Recently I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine. We were talking about how hard it can be to be a Christian in the day and age we live in. We shared how our faith, what we believe, and the history of Christianity is being challenged like never before. Well, at least it seems this way. The children and grand children of a group of people who had such strong faith in God, today, seems to be the opposite.
With the events of injustice happening all around the world, in America and most recent as Baltimore, I found myself in a mental battle. I, too had questions, thoughts and concerns about the church and Christianity. As I seen hateful comments, attacks towards the church, pastors and leaders my heart broke. I thought to myself, “people have lost hope in the church.” I was discouraged. I even questioned the work I do on a day to day basis. “Am I really making a difference?” “Will people come to Christ and so on…”
I was reminded that we are not the first generation of Christians to be attacked. I was reminded of the battles and attacks Dr. Martin Luther King had to face. I was reminded of other leaders, even biblical leaders that had to face persecution. I then begin to think to myself, “If the churches, congregants and pastors continue to get attacked/persecuted will the body of Christ stand up? Will those who follow after God continue to be bold in their faith?”
Other thoughts I had were: “Did the generation of leaders before us, fail us? Did they not prepare us for social injustice and how the church can have a voice?” I believe many people are against the church today because of the lack of participation in unjust social events. The church preaches love, peace and justice but yet at times seem to be quiet when they are needed the most. People want to see action, people want to see changes being made and growth in our government and social systems.
So as I reflected, I found myself asking the question, “what role can you and I play in breaking stereotypes of today’s church?” While I have no easy answer to this question, I do know we have a role to play. I do know God wants to use people like you and me to help create change, to be peace makers and bring justice to this world.
As I continue to read through the Psalms and study David in the Bible, I see how he faced similar emotions I found myself facing. In these moments of asking questions, God brings clarity, God brings hope, and God helps me see how I can be used to be a catalyst for His work to be done on earth. I hope you can see how God wants to use you. There is a lot of work to be done in this world. First, it starts with allowing God to first work on our hearts!
Questions for you: What do you do when you find yourself discouraged by injustice? How do you keep hope alive in your life? What keeps you going in your faith?
P.S. Share this with a friend and let’s create some great dialogue. I look forward to hearing from you!
Josh Samarco 
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12 KJV)
Which means to me is God already knew that once we took the job as Christians to work for the body of Christ that the things that are happening know and then was already gone come to past but God gave us a supernatural strength to make it even though as humans we may battle and go into thought just like you did everyone has but at the end of the day your thoughts ended such as “who am I to give up on Christ after all you been through God dying for my sins I dare not give up working for the body of Christ” of course I’m not saying you said those exact words but God will always remind us who he is and why he is the only God he is the ruler of this universe.
Amen, Jon. Thanks for the great reminder and Scriptural reference!
Hello Pastor J! This is Chasity Strawder. I’m not on Facebook right now so it’s still nice to connect with these great ministry nuggets through your blog. When I feel discouraged by injustice around me, I get in the presence of GOD to get my flame rekindled for him. The Bible says that we called to be a “light that cannot be hidden.” The only way to keep our flame is through an intimate relationship with the Father. Knowing his voice, embracing his love, and reflecting his image is how we will show the world who HE is through us. The other area that I’m focusing on right now is my family. Making sure that I have a healthy family structure is one of the ways that I can continue to build the Kingdom of GOD. The church is made up of the family. When the devil wants to destroy the Body of Christ, he attacks the family. Divorce, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, drugs, and other addictive behavior are some of those targets that the enemy uses to bring destruction to society. So I’m using the time away from social media to focus on my family and making more of a difference in my community. It’s been a great time of reflection and planning thus far! Great blog entry 🙂
Chasity, it is always great to hear from you. Love the energy and insight God gives you. You are right we have to stay in the presence of God. It is spending time with God that gives us the assurance we need to do His Kingdom work! God bless sis! Your family is blessed by your walk with God.