The Church can ask herself today, is this what our Savior sacrificed His life for? Did He give us the Church so that we can be comfortable, occasionally running guerilla missions out into the world and then returning to the safety of the sanctuary? As I think about the spiritual state of much of today’s Church, I am reminded of Ravenhill’s words:
The true man of God is heartsick, Grieved at the worldliness of the Church,
Grieved at the blindness of the Church, Grieved at the corruption in the Church,
Grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, Grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church.
He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.
He is embarrassed that the Church folks no longer cry in their despair before a devil-ridden, sin mad society, “Why could we not cast him out?” (Mt 17:19)
Before we pray for the change in others, let us each pray for the transformation of ourselves. Let the tears come searing hot down our cheeks at the mockery our own lives make of the holiness that grace offers to us. Let it begin with me.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 