We find ourselves in the ongoing struggle to see past ourselves, which for all of us broken humans is the norm. We are our own worst enemies and with our sin nature and the world of the flesh and the devil pressing down upon us, many feel lost.
This is without question a loss of meaning in culture and the world at large. People have no idea where to go to get wisdom to live. The "Flesh" which means living life without God is the dominant worldview in America and the world today.
Yet within that, The Kingdom of God moves forward unhindered by evil or our willy-nilly shallow faith.
If you are among the many Christians that have lost your connection to the church or to your Lord the time to reconnect is now! The reality is from day-to-day we never know what is coming for us. We may die today or tonight and stand before our Lord. What then will we say, what account can we give if we have traded eternity with Christ for the shallow thrills and distractions of our world?
The new name for an old problem is "deconstructing". Many people have lost interest in church and their faith. They do not know were to go our whom to talk to. As we know if we are not worshipping Christ we will worship something or someone else. Today in America we worship celebrities, politicians like Trump, food , personal fame to name but a few things.
The church which is not just a few people trying to keep it together on Sunday so a crowd can "watch" church, is actually all of us who claim faith in Christ. The fact that the church is America is in decline is due to OUR failure to make Christ the center of our lives.
In Mark 8:24-25 we find Jesus touching a blind man to heal him. Jesus asks him if he can see now, the man replies “I see men as trees, walking”. He could vaguely see moving forms, but he still could not see clearly. After Jesus touched him a second time his sight was healed completely.
The reality that many Christians feel suspended in the middle unable to see clearly the reality of Christ or the depravity of our sin and the world is obvious. So what are we to do?
First of all we must clearly (in my view) seek to separate ourselves form the distractions and clutter of our culture. You gain nothing from endless tweets, or soaking up Fox News, or Binge watching Cable TV as examples. You burn up the precious time you have left for being part of God's Kingdom now for playing with mud pies.
YOU must intentionally make Christ and a Christian way of living the center of your life.
Can't be done many say yet there are many who do it!
The stakes are high for you and those around you. Eternity is a long time to burn in hell and yes the reality will be much to the surprise of the crowds that many nice people will be isolated from God forever.
“first…among many of those who held the orthodox position one saw little reality in the things that the Bible so clearly said should be the result of Christianity.." Francis Schaeffer, “Preface” True Spirituality.
Francis Schaeffer encountered this crisis of faith in his life. By reality he meant that the life-changes that the Bible speaks of: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, humility, and self-control (Galatians 5:19-26)—were not evident in the lives of his coworkers and were barely present in his own life.
Schaeffer came to realize the legalism that had dominated his heart was the root of his doubts. He eventually realized that we as Christians often rely more on doctrinal/moral guidelines than on the grace, mercy and finished work of Christ for our acceptance before God. The result is self-righteousness and pride concerning our spiritual accomplishments, while at the same time we harbor an undercurrent of anxious insecurity.
Ok so lets get practical! What can we do as doubting and disillusioned people? The answers are always simpler than we think. To begin with we over complicate everything. The information you get from the internet is NOT wisdom, so don't treat it as such. Someone's opinion is not always wisdom either. Begin by deconstructing your shallow, mistaken beliefs and any secondary beliefs you believe are primary to your life. But most importantly the cultural narratives that are being offered as the alternatives to your Christian faith.
Be persistent, surround your self with like minded Christians at church or elsewhere. This is not accomplished by trying harder or sheer willpower, by those efforts you will fail. Perhaps you like many must reach the end of your rope wherein Christ is found. Be personal, cry out to Christ, lament, pray, confess your weakness, begin the process of repentance in all areas of life.
The lesson from the blind man in Mark is that when we feel stuck between blindness and sight, belief and disbelief we must plod along with Christ by our side until the fog lifts and our vision clears.