//. Thick

The funny thing about faith is that there is no such tool to measure it with. I could sit here all day and guess at how far I suppose my neighbors' journey with God is. But in the end, it is me who is the smallest in proportion; I would have had too little of faith in others, so much so that I'd even find the need to take the time and effort to judge. Mind you, it is still the body of Christ which I then insult.

But I think that is why sometimes churches are so malfunctioned. Either we find ourselves placing everyone in various steps on the spiritual ladder particularly in comparison to ourselves and our families... or we unrightfully assume that everyone is at the same page that we are, and thus leave inopportune moments of miscommunication and distrust. 

See, the problem is that we are all too often curious and critical of others that we unknowingly dismiss our loyalties of why we attend church -- of why we proclaim our faith. I think of the various times where I have snoozed off during miscellaneous sermons when I was a teenager and would make a silent note of the fact that these speakers did not have the qualities to make an enticing preacher. It would be the atmosphere's fault that they did not create a dramatic and tranquil enough of an aroma for me to feel the Holy Spirit. And overall, I was still a charitable citizen for having woken up early enough on a Sunday morning to make pleasant conversation with others whom I find to wear relatively bland clothing and even throw in a dollar for the sake of what my punk friends would think if I did not give the offering that my parents actually gave me prior to the service.

In one of Francis Chan's last messages of being the pastor at the church that he founded, he said this:

"Too many people just get 'church' all screwed up. they think church is a place where you're just supposed to come evaluate their music, evaluate their message -- you don't like it -- the childcare, and the program. Well, if not, I'll go to a another one, a different one... No. What 'church' was supposed to be, was a bunch of people that were spending their days out, making disciples. Trying to get other people to follow God and they get so beat up, that they just naturally would gather together and have this fellowship, this bond where they bandage one another up and send them back out. And sometimes, the reason why churches don't work quite right is because we're like a bunch of soldiers that never went to war and yet we all go to the war hospital and are playing with the bandages and go, 'hey haha look at this' as we play around with the bandages... you know? It's like you haven't even been beat up because you haven't been at war! So it doesn't even make sense to gather together, you know? And try to encourage each other, because we're not even after the mission anymore. (2010)"

We're not even after the mission anymore.

I wish I had somebody ask me when I was fourteen:

Do you think you're doing someone a favor?

Whose faith, whose desires, whose expectations are you really delivering?

Who are you to invite Him in?

I ask that last question... because oftentimes, I think we pray to God that He enter "this place." We ask Him to be present and that we invite Him into our lives.

This is not your party

And it's not about you, it's His.

He has invited us. Undeservingly, of course. Jesus left heaven and He didn't have to. It is that He humbled Himself enough to come down to a crummy place like earth (in comparison to heaven) so that maybe, just maybe, you and I would find it in us to come to realize God's great love.

But we are too busy complaining. We are too busy noticing the imperfections of it all. It's like adopting a dog from the pound who quickly forgets where it once came from. It is soon blinded with luxuries of a warm house, the comfort of one's own food and water, decent company, and entertainment by the plenty... so much so that it takes running away irresponsibly and getting lost to realize that all it really needed was love. All of that other stuff -- it can melt away. But its heart will all too soon feel the bitter coldness of what it was once like not having someone who cared and it's a scary thought to think that we have once been there to start with.

I think of Proverbs 30:7-9.

"Two things I ask of you, Lord;

do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, 'Who is the Lord?'

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God."

How likely are you to actually pray, 'God, ward off lies that I might actually really like,' and 'oh, God, please don't give me abundant blessings, but just the bare minimum?' I will be the first to be truthful with you: this is not my ideal prayer. We have fallen into this materialistic, judgmental world where everything is based upon the agility, the chicness, the new and the glamour... that the lies of it all carry us far beyond our measures from what He had once in store. How grateful should we be that we are even in a country that allows us to speak His name and express our love as boldly as we desire? We are given too much -- and the devil loves it. Do you see the picture here? You think of starvation in third world countries and natural disasters in cities you don't even bother remembering the name of and think... man, Satan's out to get them and is eating this up. In the meantime, we are swimming in:

Millions of church members who give a bad name to Christianity because of what they do from Monday through Saturday,

Gift receipts due to the assumption of just how many family members do not care to actually know their loved ones,

Rehabilitation centers focusing on the excess amount of alcohol, drugs, food, video games, wild entertainment, and lust we are exposed to,

A leading percentage of obesity that we have ever known because a lack of self-control and the parents blaming society and genetics,

...I could go on.

To know God... It's not about who is the most respected at your church. It's not about regarding your parents' assumptions about where you stand in your beliefs. It's not about lying to yourself when you wake up in the morning and say that you're going to put His name on your sleeve merely because your peers might prosecute you if otherwise. It's not getting so far ahead in your confidence that you have gained the right to look down on others. It's not about just you.There is so much more to this world than that. There is so much more to this life than that. Why are we all so blind to the Truth? It's because there is so much thickness getting in the way of clarity. We don't see the urgency to this matter because we can already have it. There are so. many. nations. out there who would sacrifice anything to hear the Good News. We need to battle this corrupted media we have created, this comfortable image we've conveyed to our children... There is so much going on that our hands and feet could be used for but we neglect this notion because our personal needs of whatever are not met in this temporary home we call earth.

Selfish.

I wonder what it would take for us to realize what we have. I wonder what it would take for churches to stop arguing, to stop fidgeting and just be. Be what He intended. Be peaceful, merciful, gracious and understanding.

We forget to remember. We forget to own a thankful heart. We forget to pray. We forget the point.

We forget to let go of all the things that don't really matter.

To let go. And let God.