The Great Disconnect
For a while now I’ve been burdened by the disconnect that is deep within the Christian faith and how we relate with the world around us.
One of my favorite Bible study times in church a few years ago centered around being billboards for Christ. What I learnt in that season still lives within me. It guides me in how I relate to people and respond to situations. Do I get it right all the time, no but there is a deliberate conscious intention to live my life in such a way that communicates the love of Christ to people I encounter in life.
It’s been with great discomfort in the pit of my belly that I watch in horror how many of us who profess Christ are the vilest towards people and very worldly when it comes to day to day situations.
I thought to bring this gentle reminder that once we profess Christ, it’s important to understand that love is very fundamental of the faith we’ve committed to. This means, our personal opinions take back seat. This commitment to Christ is surrendering what you think love is and being open to understanding what His love is.
Two prayers that help me navigate life:
- Father, teach me how to love this person. If they are people in my inner circle I pray… Please show me their love language.
In sticky situations where it’s not obviously black and white, I pray
- Father show me what to do in this situation that reflects you. Help me be your billboard.
God is love. That is the summary of the big Bible we carry back and forth. The conclusion of it all is love. Accepting God’s unconditional love allowing it to fill all the spaces and places where we need it the most. Surrendering our personal perception of what we think love is. Allowing this tremendous love to transform us daily and mirroring it back to the world around us.
It’s disheartening to see that usually the people who are most brutal in comment sections over issues, when you go and check their profile is speaking about God and their faith in Christ.
The corruption happening in places all around the world is committed by people who profess faith in Christ.
The oppression of the poor, the injustices against minorities, the racial and tribal bigotry, the abuse of women, children and sometimes men… .. All the evils is perpetuated by people who do it in the name of God.
The way we look down on single mums especially some of our church spaces, the way we have categories for them….the most respected are widows, then divorces because they’ve been married before so at least they are honorable. Then in another breath, we judge them for leaving their marriages, as for the women who have babies out of wedlock(aka baby mamas), they and their children are the least embraced and respected.
The hierarchy we’ve allotted to sin. Sin is sin, there’s no hierarchy to it. Lying, cheating, pornography, adultery, dishonesty, being a bully a general lack of integrity in how we operate in life are all on the same level.
The way we treat women even in Church spaces is so appalling. These are people created in the image of God but whose abuse stems from the wrong teachings and interpretations we’ve given the scriptures just to feed our egos.
The disconnect is so wide we cannot relate to people the way Christ did whilst on earth so we have created meaningless traditions to make us feel like we are doing things right.
I must say a few of us get it right, but many of us are completely in the way of the gospel reaching hearts because we’ve become a stumbling block through our actions and inactions
One of the places I’ve felt most loved is in Church and it’s the same space I’ve been most wounded because of the ignorance that people who should know better are committed to spewing and acting out.
We cannot continue this way. We are humans so we will not get it right all the time, but it’s important to at least make an effort to commit to reflecting the unconditional love of Christ as we have freely received it.
If you started you don’t know what that looks like, look at yourself, see how God has embraced you fully inspite of all your failings and extend the same grace to another.
It’s not in the abundance of scripture we regurgitate and forward in groups and try to shove down people’s throat; it is how deliberate we are in showing that overwhelming reckless love of God to ALL people without bias.
Pray to God to show you where the disconnect is in your life and how you’ve related to people and situations around you and ask Him to show you how to do it differently going forward and He will show you.
Let us be deliberate about being the billboards for Christ in showing His love in all spaces. It’s only when we go deep in our personal relationship with Christ, embrace His love for us fully, that we will have the capacity to show that same love to ALL people.
Embracing God’s unconditional love for us fully is at the root of #LovingYourselfExtravagantly. It is only when you have that extraordinary love within your heart that you can extend it in its entirerity to others.
Lets commit to knowing better so we can do and be better.
Happy Sunday!
PS:Kindly do a personal study of the whole chapter of 1Cor.13 for more insight
emefagadze 