HAS THE CHURCH MISSED THE
MARK?
By A YOUNG CHRISTIAN*
[*
This article by an unnamed young believer in The British Weekly (Aug. 11, 1949) is most refreshing, as proving
that there are golden young hearts which will stand for God’s truth in the
coming world crisis‑ED. DAWN.]
The Church, so I’m told, has failed in its
purpose. I am not in favour of the past
tense. Rather I would say, it is
failing. Why is this ?
Paul, you will remember, spoke of “pressing toward the mark of my high calling.” If we, members of the twentieth-century
Church, are honestly trying to follow Christ, Paul’s high calling must be ours
and therefore the Church’s also.
The Church, in its infancy, was merely a band (a
large one, I grant you) of men and women who loved Christ more than life
itself, and sought to be like Him. They
wanted to do (and did) the things that He had done. They “went about doing good.” They told others about Him, about His love,
His death and, most important of all, the glorious news of His resurrection.
The Church has travelled a long and a painful way
since then. But it turned the world upside
down! Not even the imperial
Roman eagle could stop its advance. Men
lived gloriously and died singing, for its sake, why? What was its attraction? Because it proclaimed good news of a Loving Father Who wanted all men
to be His sons. It proclaimed victory
over death and a new way of life. A way
of Love, and Mercy in a world of barbarity. Who, but the mean heart, could help being
attracted to it? This glorious creation
survives among us - as a rather special social club.
A Church I know is described as ‘active,’ and has,
for these days a fairly large following. It has a good dramatic society, a fairly good
concert party, but I’m afraid there is little emphasis in that Church on the
Divine Destiny of Man. It isn’t an
unusual case.
Don’t you think we are being rather paltry? Aren’t we missing the mark of our high calling?
The Church should be demonstrating a Way
of Life, not seeking merely to entertain. In our anxiety to “popularise”
Church-going we have employed quite a number of the devices of secular
entertainment. Unfortunately, instead of
the Church converting them to its own use, as it might have done, they have
converted the Church.
We have well-run socials full (usually?) of good
fellowship, concerts by the score, sewing parties (excellent things for a
purpose), but do we care a jot about the spread of the Kingdom? Do we mind that the Church is missing the mark?
That the world counts it a failure?
We are meeting expenses, you say. Excellent! We are keeping our doors open. Fine! Splendid
work, but what about the mark? What is the mark? Let’s examine it again incase we have
forgotten.
The Church was surely intended to exist as the Body
of Christ on earth. His Hands, with
which to “do good,” His Voice to teach the way
of Love and Mercy. His Voice telling Men
the startling, thrilling news that they are “called to
be sons of God.” It’s a
frightening thought that every time we do something we hope no one has seen;
every time we “put up” with something we ought
to “put right,” we are betraying Christ as
surely as Judas did and with less excuse. We have had nearly two thousand
years in which to get things into their right perspective. It’s no use each of us saying, “Well! Why look at me?
What can I do? What about the others?” Never mind the
others. We must get ourselves right
first. Ask God to help you remember that
you are Christ’s Hands His Feet, His Voice. Remember that by what you do and say, the
Church is judged. It is the
responsibility of each member to assist the Church to leave behind its social
club days and become once again the Messenger of God, pressing toward the mark.
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