spiritually. At that time, I really don’t know what to do. My spirit was so down, and though I am doing all the stuffs a normal Christian do, I felt deep inside me that something is still missing. I thought all these stuffs are enough for me to grow in my spiritual life, but I was proved wrong. Another factor why I went down in my spiritual life is that my friends that I invited to go our church can’t come with me for some for their own respective reasons.
I felt like I was drowning, especially every time I hear our youth pastor say that we should “win souls and make disciples”, and we should not be lazy because it’s already time for harvest. Of course, every Christian MUST win souls and make disciples. I’m doing the best that I can, but every time I invite a friend to go to our church, I almost always got rejected. And also, those people that I have already brought to our church came out backsliding. This makes me feel so spiritually weak, in addition to the pressure that I should bring people to the church.
I believe that being spiritually weak is the reason why many are backsliding from the church. But I don’t want to backslide, and I don’t want to stay feeling like this forever. I need to do something. So even though I was drowning from this, I searched for something that will make my spirit alive again. I read again some of the Christian books I bought before, but they weren’t really a big help to me. It’s just like they have refreshed the things that I already know. Then I went to the mall, entering all the bookstores I know, searching for a book that would be great help for me, and then I found this book called “Holy Fools” by Matthew Woodley. The title sounds intriguing to me, but when I read its overview, I think that this was the book I was looking for. The book didn’t fail me, it has met my desire of knowing what the missing thing is for my spiritual life to grow again. The point in the book that really struck me deep into my heart is that the people doesn’t care of what we know, or how much we know about the bible. What they care about is our LOVE.
The “holy fools” mentioned in the book came out from the “ghetto walls” of the church and went outside, pursuing the lost. They lived with the lost people, embraced them, loved them, and because of this, they grew in their spiritual lives amazingly. With this book, it was revealed to me that the love for people is the secret of growing spiritually. Very true, and with this being revealed to me, I just felt inside of me that the spirit is growing very strong again. It was the missing ingredient.
The revelation to me in this book also pulled me back into skimming the gospels again, where I saw the ultimate “holy fool”. There, I thought of what a Christian really is. “Christian” simply means “a follower of Christ”, and with this, I asked myself, “Am I doing all the things that Christ does? Am I following all His ways?” I believe not, nor most of the Christians. Christians all around the world wins souls and make disciples, but still, something is missing for us to be really called a follower of Christ. Love for others is still missing. I know some of us bring our friends to the church for the church’s sake, but are we following Christ’s ways? This is our way of bringing the lost back to God, but do we care to know what Christ way of bringing them back is? Why don’t we just follow His ways?
“So what is Christ way of bringing back the lost?”
At first, I thought bringing people to the church was the only way of bringing back the lost to God, but then I found another way. I thought preaching to these people, convicting them for their mistakes was the only way for them to go back to God, but the gospels proved me wrong. Jesus preached, yes, but if we skimmed the gospels again, he did more of helping others, loving people, and embracing the lost. Jesus broke the “ghetto walls” of religion in His time and pursued those who are in need of love! Jesus didn’t bring them inside the synagogue to hear more preaching, He simply met their needs! Jesus went everywhere, seeking for anyone who needs help, and gave them just what they needed! This is what we, Christians must do. We are called followers of Christ right? Then we should follow His way.
Of course, we still need to do the church stuffs and read our bible, but we must do it hand in hand with loving other people. This is what God really wants from us. I believe that if the whole Christian community go out from the “ghetto walls” of the church and seek the lost outside, many people would be touched by God and this world will be transformed.
Original link for the photos:
http://thedistractedsoul.blogspot.com/2011/12/it-happens-so-often-that-you-feel.html
http://anewtestamentchurchatwalkertown.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/helping-the-poor.jpg
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