a followup on my 'Mennonite' post

I feel like I was slightly misunderstood on my ‘mennonite’ post. Not by all but by a few. I have discovered that can happen a lot when one chooses to write out ones thoughts for the world to read. I’m not sure how to avoid that. So for the future, before you decide that my post means one thing when it could in fact mean several things please contact me. So that you don’t have to wonder. I want to clear up (for the people who misunderstood my meaning) the idea that I have very little for Mennonites. It’s not true. I am a Mennonite and will probably always be one. I was by no means bashing the Mennonites or every Mennonite church. But neither do I uplift every Mennonite church.  Anyway, some of the res of the misunderstandings should be cleared up in this follow up. 

While the responses to my post didn’t necessarily answer all my questions, they did give me food for thought. And I think I have at least partially found the answers to some of the questions. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and don’t especially like the conclusion that I feel God gave me. I mean it’s a great one. But it’s also a stomping on the toes conclusion. 

You see my frustration is with the lack of action that is seen in the churches of today. The very comfortable, I’ll serve God on Sunday religion so much of our culture has accepted. But the lack of action points to something far more. It points to our hearts. It points to a lack of passion for our God. And that’s kinda scary for me, because it seems like so often I get caught up in ‘my’ life and I ignore God. 

I see the ‘I’ll serve God on Sunday’ religion so often in my life. It’s frightening. 

You see when someone is falling in love it takes only a small amount of time to find out about the object of their affection. They love that person so much they can’t help but talk about that ‘special’ person. Now you may not hear about their significant other in the first conversation you have with them but as you talk to them more and more you find out  and when you do find out you have no doubt about how they feel about that person. 

I’m suggesting a loss of our first love and thus Christianity has not been spreading as well as it should/could. I’m not saying that we need to wear a robe and scream on street corners. I’m not suggesting that you should wear signs that say, “repent”. I’m not even saying that you are one of the people that has lost their first love or that you and your church are not making a difference. But I am saying that I have a horrible tendency of leaving my first love. I tend to pursue my own comfort more than I pursue the God I say I serve. 

You see I believe that if one is actively, daily pursuing Christ, the spreading of the gospel will happen. It’s not necessarily doing huge things. It’s in living your day. It’s working. It’s going to school. It’s shopping. It’s smiling at some random person. It’s reading a story to a child. It’s little things. It has very little to do getting action ‘done’ and everything to do with ones relationship with Christ. If we truly and honestly are following God, we will be spreading the Gospel. Because something that wonderful can’t remain hidden. If we love our God, it will simply pour from us. It will be seen in our smile, in our eyes, in our hands, and in our feet. If God is our everything, HOW CAN WE BE SILENT? I don’t believe we can and I believe this is the answer God has given me. He says, “Pursue me, and I will reach the world through you.” And if it seems that I am doing nothing, like no heart is being touched, I am doing something, I am pursuing my God, and He is touching my heart. 

See that answer terrifies me. Because as we all no it’s much easier to look pretty/Christian on the outside, than it is to be pretty/Christian on the inside. It’s much easier to go volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, or some other local mission than it is to daily dive into the depths of God. It’s much easier to dress your outside in “Christian” clothes than it is to dress your heart in Christianity. It’s much easier to talk like Christian, than it is to think like Christian. It’s also much easier to stray from Christ than to stay with Christ. 

Christianity is not a lazy lifestyle, it cannot be. I must constantly be on guard. I can’t let anything threaten my relationship with Christ. I cannot afford to be lazy. So that’s another reason this answer steps on my toes. Because so often I get the idea that I can relax, I mean really just how bad is ____? I don’t like the idea that others can do certain things and I simply cannot. But if I want to be a passionate God-follower, I can’t expect to live my life the way modern day ‘Christians’ do. 

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 

Prone to leave the God I love, 

Hears my heart, Oh take and seal it,

Seal it for thy Courts above”

~Robert Robinson

I am not saying that this answer is God’s answer to you. I think you need to talk to Him about that. I am just sharing what His answer was to me. And beings I verbalized my questions, I thought I should also verbalize the answers. 

(I think that someone could take the whole pursuit of God daily out of context, or the context I meant it and say that we must also be following our Master, and becoming more like Him, it can’t just be a ‘relationship’ thing. But I believe if your relationship with Christ is where is should be the works will happen and not following Christ/becoming more like Him will not be an option.)