LETTER: God’s message lost in church

To the Telegram:

And so it begins: Holiday Craft Sale, Craft Market, Happy Harvest, Fall Bazaar, Hogwart’s Halloween, Pig Roast, All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner, Fall Bazaar, Fishcake and Meatball Dinner.

These are our current, local church activities — church events.

The Church of Jesus Christ, which is supposed to heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, make disciples of all nations, teach others to obey everything Jesus commanded.

The church that is to set the captives free, heal the brokenhearted, preach the good news to the poor, take care of the widows and orphans — the church that is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, take care of the sick and invite the stranger into their homes. The church in which followers of Jesus Christ are to lay down their lives, take up their crosses, and follow Him into a life of service and self-sacrifice. The church, that at one point, operated in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, changing the world.

How far we have fallen.

Now the Church is filled with social events, turning the house of God into a marketplace and feeding trough. I think of the words of Ezekiel when God tells him to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. This is what He says: “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost…” (Ezekiel 34:4) As I read the church events section of the paper, I see that many followers of God are no different than those spoken of in this Scripture verse. We are not doing what God has called us to do. It’s no wonder unbelievers don’t take us seriously. Why should they? Church of God, it is time to take heed! It is time to do what Jesus Christ has commanded us to do! It is time to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, leave behind our lives of self-centeredness, superficiality and materialism and pour ourselves out on behalf of the lost and hurting. God is going to judge us first. Peter 4:17 says, “(For) it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” Judgment is coming, and church, it’s coming for us first. We need to get ready!

Denise O’Hara,

Duluth

Tags: opinion, letters