Lewis makes many good points in his book Mere Christianity but there were a few that stood out in my mind. The first would be his comment about choosing a church or congregation to stick with. Lewis says, "... the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular doorkeeper?'". This hits home with me because I'm a PK and over hear many of the complaints of my dad's congregation. The older people of our church want organ and hymn while the younger people who are trying to reach out, wear jeans and want a drummer. There's no way to satisfy both parties and then everyone's unhappy... I think that everyone's just being selfish. The answer to those problems is simple, do whatever will better further the kingdom. It's not about us! It's about those who are still not reached. What my church and others like it need to do is ask themselves 'what will bring holiness and virtue to the church community?'. When they figure that out, that's what they should do.
Chapter one of Lewis' book goes into depth about right and wrong and the Law of Human Nature.In this case, the 'law of nature' is not what you think it is... it's the ability for a man to choose either to obey the Law of Human Nature or to disobey it. These "laws" are not written but in a sense 'programed' into us. We know what's right and what's wrong. Towards the end of this chapter Lewis says, "Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. We know that it's wrong to take someone elses life, and we know it's right to tell the truth. What I find interesting is that it's not just Christians who know this, it's everyone. I'd like to think that someday, everyone will know Jesus too.
I struggle with those issues within the church as well, and as an MK I've visited many congregations where there is a lot of inner division over differences in how people want to worship. Selfishness is clearly at the root of those problems and far to often people are asking how a church can serve them, rather than how they can serve a church.
ReplyDeleteGina, I liked how you tied in something that connects all this to you. It is hard because I find that one of the best places that Satan likes to hide out is in the Church. He likes to divide the church so that in the end no one will ever want to go there. How can we as God's servants help with this problem? I think that the main thing is pray...especially for pastors like your dad whose job is to be a shephard over people.
ReplyDeleteI,too, like the idea that the Law of Nature applies to Christians and non-Christians alike. Lewis does a great job at relating the idea too as he uses understandable examples with stones, pianos, and men in danger.Nice job, Gina.
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