Reformation

More reflections from the Uniting church and Family Conference

So your standing around with other believers. You have your plumb line out, your Bible and your trying to be sure you move forward as correctly as you can. We all realize that if you are off, just a little, when you first start out that as you move down the line and over time you could be way, way off from where you intended to go.

What we don't do, is assume, that the position that we are starting from, could already be way, way, off course because of errors committed by those who have gone before 50, 100, 150 yrs ago.

We give ourselves a free pass on where we currently stand for most issues. We have been unaware that for us and those who have gone before that we have interpreted God's word from within a framework of thinking that was shaped by "values defined by an autonomous culture."

But most of us can quickly think of too many areas where we see the fruit of misdirection by our forefathers in the faith I.E. the embracing of humanistic mindsets for the raising of our children, not just public schools but some of us brought into our homes the same principles that were being taught in the schools. The teaching of knowledge without a real foundation of the fear of the Lord. The church embraced the fragmenting of the family as the best way to impart God's truth. It seemed normal, even wise.

The American idea of the rugged individual which turned into the family being just so many individuals all really going in different directions rather than a cohesive force for the advancement of God's Kingdom, which in turn has become the church full of "families" (I use the term lightly) all going in different directions. I speak of modern evangelicalism on the whole.

How about last weekend hearing Don Hart, Scott Brown and Kevin Swanson bring out principles where I just felt embarrassed, like "I didn't know my zipper has been down..."

Now after awhile you do have to wonder just what is solidly built on God's word and what is just so much Matt 15:1-7 "the traditions of men by which you have made the commandments of God of no effect..." The next thing you could hear would be Jesus saying . .. "Hypocrites!"... That would be verse 7. The final straw was when God gave Swanson a Magnum Opus on "Pragmatism" or was it "No.. one.. really.. cares..about.. what.. God.. wants!" or was it called "I was just trying to keep the arc from falling". You stop worring about whether your zipper is down when you realize you have no pants on!

This has been a week of repentance for me. Minus sack cloth and ashes. We need to be about this work of reformation with vigor. We have got to repent and get out of left field when God is merciful and shows us what we have missed. If we let our pride get in the way....

May it not be! What mercy and grace we have recieved....Let us be like Don Hart's young son who said if he was stuck in a flood ..."he would pray and swim like crazy!"