DarjeelinGirl

I was reading Baylyblog today which led me to this KOOZNEWS. In a recent post, I think Bill Kudzia has succinctly defined the spiritual/Christian crisis in America:

Around 75-90% of Americans say they are Christian. They think they are born Christian…which is not possible. They think because their parents were Christian that they are as well…which is not possible. Some people think because they go to church every Sunday and pray that they are Christian…which is not necessarily the case. I’ve even met some people who think they are Christian because they are American. Yikes!

I also read Leanne Payne’s latest note today. Every time I read something from her it seems that her heart breaks more and more for our country/world. But she’s been around the block a few times and I suppose she should know.

Because of the apostasy in the Western world, we are living in a time when ignorance of the transcendent–all that is good, beautiful and true–is overwhelming. We as Christians stand appalled at this and fear for our countrymen and our nations. Yesterday, in reading Christ’s question directed to His disciples: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” [Luke 18:8], I was struck anew by the dread thought of such a loss.2 His question comes at the end of the parable of the widow who received justice because she persisted in asking for it. Our Lord is here encouraging us to persist in prayer and loyalty to Himself, the Incarnate Word, and may the Lord bless all of us as we grow in the knowledge of the glory of this.

It reminded me of the book I’m editing these days. The author grew up as the son of a Lutheran minister. Not until he was a sophomore in college did he realize that he had no saving faith of his own. Thus began a wild journey of discovery that Christ is who He says He is.

It all got me thinkin’ about a time in my life when I realized that even among a crowd of church goers, I was no different than all the “nice” people in the subruban neighborhood in which I lived at the time. There was nothing extraordinary about my life. When the crisis hit - I ran to the only One left for me. But every other prop - or idol, if you will - had to be stripped from me, and I had to come to an end of myself first. Rather than shaming or rejecting me, He forgave me and renewed my life. But it’s different now. It’s deeper. It’s incarnational. I know that He is who He says He is. It’s a bummer that it usually takes a major tragedy/crisis to bring us to such a place, but, paradoxically, He makes it worth it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 5th, 2006 at 11:17 pm and is filed under general. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.