Where is our faith? What do we believe in anymore? What do people around the world believe in nowadays? These questions come when I think of Christians.
I had the chance to live in the US for a year, doing an internship for youth ministry and it was an amazing experience. I was living in Tennessee, near Nashville, which, if you know, is part of what is called the Bible Belt. There were churches almost every block, from every denomination you could think of –Baptist, Southern Baptist, Church of Christ, Vineyard, AG, Episcopal, etc.- I didn’t know there were so many denominations of Christians until I lived there. It was pretty much a large Christian community and, it was good, can’t deny that.
I live in Guatemala City, Guatemala, one of the fastest Christian growing countries in the world. We have a lot of churches, a lot of people call themselves Christians as well (around 40%), we have Christian radios (actually the largest radio network in the country is a Christian network), we have two Christian TV stations –out of a total of eight-, we have Christian newspapers and restaurants. But then the question arises when I see the problems Guatemala is facing, when I see the problems the US is facing and when I see the problems countries in Europe are facing. Where is our faith?
Guatemala faces the problem of Religiosity, that’s how I’ll call it. We come from a background where the native people who lived here –Mayans- were a very religious people, in their rituals, their temples, their gods and beliefs. Then the Spanish came and brought the Catholic religion which was pretty much imposed to the natives. It was pretty much just a change of idols, I’d say, some of the old idols (saints) where mixed with the images that the Catholic religion brought. Then missionaries started coming, maybe around 150 years ago and mostly from the US. They brought the “Protestant religion”. Since then the growth of Christians or Evangelical Christians has been going on. The problem with all this is that our faith has been left in a religious sphere, where it’s all spiritual and mystic at times but it has very little relation and impact in our daily living, with our jobs, with our family, with arts, with politics, etc. One can be a non-believer and illiterate and then become a Christian but be still illiterate, still come late to work, not respect the law, live in poverty, lack integrity, find something that is not his and think is a blessing from God, litter in the street, not be courteous in the street and not provide for his family. It’s all religion, not the true faith that Christ came to show us, that abundant life he promised.
It was very touching for me when I was watching a program on the TV last week; it was about a SWAT team in Dallas, TX. This people put their lives into risk to stop criminals, to take drugs out of the streets and to really bring justice in a corrupted society. It was touching because I could see the brotherly love between these men when their captain retired. They are really willing to give their lives for others, especially the people in their team. But why did we come to a point where we need SWAT teams to clean the streets? I’ve been reading a little about American History, like Benjamin Franklin and the Declaration of Independence. I lived in the US for a year and have traveled there several times and let me tell you, there is no other country like the US, its road system, airports, economy, technology, communication, water supply, food supply, it’s commerce and its power and I really love this country. I haven’t read the Constitution of the US yet but I know there a lot of God principles all over the American History, in its Constitution, Declaration of Independence and laws. It’s a whole culture that has lived on those principles and has enjoyed of them without even knowing where they come from at times. It’s just a culture, not many people’s faith anymore though.
It’s always shocking for me whenever I hear of a shooting in the US whether it was in a school, in a university or a mall. How can this be possible! Where is our faith?” –I ask myself. Where has it been left? I think it’s been left in the commodity we have taken, in taking things for granted, in living in peace and prosperity for so long that we have forgotten to stand against things that threat our faith. I would love to be part of a SWAT team but better to be in the front lines changing hearts, touching lives, and yes, standing with the power of God against criminality, drugs, abuse, perversion and corruption, attacking the root where it really comes from. Are we not called the light and salt of the world by Jesus? So what are we missing that our kids are so depressed that take guns and shoot people and then kill themselves? Yes! It’s our problem, it’s our kids, not the neighbors, it’s happening in our city, in our country not just on TV.
I also had the chance to visit England. It’s a country full of history; it’s pretty much wonderful and lovely. But why are churches becoming mesquites now? What happened to our faith Europe? Did you know that Martin Luther was German? So what’s up with all the European countries that used to be Christian countries in the world? It’s been around 5 generations that don’t believe in God anymore. Where is our faith? I think we forgot to pass it to our children, I think we let them believe in whatever they wanted, we lost our leadership; we forgot the commandment God gave to Moses when he said we must repeat again and again the commandments of his law to our children.
Church, let’s not stand with arms crossed, let’s not live in ignorance and religion, let’s fight for this generation, let’s not conform to the patterns of this world, let’s stand in the frontlines again, let’s fight for the truth, let’s fight for freedom, let’s take advantage of the promise that says that not even the gates of hell would stand against us, let’s ask ourselves “Where is our faith?”
