Redeemed

Although I have not posted in <ahem>, well, some time, there are quite a few things that have been on my mind and heart, as well as my husbands. Today, I am going to try and put some of these things into words.

Ok, so I'm actually going to use someone else's words, but I think the following lyrics just portray what I've been thinking and wrestling with so beautifully.

I used to wish that I could rewrite history
I used to dream that each mistake could be erased
Then I could just pretend
I never knew the me back then

I used to pray that You would take this shame away
Hide all the evidence of who I've been 
But it's the memory of
The place You brought me from
That keeps me on my knees
Even though I'm free

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

I have not lived a life that boasts of anything
I don't take pride in what I bring
But I'll build an altar with
The rubble that You've found me in
And every stone will sing
Of what You can redeem

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

Don't let me forget
Everything You've done for me
Don't let me forget
The beauty in the suffering
~Point of Grace

I've been thinking a lot about the church in America, the people that fill the pews each Sunday, and what they are accomplishing. I've been thinking about how the church here in America compares to the early church in the book of Acts, to the church in Central America, to the church in East Asia. We all claim to be a part of the same body. All claim to serve the same God. All claim to be changed by the same Savior. So what do we have in common?

Unfortunately, not much.

The people of the early church added to their numbers daily. (Acts 2:47)

80% of the churches in America have memberships that have either reached a plateau or are declining.

People in Central America are among the poorest in the world, yet worship God at the top of their lungs, arms raised, in buildings with nothing but a few plastic chairs and dirt floors.

People in America worship God in multi-million dollar buildings, yet are concerned that the plush carpet is an ugly color.

People in East Asia are forced to worship in secret, for fear of going to prison, or even losing their life, for the sake of the gospel.

People in America are more concerned with what their neighbor will think, than spreading the gospel.

So what is going on with the church in America? Well, I think there are many answers to this question, and a lot of issues to address. Complacency, misplaced priorities, lack of love and concern for one another. But ultimately, I believe each of these things, and more, all stem from one root. Lack of understanding, or simply forgetting, exactly where God has brought us from as believers. If you have a true understanding of where you stood in relation to God before you were saved, versus where you stand after, how can you not have a zeal and fervor for living out the commands of scripture with your whole heart? For serving God everyday of your life with everything in you? For having a self-sacrificing attitude for your fellow man that completely consumes you? How could you not?

You see, when we entered this world, we were drowning in our sins, falling short of the marvelous glory of God. Our sins that personally offended the God of the Universe. Separated us from being able to have a relationship with Him. And there was nothing we could do about it. We were slaves to a life of sin. But when God saves us, He clothes us in righteousness! He frees us from sin and allows us to have a personal relationship with Him! How can you not stand up and shout PRAISE!?

Unfortunately, there are many people in our churches that have never known this transformation. People who, in spite of that, continue to sit in the same pew Sunday after Sunday. I pray that God will reach them with the truth and change them from the inside out.

Then there are believers who fill the pews, but have become complacent. People who have completely forgotten what their life was like before God saved them. Who are now completely consumed with the things of this world. Who have forgotten the excitement and zeal for the Lord they once had. Lukewarm in their faith.

I sing the song I quoted above often, because this is a prayer that has been heavy on my heart. I never ever want to forget the utter rubble that God found me in and brought me out of. How can my life be a witness to what God has and is continuing to accomplish in me if the lost do not see a changed life? A redeemed life?

I pray that there will be a renewed sense of awe in just what God has done and is capable of doing in the lives of His children. I pray that the believers in the thousands of churches across America would desire to stand before the Lord one day and hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."