Prone to Wander |
Having served the Church of Jesus Christ as a pastor and professor for 45 years, I have noticed that Christians sometimes wander from the faith and become unbelieving believers. That is not a contradiction in logic it is simply a reality of life. (John 2:23) Not all Christians finish well. The apostle Paul finished well and writing from prison near the end of his life he reminds us, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. (2 Tim. 4) Today’s headlines are filled with pastors and Christian leaders who are leaving the faith seeking freedom from God because life is uncomfortable, unfulfilling, or unfair. Big mistake! But this can and does happen. It often does not happen all at once. It can be an accumulation of things. No one wakes up in the morning and says, “Today I want to become an alcoholic.” It begins with a small decision followed by many other choices until one day the person realizes what has happened and asks themselves; “How did I end up like this?” In Luke 15 Jesus told three parables that we often combine into one. But if we read each of them, we realize that the Lost sheep was Lost innocently, the Lost coin was Lost irresponsibly, but the Lost prodigal son left intentionally. Sometimes in our life, our drifting from the Lord begins in a way that appears to be innocent, becomes irresponsible, and ends with our intentional moving away from our heavenly Father. Big mistake! Sin can accumulate and our conscience can become seared rendering it insensitive to the power of the word of God, the prompting of the Spirit of God, and resulting in broken fellowship with God. If you think this could never happen to you, remember; “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (I Cor.10:12) Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred |