Verify Podcast

Almost every day, I find people in the social media space who are completely disenchanted with Christianity. I know some personally, who years after, are still bitter about experiences with abuse and falsehood they saw and suffered in church. Many times, these are valid feelings, borne out of real and painful experiences. As much as one would want to wish it all away, the sad fact remains that lies, manipulation and abuse sometimes happen in Christian gatherings and this turns people away from church and from God.

One thing I love about the bible though, is that the bible is very real. Without any sugar-coating, the bible lets us know before hand, that all this would happen. The bible lets us know that not everyone in a Christian gathering is there with genuine intentions (Gal 2:4); that people can preach Christ for the wrong reasons (Phil 1:17); that there are men who claim to be believers and are not (2 Cor 11:26); that there will be fake prophets performing signs and wonders (Mark 13:22), that there will be false teachers among believers (2 Peter 2:1). Beyond all of this, the church is made up of flawed and imperfect people like you and I, who even with the best of intentions, will make mistakes and offend each other sometimes.

So as sad as it is, what some have been through in church, let’s not blame God or run away from Him, because of the actions of men; actions which God knew and warned, all along, would happen. If you my listener, are one of those who have been hurt, please don’t run from Him; Your fight is not with God; rather, take your fight to Him. Jesus surely will understand you. He faced a similar temptation when He was maltreated by people in the religious circle of his day. Surely, we can approach Him boldly, when we too are hurting (Heb 4:16).

May everyone who is hurting, who was been wronged, receive justice and restoration. May God heal every hurt and bind every wound. May mercy and forgiveness prevail. Where the church is lacking, may the fear of God return and may the church arise in love towards each other, for as it is written in John 13:35, it is by this love that Christ says all will know that we are His.