People of Faith. Really??

Picture by Ken Roosenberg

              First, let me start by saying that I am not pointing fingers at any one or any group.  I remember the old saying that says “If you point a finger, be careful.  There are three fingers pointing back at you”.  There is a lot of self-reflection going on here.  I only ask you to consider doing the same.

            This thought keeps coming back to me again and again, so I can’t help but believe that God wants me to write about it.  I can only speak from my own experience, but I know from conversations over the last year with my friends and co-workers that I have discovered something pretty disturbing.  When I ask many of these people if they have a favorite scripture that comforts them or gives them encouragement or strength, most struggle to think of anything.  I hear, “Well, um, let’s see.  Um, well, I know there is one, but I can’t remember it right now.”  Or, “It’s on the tip of my tongue.  It will come to me sooner or later.” 

            Really?  What is that saying about us and our faith?  For a long period of time in my life I was the same way.  I said I was a Christian.  I believed I was a Christian, but in hindsight it was just talk.  I was fooling myself.  I was a Christian on the surface, but there was no depth to my faith.  I had little Bible knowledge.  I had never taken the time to read much of the Bible.  I only knew what had been told to me or discussed in a Sunday school class.  I did not attend any Bible study group and to be completely honest, the idea of being part of a Bible study group did not interest me at all.  I thought it would be a bore.  It wasn’t until we started attending New Hope Church and were invited by Wil and Velma Sauder that I even considered it.  When Janine said she thought it would be a good idea for us to go and study and meet some new people, all I could think of was “Yuck!  How boring would that be?”  Well, I was completely wrong and once I got over the uneasy feelings I had (probably brought about by my lack of depth in my faith) I really started to enjoy it.  Well, that is a subject maybe for a later date.

            While in Swaziland this same topic kept coming into my mind and here is why that happened.  Every trip that our teams have made to Swaziland, one of the things that we feel is very, very important is to do home visits to the church members of the Nsoko Anchor Center Church that we help sponsor, but also to do home visits to some of the poor un-churched people of the Nsoko area.  Now here is what I find thoroughly amazing.  When we make these home visits we spend a lot of time asking questions, mostly through translators.  We also take time to pray with them too, but almost 100% of the time someone in our group asks if there is a particular Bible passage that is important to them or a favorite of theirs.  In all of the home visits that I have been a part of, not once did the person that we were visiting even hesitate to come up with an answer.  They always with a smile said that they do have a favorite passage and gave it to us to look up in Bible and read it to them.  Wow!  In what seems like the middle of nowhere, in desolate and many times dismal surroundings, at a homestead where most of them do not even own a Bible, they have a favorite passage that brings strength and encouragement, and joy to them.  Double Wow!! 

            What on earth does that say about many of us?  Maybe in our lavish life styles, where most of really want for nothing, we have lost or really never found that true joy of knowing the Lord.  We never know the strength that can be found in scriptures from thousands of years ago that still are very, very powerful and meaningful today.

            Some people may say “What do you mean lavish life styles?  I am just an average Joe.  We struggle every month to make ends meet.”  Many of you have heard me say this, but I will say it again, and I mean no disrespect to those that are struggling to make ends meet.  I also mean no disrespect to those who are poor in our country, but compared to Swaziland and the severe poverty that exists along with the entire HIV/AIDS epidemic, we really don’t quite understand.  Whatever the situation we are in or whatever financial hardship we are facing, do we go to Christ first for the answer?  Do we look to the scriptures for our strength?  Do we only go to God when we have problems or do we look at the things that we do have reason to be grateful for and give him thanks daily for them?

            I think we could all learn some lessons from the struggling poor of Swaziland.  It’s time that we look for strength and encouragement in the scriptures.  We need to spend more time reading God’s word.  We need to give thanks for where we are and for the many things that we can be grateful for in our lives.  You don’t have to do it alone.  There are many, many Focus Groups (New Hope Bible study groups) that can help and will help in your journey.  Remember, whether we publicly admit it or not, we are all basically in the same boat.  In a small group setting, we tend to be more open and honest and can help each other find our way.

            I want to share a line that I actually heard from a comedian, and I honestly can’t remember his name, but here was the point and it relates to the fact that no matter where you are with your walk with the Lord, we all need to spend more time reading His Word.  The comedian was acting out a conversation between God and a person who had died and was hoping to get into heaven.  God was asking them a series of questions, but the real stumbling block was the last question.  God said “So lastly, what did you think of my book?’  Wow!  What would we really say to the creator of the universe?  How would we answer that question? 

I guess I better get reading again!

P.S.  Favorite passages change from time to time depending on what’s going on in my life.  Currently  God has put Joshua 1:9 on my mind and in my heart and it says, “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."