I believe this is the first Easter I have experienced
outside of the U.S. and it’s been quite the experience. Here the Colombian culture has been greatly
influenced by the Catholic Church and the celebration of Semana Santa (Holy
Week) consists of resting, visiting family, and church processions which back
up many of the streets. Yet Easter
appears to be the quietest day of this week-long celebration, no work, no
Easter eggs, no bunnies, no candy… Just
Church.
I enjoyed the rest, even though most businesses were closed
when I desired their service or products.
It was good to experience Semana Santa and Easter Sunday differently
than what I have been used to, and it certainly encouraged me to think more
about the significance of Christ’s resurrection for me and for the Church, and
even for those who don’t share my spiritual beliefs.
A dear friend and mentor used to remind me every Sunday,
“Jesus Christ is alive, and that makes all the difference.” When I came back to what Dave had said, I
think this sums up Easter for me, for the Church, and even for those who
wouldn’t find themselves in church in twenty years. If Jesus Christ is alive, that makes all the
difference.
I Corinthians 15 says, “For if the dead are not raised, not
even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your
faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen
asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life
only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
(I Cor 15: 16-19, ESV)
If Jesus Christ is alive, if he conquered death, this means
that God is faithful and his promises are true and that should make all the
difference in how we see God. If not, if Jesus Christ did not conquer death... we are of all people the most to be pitied.
I hope that this fact
brings forth many of the other beautiful and convicting realities of our faith. God wants to provide for us, sustain us,
protect us, and use us to make known His love.
It means that when Christ asked us to make disciples of all nations he
didn’t say get people in Church because that is where salvation is, he meant
make disciples who make disciples.
I write this in love, but I think there are many times we
must revisit our understandings of scripture.
Making disciples isn’t necessarily about getting people in church to say
a prayer of salvation, it is about teaching people to search and know God,
empowering them to find understanding on their own, so they can empower more
people to search for, to know, and to make visible the invisible attributes of
our God. Unfortunately, I think we fail
at this all too often. Not always, but
too often. If we wish to see the Kingdom
of God here on earth in our generation, if we wish to see our message reach all
people, all languages, all cultures, then we must return to the source, Jesus. It is much more than a prayer, it is an
understanding that we are a body, we all have different giftings, different
passions, and we respond differently to many of life’s pleasures. Yet, we share the same purpose, that we
glorify God with one voice.
This post is not to discourage you from leading people in
prayer, proclaiming Jesus lord of our lives.
No, it is to open discussion that salvation can come outside of our
reproducible model of evangelism, and that discipleship is more than a
prayer. What good is ‘the prayer’ if we
fail to form relationships with the prayers, if we fail to show them Jesus, if
we fail to disciple them. Yes God is
good, He is sovereign, and I believe many times he disciples people Himself
through his Spirit. But that is not to
say we are not responsible for inviting people to know and experience the life
that God has desired for them, beyond a single prayer. May we not focus so much on cultural
restrictions we’ve placed on ourselves in the church. Salvation comes from faith, and faith
alone. If we fail to remember that our
litmus test for discipleship is our fruitfulness, and not only that we bear
much fruit but that our fruit should last, then our focus isn’t on creating
disciples. When we accompany someone in
their desire to profess that God is real, that people are imperfect, and the
Christ died and rose again, that He is faithful, then let us show that Christ’s
resurrection makes all the difference
by being a church that makes disciples who make disciples, as Steve Saint puts
it.
Again, my writings are about concerns that stem from my
pursuit and my desire to make and see God known among the nations, to heal
wounds from church and religion with people who have been hurt by people
professing the name of “God”, and to see the church one day glorifying God with
one voice (Romans 15:6). Is it heresy to
ask that what we often see in church may not always be Biblical? Is it too sensitive to ask that is it
possible that many people who are in church may not be saved? Is it possible that people can find salvation
without ever finding themselves in Church?
Am I making you uncomfortable by wanting to challenge truths that appear
more cultural than Biblical? And am I
wrong in wondering if we realize that because Christ is alive, which makes all
the difference, that we should be drawn to know for ourselves, and not from
what we here, who is our God? Is it
wrong to ask if the sole purpose of the Church is to make visible the invisible
attributes of God through the process of making disciples who make disciples, and
not necessarily through worship music and a sermon?
Let me say this very clearly, I love the church. I love going to church. I love my church communities. I will support any church as long as it
carries the name of Jesus as savior. There are also many churches out there who are
making disciples that make disciples. However, I believe we should challenge
that which appears to be a watered down version of salvation, and that which
keeps us from truly living and enjoying this life that God desires for not just the church, but for all people. I will ask and plead people to challenge me,
that I myself am not running, or leading others, in a direction which is
anything less than the life purposed for His disciples. I do not wish to pretend I have the answers,
I only have questions, but I hope you can join me in better understanding who
our God is and what He desires for us.
This is the church, the body of Christ, no? To challenge and be challenged in love,
having been given grace for our imperfectness and an undeserved love for our
sinfulness, that one day we may glorify God with one voice in complete harmony
(Romans 15:1-6).
So amidst the chocolate, the presents, the parties, and the
Easter bunnies, I hope we return to this simple truth of our faith… Jesus is alive, and that makes all the
difference.
In Grace and Love, and in the celebration of Easter...
Cyrus
