I was at a meeting about 40 miles away when my mother called me to tell me my aunt had just died. It was a tough drive home, throw in a little traffic. I was trapped in a car so I had to kind of deal with the loss versus rushing on to my next task, burying myself in my work.
I had the radio on to the Christian radio station and the vacuousness of the music struck me, how inappropriate to the real condition of the world. My Aunt was a serious Christian and I have no doubt in the presence of the Lord. Of course that is worthy of rejoicing, but the reality of how frivolous some people can treat our relation with Jesus also became obvious.
Frankly I would be willing to bet many reject Christianity because there are so many who make it look all “happy-clappy, and treat the reality of life in Jesus rather frivolously. When reality hits they reject Christianity because they’ve been used to using it as a magic talisman and not a genuine relationship with Jesus.
I don’t like death. I don’t like that those I love are growing older, becoming sick and dying. But I do know there is an eternal answer in Jesus. It doesn’t mean we have to be all gloom and doom in Jesus because we do have the promise of eternal life in Him. But when we also treat Jesus lightly, make it all “happy-flappy” we do a disservice to Him and to those around us. Jesus is very serious about life He’s not some poofy little caricature, a few minutes of serious Bible reading will reveal that. But let’s not set people up for failure letting them thing being a Christian is all “happy-flappy”. Eternity is and we should take joy in that. But in order to get there we do have to deal with the tragedies of life and still trust in Jesus. Being a Christian is the best that there is. But when you treat it as a candy cane and ignore the realities of life you are just creating a fantasy and not life in Christ.