Photo by Linda Xu on Unsplash
Selling the Christian faith has come to be one of the core
competencies of evangelicals. This has its roots in extending Jesus’ Great
Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) within the circles of our influence.
But, there are parts of the faith-life that don’t always sit
well. These are some of the realities that Christians can struggle with:
1.
Prayers aren’t always answered to our satisfaction. I don’t know any faith-followers of God who enjoy having their
prayers answered contrary to what they desire. But God is sovereign, and though
we are commanded to pray, none of us can control God through our prayers. This
is why prayer involves such supreme faith. It reminds us to pray more holistically,
like using the Jesus Prayer,[1] or to pray prayers of
praise and thanksgiving, or to pray for the knowledge of God’s will and the
power to carry it out. Prayer isn’t just about us pleading our ‘shopping lists’
before Him. It is also God’s language to us.
2.
Non-believers often cannot be ‘influenced’. We don’t need to be Christians very long to come face-to-face
with the fact that we peddle an unpopular message. It is only those that the Spirit
has already been working in who are ripe for the gospel. This is a reality we’re
both forced to accept as well as accept that we cannot force anyone to come to
faith.
3.
Christians can seem to suffer more than those who don’t believe. Christians do suffer: John Wesley said, “One of the greatest evidences
of God’s love to those that love him is to send
them afflictions, with grace to bear them.” So, there are two parts to this one
evidence; the fact of afflictions that often come as persecutions, and the grace
Christians receive with which to bear them. Being a Jesus follower doesn’t mean
that we thrive in our suffering. Nobody does. But it is a biblical idea to consider it pure joy when we suffer trials
of many kinds (James 1:2-4).
4.
Christians can’t sin and be happy in their sinning. Yes, this is correct. For those who have the Holy Spirit, there
is the conviction of the Spirit. A Christian’s conscience won’t allow them to
revel in wickedness. This leaves the believer in the unenviable position that
they feel guilty for what others may deem as fun. The conscience is piqued.
5.
Christians can’t stop sinning. It must
bemuse the world when it imagines Christians being ‘perfect’ in God, yet as
they watch on there are so many Christians that seem hypocritical. As followers
of Jesus we sit on a knife’s edge straddling two opposed truths: we are sinners,
but we are called beyond our sin. The only difference is the Christian accepts
they’re a sinner, whilst the world either doesn’t accept this fact (as a truth about
self) and/or doesn’t care.
6.
Christians are often frustrated with the church. But just as much are we frustrated by how the church is
perceived in the world. We know that the church is precious to God, and that it
grieves God’s Spirit when the church is defamed. But Christians know full well
that the church is corruptible, because it is run by a humanity under the
direction of God but not always in submission to Him. If power gets to a person’s
head, that power is wielded sinfully. It’s misused and abused. The only hope for
the church is that it truly operates with Christ as its head.
7.
Christians are usually unable to answer non-believers’
questions. Most Christians will struggle to answer
theological questions to the satisfaction of those who ask them. It is easy to
miss the mark or to miss the timing or to not get our words right. But the
point of living the authentic Christlike life is not in what we say, but in
what we do and how we do it; in how we live our lives.
8.
Christians cannot seem to prove God to those who insist He is
not real. This really irks some in the faith. They love
their doctrines but cannot seem to make some people budge. These same people
will only be convinced by God Himself.
9.
Christians are just as prone to addictions, despair, disappointments,
and failure as anyone is. Perhaps more so in many
cases. When we place our hope in God it’s easy to lose sight that we face the
same temptations that are common to life. We all face the same kinds of
enticements. We’re all tempted into envy and greed and lust and pride. And we
all fall for these traps, Christian or not.
10.
Christians don’t have any excuse to lash out at people. This doesn’t stop some Christians. But people who follow Christ
absorb the hurts cast toward them and they attempt to process their hurts in positive
ways. There are times, like for anyone made of feelings and flesh, when we’d
like to have our revenge. But we’re told that it’s God’s prerogative to avenge.
Christian faith can be as much about truly accepting the
inconvenient and uncomfortable realities of life as enjoying the favour of God’s
grace. But it is not without cost. Indeed, new Christians ought to know that
the genuine life in Jesus is costly, but of course the rewards far outweigh the
costs.
And please don’t get me wrong, most Christians wouldn’t have
their lives any other way.
These realities that Christians don’t like about being Christian
are paradoxically and precisely what mature them in the faith.
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