Something’s Missing

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

 

I recently came across a survey by the George Barna group that confirms my deep concerns regarding the relationship between Christianity and society. In 1996, 85% of Americans who had no religious affiliation viewed Christianity positively. In 2009 only thirteen years later, only 16% of young people with no religious affiliation had a favorable impression of Christianity, and only 3% of them viewed evangelicals positively. What is the cause for this dramatic fall from grace in such a short period of time? Does it concern you? And, what if anything could we and should we do about it?

 

When we contrast Christ with today’s Christianity it is obvious that something is missing; Christ was attractive, today’s Christians are mostly un-attractive. When Christ dwelt among us, people who were nothing like him flocked to him in multitudes. Jesus was sinless, they were among the worst sinners. He was the holiest man they would ever encounter, yet they loved being with him and he loved being with them. What caused Christ to be so attractive in his generation? And what has caused Christianity to be so un-attractive in our generation? I ask these questions because as Christians, we are called to reflect Christ but all indications lead us to conclude that we are not doing a good job. So, what’s missing?

 

Many years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John, now an old man who had been exiled on the isle of Patmos decided to memorialize his three-year encounter with Jesus. As he looked back and considered the time he spent with Jesus, in his gospel, John described him as coming from the Father, “full of grace and truth.” Christians have worked vigorously on the “truth” part of the equation. Clearly seen in most Christian churches are volumes of theologies, creeds, and councils to shape their culture. However, it is clearly evident that presently many of these churches have all but forgotten about “grace” taking left, right, and centrists positions based on their interpretations of truth, but completely unaware of the absence of “grace”.

 

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God.” – Hebrews 12:15

 

This generation sees Christianity mainly as an extremist and dangerous group of hypocrites running around dispensing guilt rather than a caring group of people looking to dispense grace. Just imagine if as Christians we worked just as hard on dispensing grace as we do on dispensing truth. Imagine what Christianity would look like if we competed as intensely on dispensing what the Apostle Paul calls the “incomparable riches of God’s grace” as we do fighting, arguing, and causing divisions over minor theological points. The abundance of truth without grace is incomplete just as grace without truth is incomplete. Without truth, you cannot offer grace and without grace we should never present the truth.

 

Questions

1. When you think about the Barna group’s survey on the state of Christianity in this generation, does it concern you? Why or why not?
2. Why do you believe that non-Christians view Christianity so unfavorably?
3. Why do you believe that sinners were so attracted to Jesus?
4. Should we or can we do anything to change this situation?
5. What can you personally begin doing to become part of the solutions?

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I want to be part of the solution, I want to reflect Jesus who was full of truth and grace. I pray that you would mold me into the character of Jesus to be used as a light unto the world. I want Jesus to be attractive, I want to be a reflection of him so that I may lead people in a growing relationship with you. In his holy name I pray, Amen.