Bailing for ourselves
February 15, 2006
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Here secular men were trying to solve a problem brought about by a man of God—Jonah—running away from God's call.
What kinds of trouble do we as Christian leaders create in our society? What problems do we bring about by distorting or misreading God's message? A few come to mind: Dutch immigrants, by way of a skewed theology, transformed South Africa into a divided and racist culture. Americans did the same with slaves. Those are big ones, but what about us? What is being skewed in our church, community, society, province/state, and nation because of a potentially twisted theology? Seven to eight decades ago in Canada, evangelical leaders, despising talk of the "social gospel," erected sectarian barriers, keeping people of biblical passion and faith from engaging in matters of public concern. Jesus' coming was so soon, why care for a world obviously going to hell in a hand basket. Today, we reap that distortion. So today, in what ways are we skewering our world? I don't know. What I do know is that fifty years ago our little sectarian church—now the largest evangelical denomination in Canada—did everything it could to not look like the "world." Today there doesn't seem to be much difference: our music is about three to five years behind the pop charts—with different words—and our lifestyles approximate the cultural norm. What storms are we as leaders generating in our world that if we had heard and listened to God in the first place, our society wouldn't be bailing and rowing, trying to save our lives? Prayer-- Wise God, Knower of All That Is, when you call, help us to listen. As we do, may we not run from the outworking of your call, leaving for Tarshish when Nineveh is your designed destination. Too often we blame the "secularist" and "humanists" for the ills of our world, when some of the storms they try to overcome may be caused by our disobedience. Lord, sprinkle humility on our hearts so we will know when it is our turn to face the tough implications of your call. Amen. |
"The men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not." |