easy chairs, hard words

i stole the title, straight out, from douglas wilson...a pastor in moscow, idaho.  for my small and perhaps inconsequential purposes here, i'm re-using it for a similar reason but with a little spin on its meaning.  "easy chairs, hard words" is the title of wilson's book wherein he writes fictional conversations about some of the tough passages in scripture.  hence...hard words being spoken by two gentlemen in easy chairs.  what i write in the following is not for or against pastor wilson, in fact, it has very little to do with his work accept in the similarity that the title fits both of our purposes....i simply like his catchy title.  so...thank you, pastor, for coming up with it :-)

it's dawning on me this evening the need for hard words.  i have recently been on a pensive journey through the process of recovery/reconciliation and the means by which we get there.  one major point, in my opinion, is what i mentioned in my last post...namely that there are too many pastors (and christians in general) who spend more time petting the sheep than protecting them from wolves.  at first glance, the statement appears to mean that there are wolves on the outside looking in, seeking to devour the righteous and unassuming christian.  albeit this is a necessary and good thing, i am coming to believe more and more that there is enough"wolf" in each and every one of us, capable of destroying us from the inside out, that our primary focus should be on protecting us from ourselves.  

what i've seen   

what i've seen, however, is an overwhelming tendency for us to stay reclined in our easy chairs.  we love to take life simply; no wakes in the water, no more than a breeze in the air and only sunlight breaking through the clouds.  our churches spend time creating fun groups for us to "plug in to,"  making our worship an "experience", and seeing to it that our every "need" is met...right down to coffee and doughnuts.  don't get me wrong, i love the coffee and doughnuts...but where are those things which were indispensable to Jesus and His early church?

i was reminded recently of all of the "hard words" that Jesus spoke to those around him.  "your righteousness must surpass that of the pharisees," "be holy as I am holy," "whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."  if i think about these words in the way that i should they are hard to grasp, and make me uneasy in my chair.  these are only a few, and i've not mentioned the lives that Jesus called His followers to leave, or the sin He pointed out.  following Jesus is a life of repentance.   some of His first words, picking up the torch after John the Baptist was thrown in prison, were, "repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."  following Jesus is a life of walking Jesus' road, with His cross in tow.

repent  carry your cross.

everywhere that Jesus exposed sin, when met with humility and faith, He also healed.  those who can admit they are sick receive the healing touch of Christ.  all of those who think that they are not sick, or do not need to be made well, or have no fault in them...repeatedly pointing the finger at someone else instead of pointing inwardly at their own hearts, has healing far from them.

too many times i have pointed the finger.  too many times i have blamed the world for my many mistakes. "i'm this way because others sinned against me," "the world has put all this filth in my mind," etc. etc.  it's true, both of those things have happened.  but it does not excuse the fact that i chose to sin.  without Christ i freely choose sin.  it's all i choose without His grace in my life.  if it were not for His grace, i would at every moment of every day choose sin.  

when it comes to a ministry of recovery from a life of habitual and cyclical sin....how do we teach those who are sick where they can find healing? how do we point them to Christ?  where can we have safe places to share hard words, calling sinners to repentance, have christians walking with each other and not afraid to share the hard words...making men squirm in their easy chairs?  when will we stop petting the sheep and begin protecting them from the danger of themselves?

i remember when hard words were shared with me.  it was only the beginning of a journey that i'm still on, but it was a beginning i hope to never forget.  1) the words where hard but not harsh.  my sin was pointed out in clarity and in fact.  it was black and white.  no grey, no middle ground.  2) i was called to repent from my sin.  point blank, again.  i was looked square in the eye and told to stop sinning in the ways that i had.  3) i was safe.  hard words were shared in an environment where i could be freely vulnerable without fear of humiliation of public ridicule.  i was humbled, but not humiliated. the public became aware of my sin, but ridicule was never in view.

i am eternally grateful to the men who stood on the side of truth and justice and who chose not to sidestep my sin and downplay it as "a bad mistake" or "an indiscretion."  the very minute we downplay the sin of our fellow christians we diminish the justice of the cross, and hold far off the hope of a life renewed by repentance.

i only hope that i can be more humble if there ever comes a time for me to hear hard words again.  and if i ever i need to share hard words, my hope and prayer is that i can love as those men loved me....enough to share hard words in a time of easy chairs...for the sake of repentance and restoration unto the glory of God through His Son and His work on the cross.  it's where we must live and breathe...and have our very existence....