George Barna has nailed it again. He actually has written two posts in one: first he demonstrates (again) how almost everyone who claims to be a Christian really has no idea what that means; secondly he demonstrates that to go deeper in God, we must allow ourselves to be broken.
On the first point, he says “My research suggests that millions of Americans “say the prayer” that they assume guarantees them eternal salvation. But the research also confirms that a large share of those people does not develop a real “relationship” with Christ, they have not really broken ranks with sin, and they are not truly living for God’s purposes.” This is a tragedy that has been the focus of my time as a Christian leader since the late 1980s. Barna goes on to point out that part of the problem is that the church is far too interested in placating people, making the Christian experience easy or happy. Many have forgotten that when Jesus said that he would make the burden light, he is still saying that we will take on his yoke and carry a burden. Barna argues that a sense of understanding the brokenness about our sin is critical, yet of course we don’t like that becasue it makes us uncomfortable.
But it is the second point where Barna really nails this point. Barna says that when a Christian experiences brokenness, like David or Moses, we come closer to God’s throne. He writes, “Most people never realize that brokenness is actually a gift from God that demonstrates His awesome and unyielding love. We typically examine the circumstances designed to guide us from a casual acquaintance to an intense and intimate lover of God and foolishly conclude that they are harmful to our well-being. In reality, they are God’s means of bringing us to our knees before Him, in full-on repentance, enabling us to see the truth of who we are, who He is, how we treat Him, and how compassionate He is.”
Wow! Go read the full post here, but before you go, think on this….the last time you had a rough go of it, maybe an unkind professor or a work colleague who “threw you under the bus,” what was your reaction? Having recently just gone through this with some people previously from my church saying some pretty harsh and hurtful things, I know my reaction is to lash out or to sulk at God for Him allowing such evil to happen to me. Barna, though, is right that we should “embrace brokenness and to trust God alone to bring you through it.”