10/24/13 Don, Matt early 20's
Don
and Matt are “evangelical dropouts”. Now
in their 20’s and out of college, they have abandoned the evangelical church
culture and faith they grew up in and are searching for something different to
turn to. They were at our local coffee shop,
discussing this very thing when Jake and I reached out to them by introducing
ourselves as members of a local church and asking if they would be willing to
give their opinions on one of Jesus’ parables, the Parable of the Wheat and the
Weeds. They both immediately recognized
the farmer (Jesus), the enemy (Satan), the wheat (Christians), the weeds
(unbelievers), and the harvest (final judgment). I went
on to ask “Where do you fit in to this parable personally? What do you believe?” Matt said he has turned away from
Christianity mainly because as an artist he feels church is too constraining on
his creativity. He feels he would lose
his sense of identity if he were a Christian.
We talked about this some, then turned to Don, whose views I found to be
more troubling. He said “I want to
believe, I really do, but I just can’t.
It’s not there. I’ve been active
in church and leading worship in a Christian ministry during college, but to be
honest I’ve never had any sort of spiritual experience. I just don’t feel it like other people
do. I wonder if I’m one of the weeds in
the parable. Some people are vessels
made for destruction, others for a noble purpose (referring to Romans 9). Maybe I’m just not one of God’s elect.”
(referring to the many passages that indicate God’s sovereign election in
salvation) Jake and I had reason to believe Don was sincere and not just
using this as a smokescreen for sin, blaming God for his lack of faith rather
than taking responsibility for it himself.
But why is it that some people have rich spiritual experiences, while
others do not? “I know from Hebrews 11
that faith is what pleases God, and faith means believing in something that you
can’t really see” I told him. “If we
always required some sort of spiritual experience in order to believe and obey,
then I’m not so sure that would be true faith.”
I know Jesus chastised the Pharisees for demanding a miracle. I am also aware, for example, that the
generations following the parting of the Red Sea had to experience that miracle
second-hand, by hearing or reading about it rather than seeing it for
themselves. I asked Don “What does God
owe us? Do we have the right to demand anything from Him?” He didn’t hesitate - “Of course not, God
doesn’t owe us anything” “Oh but He does” I said. “As sinners who have willingly broken his
laws, He owes us the just punishment we deserve.” The miracle is that He withholds this
punishment, that He shows us mercy that we don’t deserve. I wonder if Don’s inability to believe is
simply the result of unrealistic expectations based on a man-centered theology,
a theology that stresses what pleases us rather than what pleases God. And if faith is what pleases God, then people
like Don, who don’t feel they experience spirituality first hand, have the
opportunity to please God most of all.
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