Two tough questions surfaced recently that are not so easy to answer. Both asked by hurting people who wanted answers when the church does not act like the church Jesus commissioned. Tough questions that draw attention to our flaws and fears.
Question number one came from a person outside the faith. A person who was covered in tattoos who looked rough around the edges. This individual lived right across the street from a church. He saw people come and go most Sundays. He was often outside washing and polishing his vehicle. Nobody ever approached him. Nobody invited him to attend a service. The man got involved in drugs and other criminal behavior and eventually ended up in prison. It was in prison where he heard about Jesus and got saved.
When he got out of prison and returned home, he asked another Christian why nobody in that church ever invited him to attend. The fellow believer could only surmise that church members were scared to approach him. They were scared off by his looks. Not a satisfactory answer.
The second question came from a lady in poor health and her husband who is also ailing. It seems their collective health is deteriorating rapidly. The lady asked me a tough question. She asked, "Why do people hug your neck and act like they care when you are at church, but you never hear from them when we are out of church.?" She went on to say that one deacon and I are the ONLY ones to ever call to check on them when they miss. Both have fallen multiple times recently and it would seem the days of their consistent attendance are in the past. Do they only matter when they sit in seats during a worship service?
I know that people in churches check on one another they are close to. People on the fringes often get neglected and forgotten. This shows another weakness in churches. We are supposed to care about everyone in the body of Christ. I do my best, but I often miss lonely and needy people who need comfort and support. When we notice people are missing we need to take the initiative to check on them.
These tough questions are not easy to answer. People die and go to hell because we are too fearful to approach them. People are forsaken by the church because they are not popular, not wealthy, nor even faithful in attendance. It is easy to feel like nobody cares. Like you don't really matter.
Churches, we can do better. First of all, God has not given us a spirit of fear {II Tim 1:7] We must trust God for the courage to approach even the most unlovable, unapproachable, and most resistant to hear the good news of Jesus. Jesus also said that when we did good deeds for one of the least of these it was as if we did it unto Him. We have to do better. Eternity hangs in the balance.
