That is not a good thing. I will get into that in a paragraph or three.
Sometimes it seems I see more truth in the Disney movies instead of at what 99% of churches give out today. I have to say I do love church. I know you don't believe me. But what bothers me about church sometimes is while it supposed to be a haven of rest, it is not supposed to be a retirement community. It is not just to get us holy huddling instead of going out into the world. It is not supposed to be like we are on board a Boeing 747 during a devastating earthquake where we can fly in the clouds and enjoy the in flight movies and ignore what is going on below us. It is not a sand pit where we can hide our heads like little ostriches and ignore the world going to hell.
It sometimes seems that the church wants to cocoon you and wants to give you happiness instead of joy. Often we escaped the Titanic and are singing songs of deliverance and praise while our lifeboats are only half full and people are crying out to be rescued. Church is wonderful, but when there is a world out there going to hell and you can leave service and walk right past a dying world and not give it another thought, I wonder if we are missing something. We give testimonies, and I know I have done that, of wonderful moments when we gave out a gospel tract and someone was excited and at first we were afraid but was glad we did. Yet, that person was never seen again by us, and is still likely on their way to hell.
I think church today is like our homes. If we have a decent house, we can drive around the neighborhood and see houses falling apart and feel good about ours. We could spend a month in Haiti and we would no longer whine about only having 1 & 1/2 baths. However, if we start watching the home makeover shows we start longing for a better home. We get discontent a bit, and we start dreaming of what could be. A sunroof or two. Espresso bar in the bathroom next to the walk in stone floor all glass shower. Waterfall in the living room. Dark oak cupboards and a drop down wall screen tv. We start picturing the family outings and Christmas dinner and spending our golden years there.
All I am saying is if you start reading about real revivals in the 1800's and the fruit of the preaching, you won't be content with what you see in church today. I don't know the right attitude to have. I really wish everything I saw in church was real. However, I have seen too many people give glowing testimonies of how they got saved at such and such a meeting, and then I hear them 2 years later saying how this time they really got saved. I watched a young married guy do that for the 4th time in 6 years and then a few months later he's cheating on his wife and finally divorcing her. I saw a guy my age who grew up in the church and was "saved" give this powerful confession and really get saved this time, and then I watched him get baptized. Next I knew he "came out" and was living with another GUY. I go to funerals for families on my wife's side (my side is Catholic and Greek Orthodox and salvation is completely foreign but after every funeral they are gloriously ushered into heaven according the the priest) and hear how so and so is in heaven because they were led to the Lord 20 years ago. They sure fooled me. Chain smoker Grandma Thelma was saved? Sure she was.
With myself I long to be holier. I don't know if I am pleasing God half the time or not. I don't feel like I am making a dent at all in my family let alone this country. I long for the power to usher in revival, but am I willing to pay the price? I likely am too addicted to sugar to do any sort of long term fast to gain any ground. I resist the world but enjoy a good Disney movie. I vow to not eat the King's meat like Daniel but I will drop $25 on a Porterhouse steak from Outback. I spent $9 on cupcakes at the Supermarket today for my son's birthday. That would feed a family in the Philippines for a month. And their kids wouldn't complain they didn't get the soccer cupcakes.
Speaking of Disney, I find they share in my longings. Brave is about finding your destiny and not wanting the old boring same old life of everyone else. I think that is what I feel. I want adventure in the great wide open. I want to be like the pioneers in the 1800's and the circuit riding preachers and I want to have the courage to witness freely and not let the world get me. In the Lion King, Simba is told, REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. We don't know who we are anymore. We are supposed to be Christians. Why do sodomites have courage to dress ridiculous and in triump, shout from the rooftops their disgusting lifestyle and we who are victors who have the truth and the power to save someone from the Lake of Fire for eternity act ashmed? Or we don't believe. Or we are afraid?
I think the movie that best speaks of where we are as Christians is the Incredibles. Here we have superheros who get sued for saving someone who didn't want to be saved. Soon after there is the Superhero relocation program and they have to go back to normal lives and pretend to fit in. The son of Mr. Incredible isn't allowed to do sports because he would always win. The dad is miserable working a regular job while the world is being ransacked, and the wife is busy distracted by the busyness of life, changing diapers and unpacking boxes. Deep down they know something is missing because they let the world box them up and put them on a shelf because they couldn't handle them.
That is how I feel. I am a Superhero because Jesus is inside me. I have a God given assignment that will self destruct at any moment to save as many as possible before the world as we know it is blown up to smithereens. I have an instruction manual telling me what to do. And I have a world, as well as the church today, telling me to stay and fit in. Don't make waves. Don't expose our sin. Don't care about your sin. Why be such a party pooper? Yes the ship is sinking, but the water looks fine! Come on in! Just don't dare to be a Daniel.
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