Promises
Marge felt guilty. As the leader of Promises, a home-based ministry for young girls, she had just hung up from a difficult phone conversation with Linda, the mother of eight year old Janelle, a troubled Promises member. Marge knew from prior conversations with Linda that Janelle’s home life was no picnic. Although Linda recently had become a Christian, her husband Dave wanted nothing to do with church or with Christianity. As Linda described it, Dave spent most of his time at home watching TV or surfing the internet, basically ignoring Janelle and her two older brothers. Linda’s attempts to interest her husband in getting to know some of her new Christian friends were met with stubborn disinterest from Dave, who preferred to spend his free time languishing in the virtual reality created by his computer and cable television.
As a new believer, Linda’s heart quickly became focused on training up her children to know and love Christ. She had met Marge through a mutual friend who had told her about Promises. Linda was immediately interested in getting Janelle involved, especially when she learned more about the focus of the group. In addition to Bible teaching, there were many important, practical skills that the girls would be taught that would enable them to help support their families with typical household responsibilities. Linda viewed Promises as a godsend, for not only would her daughter receive biblical teaching and be able to develop her practical household skills, she also would have the opportunity to meet and be influenced by godly people who perhaps might fill the gaps left by Linda’s own lack of Bible knowledge and Dave’s indifference.
But Linda’s hopes and plans were dashed during her phone conversation with Marge that day. Even though Janelle recently completed her first year of involvement with Promises, it had been a bumpy ride for all involved. The rest of the girls in the group came from Christian homes and were active in church. Many of them had been involved in groups like Promises before and understood that practicing proper etiquette and showing respect for others was the key to being accepted and approved of by the leaders and their peers. These girls knew the rules and the expectations, and they matched their behavior accordingly.
Not so with Janelle. Not having the benefit of a Christian home or of loving, well-intentioned discipline, Janelle was a loose cannon amongst the other girls. She would regularly rebel and fail to mind her instructors. She would make inappropriate comments and discuss topics that children her age have no business discussing. And she intimidated some of the girls through her aggressive behavior. Most of the girls learned to avoid Janelle and tried to ignore her as much as possible, although some of them made covert efforts to ostracize and embarrass her too.
All of this was too much for Marge. Not only was she frustrated with Janelle’s disruptive behavior, she was beginning to receive complaints from the parents of the other girls. Some of them were threatening to pull their daughters out of the group if the “Janelle situation” was not soon addressed. With the beginning of a new year of Promises just around the corner, Marge did not want to risk losing some key members of the group. After weighing the options, she placed a call to Linda to inform her that Janelle would not be welcomed back to the group for the upcoming year.
Linda accepted Marge’s decision gracefully. She told Marge that she had expected this news, because she knew the trouble Janelle had caused the previous year. Linda confessed that she was at her wits end trying to manage Janelle’s behavior, and without any support from her husband it seemed an almost impossible task. Marge sensed the disappointment and hurt in Linda’s voice, and in an attempt to make them both feel better she invited Linda and her family over for dinner later that week. Linda gratefully accepted, and added that she hoped she could convince Dave to come. Marge reassured Linda that her husband, Pete, was an outgoing, friendly guy and would make Dave feel at ease. Linda thanked Marge for the invitation and they hung up. Marge still felt guilty, but her dinner invitation to Linda had at least taken the edge off her internal struggle. That is, until she spoke to Pete.
Marge was right in her assessment of her husband. By all accounts, Pete was friendly and enjoyed meeting new people. He was also a deep thinker, and loved to study and discuss deep theological topics with others who held similar interests. That evening during dinner, Marge relayed to Pete her prior conversation with Linda that day. After hearing the details of the discussion Pete empathized with his wife and commended her for her willingness to do the right thing. Then almost as an afterthought, Marge told Pete that she had invited Linda and her family over for dinner later that week. Pete’s face suddenly grew sober, and the tone of his voiced changed from casual and reassuring to serious and reprimanding. “Why would you do a thing like that?” he asked Marge. “I don’t have anything in common with a guy like Dave. What am I supposed to talk to him about?”
Marge’s internal struggle escalated with a vengeance. Later that evening, she called Linda and made a half-believable excuse to un-invite Linda’s family for dinner. Linda was again gracious in her response, saying that she understood completely. Yet Marge recognized the same disappointed, hurt tone in her voice. Offering an insincere but convincing “Well, we’ll have to reschedule for another time”, Marge said good-bye and hung up the phone.
Now months later, Linda’s family still has not made it to Marge’s for dinner or anything else. Marge does not intend to call, and she prefers not to think of Linda at all because the accompanying guilt interferes with her happy Christian life.
Let’s face it. Christians often are judgmental and clique-y. Although they are called to be salt and light to the world, they instead often retreat and assimilate, shunning the world because it is not like them. As a result, many churches have become nothing more than religious country clubs, offering a safe harbor for like-minded believers but doing little to advance the kingdom of God beyond the entrances of their state of the art facilities.
Ironically, this doesn’t remotely describe the One whom Christians claim to follow. Far from retreating into comfortable cliques, Jesus looked around at a sinful, rebellious, immoral society and delved right into it. Recognizing that it is not the healthy that need healing but the sick, he sought out the hapless and the hopeless, as well as the destitute and the deranged, and he embraced them. He inconvenienced himself and made the outcast, the ugly, and the scarred his friends. Instead of doling out judgment and condemnation, he offered redemption and hope. Instead of writing off society’s losers to the dung heap of history, he loved them and gave himself up for them, and he taught his followers to do the same.
Jesus knew something that Christians today would be wise to understand. It is not the accomplished, the elite, the proud, the self sufficient, or the self righteous who will inherit his kingdom. Rather, it is the broken, the cast off, and the downtrodden that God seeks after. For as these are raised up by faith to wholeness and are transformed through their submission to his redemptive power, the world will witness the miracle and realize that he exists and that he alone is God. By saving the weak and then presenting them as his most precious trophies, God is exalted and glorified, and still others are given hope and can begin to realize and embrace their own God-given worth.
Many “Christians” like Marge and Pete are in danger of missing out on the kingdom that Jesus spoke of. His warnings about this fact were numerous and clear. Today’s the day to realize that even an American evangelical may unwittingly be living life upside down, out of step with the truth taught and lived by our Lord. Search you heart, and ask God to sift you so that you can understand what it truly means to be a follower of Christ. Anything short of this is futile and empty living, no matter what label is put on it.
July 07 2009 08:15 am | Uncategorized
