Reality. Wow, there is something about that word that causes people to want to run and hide. It seems to denote a level of responsibility and maturity that adults are supposed to attain. Most teenagers hate hearing their parents say to them, “you are being unrealistic; you need to step into the real world and…” You may be sitting there and wondering what reality has to do with anything. As I was pondering this thought I realized that we live in a society that drifts in the opposite direction of reality.

In attempting to deal with reality many churches begin programs such as soup kitchens, after school tutoring programs or sports leagues. In their enthusiasm for these programs they sometimes forget that these are just the means to an end, not the end in themselves. The ultimate goal is to preach the absolute message of the cross, which is that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to the Father. If you think about it Jesus stated it very simply “I am the way the truth and the life; No one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6 Jesus clearly stated that there is no other way to enter eternal life than through him. Yet if the New Testament Church saw the state of the church now they would probably not recognize it. We are watching the church rise in its divorce, teen pregnancy and drug and alcohol use. In many places the Church is in a dying state where you can hardly find a pastor who will admit and preach the one and only antidote (Jesus Christ). You can buy a hundred different books on the top forty-two points to a good marriage, or ninety-six ways to your teens’ heart but the Bible is nowhere to be found.

The Bible shows us that we are very accountable for what we know and do, yet in many places the Church teaches a greasy grace that asks no accountability but an hour and a half a week in service. We must begin to understand that there is no other way to complete victory except through death. If I, Natalie, don’t die to myself and way of being then I can never truly live with Christ. The society that we are living in has built so many webs of lies and thinking that there must be a complete regeneration in the way believers think, live and act. This can and will come only when we the Church surrender our whole life to the redeeming power of Jesus Christ.

A famous rehab program has a slogan that “the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem.” While I don’t agree with them completely in all of their beliefs and methods of rehab, I do think that we as the Church must open our eyes and see the state that it is in. Many churches believe that we are seeing wide spread youth revival and yet you will find very few post-graduates continue in their walk with God. We are rejoicing in our seven-hour potlucks but we are seeing little to no new converts. It is time that we as the Church step in to the reality of our absolute need for the ultimate cure.

Written by: Natalie Schmelzer, edited by Martha Rodman Let’s take a moment to reflect on whether the activities in our churches are truly fulfilling the great commission, let us not forget that everything we do is to reveal the reality of Christ to others.