Malachi 4:6 says, "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."
In a time where the evangelical church is far more consumed with defending itself than loving its neighbor, I think a step back makes a lot of sense. To see the bigger picture, we have to do this. If the God I love is building a community of love against which the gates of hell cannot stand, I do not believe it is threatened by honest examination of where we are at in our time.
The hardness of heart of the evangelicals I left is heartbreaking for me, but I also no longer consider it my problem. What IS my problem are the estranged family members and former spiritual mentors left within that whole mess. People who chose that easy way of thinking over the difficult Way of Jesus Christ. People who loved their status rather than their own kids. That's what grieves me most.
I know I'm not the only person ever to be hurt by a church group, and perhaps this will help someone if I share. Beyond that, I am praying for and longing for a day when the hearts of the parents/mentors/leaders, those for whom we children/next generation should not have had to save up, are turned to us in genuine love, repentance, and humility.
Because what a lot of us who have left the group have experienced is anything but Christlikeness. Honest conversations about how we have been treated are been shut down to comments about us as "bitter" or "unforgiving." Yet it is not for those who have sinned against us to speak with any authority about our responsibility to them or not.
I believe when the American church wakes up to the fact they have harmed a whole generation or two, it may well be too late for those who did the harm. That is a huge grief, because things could be so much better.
When the Bible says that children should not have to save up for their parents, it is pretty clear where the onus lies. When a whole generation or two feel sold out by their parents or grandparents, it is not for the children to repent for being hurt. The process of forgiveness is truncated because the parents are not sorry and therefore will not change. The parents could change. They could rend their own hearts instead of demanding a cheap grace and "forgiveness" while offering no guarantees they will never betray and abuse again.
When the evangelical church covered up sex abuse, that was an atrocity. When they overwhelmingly voted in a sexual predator, that was appalling. When they continued to defend him as the pro life option, that was abomination.
The things these parents taught us held true, and we chose to follow Christ. It's deeply painful to be orphaned, because your own parents are not spiritually mature. By now those older than us in the church should have been leaders, caring deeply about the next generations, but instead far too many in the evangelical community are spoilt and cruel brats, dumping on anyone who mourns as snowflakes. Thus we are divided and defeated.
This spirit is antiChrist, and it is high time that they repent.
Repentance does not mean immediate restoration of relationship. A lot of us will need time equal to the time wasted by abuse and ongoing refusal to change, to see progress in behavior and attitude from a heart that is deeply rooted in God's love. A repentant person will not demand forgiveness, because they understand they have done deep harm. The concern I have is a lot of evangelicals are running out of time to restore things over time with those they've wounded.
And a lot of those hurt might understandably say that these parents are only reaping what they have sown, so leave those blind guides, shake off the dust, move on.
Yes, and.
Today I pray that God would open the eyes of the blind, and do something by the Spirit that no one can refute. I believe God is at work in our world today, and the fact we are not at war today after this past week from hell, is both a mercy and grace.
So today I pray that God would break down this wicked stronghold of support for evil men and turn the hearts of the parents to their children, so we could love one another in real relationship.
And even if these parents refuse to repent, I must follow Christ, in step with the Spirit.
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