CHAPLAIN’S PAGE
A LARGE part of my ministry is in speaking to people who have no church connections. Many of them have recently lost a loved one, and are in a state of shock and grief. Often, I am with them in order to arrange the funeral service.
One question which I always ask, is to ascertain whether the late loved one had any spiritual beliefs, and the answers are many and varied. Some people are most definite and assure me that the departed person had a strong faith, and prayed every day. However, most times, such answers as these are forthcoming:
“He never spoke about anything like that, but he did sometimes watch Songs of Praise.”
“He never went to church himself, but he had an uncle who was a sidesman at a big London church”
“He was a lovely man, and never did any one any harm”.
“Doing kindness was his religion”.
I have heard hundreds, if not thousands of similar replies. Such people are quite certain that their loved ones will qualify for a place ‘up there’, and they are already having a wonderful party and telling jokes to their old pals.
Such blatant ignorance of the true facts of the matter is appalling. We have enjoyed almost two thousand years of Christianity in these islands, but still the majority of folk do not have the vaguest notion of what it means to be a Christian. Most people believe that it is merely necessary to do good works in order to qualify for a place in the Kingdom.
Satan has done a wonderful job of keeping people ignorant of the basic facts of our faith. In many churches today, the words ‘repent’ and ‘wrath’ are not considered politically correct. These words which are the very basis of pure preaching have been replaced with the word ‘love’. Of course, God is Love, but this is only one aspect of His Nature.
As a minister, I have to deal with many misconceptions which people have, concerning not only what being a Christian is, but also what the Christian ministry is all about. As a hospice chaplain, I find that some of the patients are happy to partake of Communion. But even here, there are those who believe that it is only administered to those who are dying. On several occasions I have offered to take the sacrament to the homes of folk who are merely unable to attend the services due to immobility, and who are suffering from nothing which is life-threatening. My offer has been refused because the person thought that I was doing so because their life was coming to an end. Did not Our Lord say:
“… this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” – (I Corinthians 11:25)
The Christian life should not be something to be thought about only in old age, as an insurance policy, ‘just in case’! Such ignorance as I have quoted is legion, and we should ask ourselves how we should reach out and penetrate these false ideas?
The only answer, as I see it, is for such people as you, who are reading this, to reach out to those around you. Obviously, there has to be a suitable opportunity, and this has to be selected with care and prayer. It is not wise to wade in unless the ground has been prepared.
The time is short, and misconceptions which are keeping those around us outside of the household of faith, must be dealt with by those who know the truth.
We cannot, we dare not, sit back and take our life in Christ for granted. It is a gift which is meant to be shared. Those simple, basic facts of our faith, which we may understand and which present no problem to us, can be a mighty stumbling block to many.
May the Lord bless you in all that you do for Him.
