Katrina Goodrich
Women’s Society
22
October 2015 SR
SR
“Ugh! You just ruined that for me. I wasted 13 years of my
life with the whole Chris an thing and I don’t want to even
be reminded of that.”
This was the reaction of a friend to an offhand comment made
about the resemblance of a piece of décor she had previously
liked to a Christian symbol. Right then was not the time or
place to enter in to a theological, or obviously emotionally
charged, conversation regarding Christianity. It wasn’t a good
time to ask why she felt that way. But because of the obvious
vehemence with which she delivered the words, it was a hard
statement to ignore and even harder to forget.
Hearing things like this make me wonder why people turn away
so forcefully from Christ? Thirteen years is a long time to believe
and then do a 180 to adamantly reject the life that was being
cultivated. It’s not just belief that lost its enthusiasm and became
a stagnant zombie-like religion, a poor mimicry of the real
covenant between Christ and his followers. This is flat-out
hatred of the things which used to be valued — a bitterness.
I don’t know why this particular person is so bitter about faith,
but I do know that she is not the only person who feels that
way. There are many people who have grown up in church,
been happy there and later bitterly rejected their faith. But,
you don’t always get to know the reason why someone leaves
their faith behind. I get caught up in thinking that I can’t affect
anything unless I know all the particulars of a situation. But
that’s not the truth — it’s my curiosity and helplessness. Because
I am so tied up in figuring out the exact best way to defend God
to a specific person, I miss the opportunity to do it. I can’t
know the best way without having all the variables — right?
The truth is, the person who really needs that information
already knows all the particulars of the situation: the ones able
to be expressed and those unexpressed. God knows. We really
don’t need to know the particulars of every situation. Perhaps
we just need to understand one thing.
The root cause of people turning away from Christ stems from
an inaccurate view of God. Somewhere along the journey their
sight of a sovereign, omnipotent, loving creator has become
scarred, marring their vision and leading them to reject the
true love of Christ. It is difficult to understand the perfection
of God in this fallen world, where there is only imperfection.
If we, those who follow Christ can understand that, no matter
the circumstances we can be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks about the hope we have in Jesus, no matter
how bitterly the question is put. When the truth of who God is
comes to light, who can turn away?
Our role in life on this earth is to be the evidence of God’s
character, helping to heal the scars and provide proof of who
God is to the world — correcting a fallen perception of God.
This may take a moment or a lifetime. We don’t have to have
the perfect thing to say or provide a bulletproof argument to
those with an opposing view (though sometimes that will
happen). What is truly in question is God’s character, not ours.
We don’t have to worry. He’s perfect. Even though we are still
imperfect vessels prone to weakness and sin, every time we
choose to follow Christ, a little more of the truth shows
through.
Knowing why a person has decided to leave the faith may help
us to understand her but isn’t necessary. As long as we are
striving to follow Christ, His truth will shine through us and
provide the best evidence of His love we can give.
Being the Evidence
