I attended a different church Sunday. One of the things I consciously try and do is to never turn down a church invitation. I went to Catholic School for 3 years and occasionally attended mass with friends, as an atheist. I figure if I could do that then, there is no church now that is going to be unbearable. Since I know that God enjoys speaking to me through many different venues and voices, I feel like going to a different church with a friend or someone i dont know might be his newest “hey, whats up?”
Sure enough…the preacher spoke of Lazarus at the end of his sermon. “Not much new with me God. How’s the weather where you are?”
At the beginning though, something happened that made me uneasy. There was a declaration that through some activity they had done or supported, some number of kids had made their commitments to Christ…they had “come to Jesus.” This has always made me uneasy…this sort of update of the church scorecard. Its as if there is someone making tally marks on a whiteboard somewhere, so they feel they need to go ahead and announce it. I never knew why it made me so uneasy though…and i still might not know, but I am going to try and say.
To start off, it could be that I think of myself as a Calvinist, and my interpretation of Calvinism means that people dont, through their own powers, up and follow Jesus. Saying “they came to Christ” makes it sound like they have made the “right” decision…as if all this time they were answering “false” on the test and now they have changed to the correct answer. “I am proud to announce that yesterday 15 children in our church have chosen correctly!”
The other problem I have with this is I dont think children can make this choice, assuming it was a choice that could be made. Children dont choose to go to church. They cant drive. Children dont choose to serve the poor. They have to do homework. Children dont question the Word and the people interpreting it. They just sit there, trying not to fidget, trying not to annoy their sister too much, counting the endless seconds left in church. I could prove this to you. Bring me a child who has “chosen” to follow Christ. Give me 10 minutes. You yourself could do this. If you have an atheist friend, they could help. Ask the kid what it means to “follow Christ.” Ask the kid “who is Jesus?” Lastly, ask the kid, “how was your life different than it is now once you came to believe?” If there is no difference, that kid hasnt come to be a follower.
* This holds true for you as well…all followers. Is there a difference now? quick, find a mirror. It will tell you.
John 5:25 was the finishing passage (which made sense and further supported the Calvinist in me). “The dead shall hear…and they that hear shall live.” Thats us! We are the dead. We have no power to make the decision. We just happened to be unconditionally chosen, and we have heard, and now we live. “Yesterday, 6 kids might have heard. Tomorrow we will know for sure, and if that be the case, we congratulate them, because now they will live.”
DAlen