Things
are not well with me nowadays. My heart really whimpers when I lie down on the
bed in the evening, and try to read of the circumstances that I have come
across in day-to-day life. I vividly remember the legacy of the heroes of Faith
who had dreamt of God’s kingdom in Nepal. Things were different even as little
as two decades ago. There was passion and agape love among the Christian
communities. Now we are living in the hypermodern age where logic has dominated
human brains. “Whatever rings true to
your experience, whatever feels real to you, whatever works for you…” Richard, 1999). It seems like faith has no
more place into our beings. Even if it has, it seems like it is dwindling. I
try to fight with such ideas and feelings. No! It cannot be so. Faith will
NEVER cease. Even if evil conquers, it does not last for long. (Galatians
5:19-21) At the same time, please be assured that I do not intend to generalize
the case. There are the Pauls and Timothys, Priscillas and Aquilas existing in
the church of God. They will stand tall no matter how heavy the storm could be.
Why
Lord? Why do people who have tasted your love, walked with you, and known you
for years and years, tumbled into the ploys eroding Christian integrity and
witness? I think that such trends have brought incalculable damage to our
twenty-somethings. The young generations have plenty of questions which are
real, such as corruption, poverty, diversity, justice and so on. If they do not
get authentic answers from us, think about the outcome!
According
to research by the Barna group, 60% of Christian youth will drop out of church
for a significant period during their twenties and one third of Christian youth
will lose their faith or significantly doubt it at some point during that
period. (David Kinnaman, with Aly Hawkinds, 2011)
The
history is fresh even today. On one
hand, there is much joy and celebration among the Christian communities where
Christianity is increasing in numbers; churches are being established in
different places in Nepal. On the other
hand, there is much corruption, dishonesty, fraud and disputes happening in the
churches. Well, I am aware of when someone writes the unvarnished truth, the
person would receive much criticism and sometimes would get threatened besides.
A
few days ago, I was just going for a morning walk. Since it was cold, I entered
a restaurant to have a cup of tea. The radio was on and FM news was being
broadcast and the people were hanging onto a newspaper. The restaurant owner
was commenting on the news that was openly aired by radio and newspaper. I,
however, do not want to disclose the news but that was something very shameful
to the Church of Jesus Christ. There were days in Nepal when we used to share
testimonies of the people to reflect the Love of Christ.
Looking
at the political scenario, we have already been dashed by the ebbs and flows of
the political chaos of the country and here we need to unite in prayer and
actions together for the betterment of the development. The country is close to
National Election which has not been fixed until now. Political parties are
still seeking to have consensus among themselves. Bandhs and strikes are as
usual in Nepal as business and markets have not flourished due to the political
chaos. The education system has been biased to the rural sectors. Students who
are enrolled in grade 6 cannot even do ‘simple addition’ in the Karnali region.
People have to pay 100 Rs to buy 1 kg of salt. People are living in utter
poverty in the western mountains. Women suffer from health issues and die due
to not getting proper medication. Into this context, our Christianity is
surviving. Who is responsible? Everybody has the easy answer: Government! What
if we answer: “ourselves”. The problem that I see here is very much associated
with the impact of postmodernism on our teens and twenty-somethings. Believe it
or not, but the fact of the matter is that our generation has been very much
influenced by the trend of postmodernism to some extent. They seem to be
insensitive towards others. I, me and
myself are the center of existence. My identity matters. From sacred to
secular, this trend is a part and parcel of human life. Sociologists divide the ages in different
ways such as traditional age, modern age and post-modern age. I however add the
fourth one that is biblical age. History changes as times and eras change. However, the biblical truth stands for ever.
The biblical truth does not compromise with the doctrines. The context may
differ, methodology may vary, cultures may clash but he message would not
alter. God’s intention would never change. Christian doctrines may vary but not
the message of salvation. Doctrines and denominations will not give life but
the love of Christ brings life and joy which is unsurpassable.
Therefore,
what we should do then? We would get tired looking at the tides of the so
called Christian leaders but would be empowered if we look unto the Lord
Jesus. Learn from the Lord Jesus not
from the leaders of this age. This world would bring discouragement as we often
see our role models who could not complete the race well. Therefore, our faith
should not cling to the people of this generation. Our faith should embrace
Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith. May God open our hearts to listen to our Lord Jesus. Let our ears be attentive to his voice in every walks of our life, may we seek His glory through our life and deed in 2070 BS. A Happy New Year to all!
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