I want to share this convicting passage I read yesterday in The Hole in Our Gospel. It hurt my toes but challenged my heart.
Our Christian habit is to bewail the world's deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay. We criticize its violence, dishonesty, immorality, disregard for human life, and materialistic greed. "The world is going down the drain," we say with a shrug. But whose fault is it? Who is to blame? Let me put it like this. If the house is dark when nightfall comes, there is no sense in blaming the house; that is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is "Where is the light?" Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there is no sense in blaming the meat; that is what happens when bacteria are left alone to breed. The question to ask is "Where is the salt?" Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline until it becomes like a dark night or a stinking fish, there is no sense in blaming society; that is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves and human selfishness is unchecked. The question to ask is "Where is the Church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?" It is sheerhypocrisy on our part to raise our eyebrows, shrug our shoulders, or wring our hands. The Lord Jesus told us to be the world's salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is largely our fault and we must accept the blame. ~ John Stott
That passage reminds me so much of a quote that I heard came from the leader of International Justice Mission. Evidently, he used to look around the circumstances of injustice and poverty that he was faced with and ask, "Where is God?" Now he says he looks around and asks, "Where are God's people?"
This is the food for thought that I'm chewing on today.
PS. I have a personal prayer request. Tomorrow we move our oldest son, Anson, to college. Will you pray that he thrives there and that his mama's excitement for him soothes the sadness of seeing him leave? Thank you, friends!
Our Christian habit is to bewail the world's deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay. We criticize its violence, dishonesty, immorality, disregard for human life, and materialistic greed. "The world is going down the drain," we say with a shrug. But whose fault is it? Who is to blame? Let me put it like this. If the house is dark when nightfall comes, there is no sense in blaming the house; that is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is "Where is the light?" Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there is no sense in blaming the meat; that is what happens when bacteria are left alone to breed. The question to ask is "Where is the salt?" Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline until it becomes like a dark night or a stinking fish, there is no sense in blaming society; that is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves and human selfishness is unchecked. The question to ask is "Where is the Church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?" It is sheerhypocrisy on our part to raise our eyebrows, shrug our shoulders, or wring our hands. The Lord Jesus told us to be the world's salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is largely our fault and we must accept the blame. ~ John Stott
That passage reminds me so much of a quote that I heard came from the leader of International Justice Mission. Evidently, he used to look around the circumstances of injustice and poverty that he was faced with and ask, "Where is God?" Now he says he looks around and asks, "Where are God's people?"
This is the food for thought that I'm chewing on today.
PS. I have a personal prayer request. Tomorrow we move our oldest son, Anson, to college. Will you pray that he thrives there and that his mama's excitement for him soothes the sadness of seeing him leave? Thank you, friends!
Posts
2 comments:
Amy Carroll,
Precious woman of God....be blessed today as you take the next step in the Mama journey. I know it's hard stuff.
Thank you for bringing us the blog post today that we needed to hear to challenge us to action instead of complaint.
May you know the strength of the Lord holding you up today.
Karen Trigg
Amy:
I am praying for you. I leave Friday to take my only child to college. I know the mixed emotions that you are feeling. Please pray for me as well.
dot
Post a Comment