Children love to ask “why,” and as parents, we know that “because I said so” or “just because” usually does not suffice as an acceptable answer to that question. Those responses only bring more “but why” questions. Lately, however, I find myself asking a lot of “why” questions as I look around at the world our children are growing up in. Everywhere we look, sin has become normal acceptable behavior. According to the article “In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace,” the Pew Research Center reports that a phone survey revealed the number of people in the United States that identify themselves as Christians fell from 77 percent in 2009 to 65 percent in 2019. My question is “why?”
If 77 percent of Americans said that they were Christians in 2009, and the Bible instructs His disciples to share the Gospel, how did the number of Christians drop 12 percent in a decade? This question meant I had to do some self-examination. As I asked myself exactly how many people that I have shared the Gospel with in the last ten years, my brain did not come up with very positive results. Actually, the answer to that question filled me with shame. So, I had to ask myself another question. Why?
In all honesty, I am not one to read poetry all that much. However, one of my favorite poems is “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost. Frost’s poem tells the story from the point of view of a farmer that goes out with his neighbor each spring to repair the damage nature has brought upon the wall that separates their property. Frost depicts a scene where the two men walk on opposite sides of the wall restacking the stones. Since neither of the men have livestock to contain, the farmer telling the story ponders on the need for the wall and what it is exactly that they are keeping in or keeping out. The farmer is asking himself “why?”
A wall can be an actual structure, but a wall can also be invisible. A wall can be anything that divides or creates a barrier. What does the Bible say about division?
Matthew 12:25 says, “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand’” (KJV).
This means our enemy is going to aspire to create walls among Christians.
Returning to my self-examination, I realize that fear is a wall that has kept me from sharing the Gospel. I am afraid that I will not say the right words. I am afraid that the person will ask questions that I might not know the answer to. What if the person just flat out gets mad at me? Hmmm. Epiphany time. When I think about what Jesus went through, my excuses are pathetic, and I am more than ashamed.
Obviously, as in my case, a wall can be personal. In the same way, issues like politics, money, and sometimes small disagreements create walls that divide Christians that are supposed to be one body in Christ.
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13 KJV).
Since my topic has taken off down the road of division, I am going to take a leap back in time for a history lesson. In the voyage to America, the future governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, explained to the Puritans how they were going to be an example of Godly living for the rest of the world. Winthrop said, “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” However, after the Puritans settled in the New World, disagreements over religious beliefs caused division and factions branched off into new settlements. For example, James Davidson West details in A Little History of the United States that Hartford, Connecticut was started by a group that thought the rules of the religious authorities were too strict while New Haven was settled by a group that thought the rules were not strict enough (42-43). Clearly, their city on a hill was not the example to the world they envisioned.
My history lesson just shows that people have always been easily divided by differences of opinion. As a further illustration, let me tell a story from this century. Quite a while back, I attended a church service that had a business meeting that immediately followed. A few moments into the meeting, someone brought up the issue of what temperature the thermostat should be left on throughout the week when the church was vacant. After another few moments, the tone of the discussion became bitter. The pastor quickly ended the meeting, but as everyone left the church, the words had been so heated that few people were probably thinking about the message or the songs of praise from the service. Instead, most were probably rehashing the drama that had just occurred and trying to decide if the thermostat should be turned off or set to seventy degrees.
The enemy does not want us to be one body in Christ. The enemy wants the house to be divided and fall. The statistics revealed earlier in this post are discouraging. I think that as Christians we need to look for those walls that keep us from being one body in Christ and those walls that keep us from sharing the Gospel, and we need to tear down those walls. I cannot change those past opportunities where I failed to share the Gospel, but I can change my future opportunities. When I think of what Jesus went through and the sacrifice He made, I should be shouting the Gospel from the rooftops.
Jesus was betrayed. Jesus was mocked. Jesus was spit on. Jesus was beaten. Jesus had nails driven through his hands and feet. Jesus hung from a cross while the weight of his body against the nails that held him ripped at those wounds. Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of the world. Jesus suffered so we could escape Hell and live forever in Heaven with Him.
Is there any imaginary wall significant enough that we should not be one in Christ and take a stand for Jesus?
Sources:
Frost, Robert. “Mending Wall.” Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44266/mending-wall. Accessed 29 June 2021.
“In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace.” Pew Research Center, 17 Oct. 2019, www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/.
West, James Davidson. A Little History of the United States, Yale University Press, 2015.
Winthrop, John. “A Model of Christian Charity.” 1630, teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/a-model-of-christian-charity-2/.
I think most people in self examination will find themselves being ashamed because of the lack of witnessing in their lives. It makes you ask the question of yourself as to why are we not telling people about a God that carries me through everyday… What would I do if He wasn’t with me ALL the time? I use to have a shirt that said “Jesus Loves Me” and underneath it would say “and I am His favorite”. Shouldn’t everyone have the chance to feel that way about their relationship with the Lord? Great story! It makes you reflect on what have you done for Jesus in view of what He did for you???