In recent months I have come under scrutiny from members of a Hebrew Christian community I fellowshipped with for my sincere admiration and deep respect for the Christians of Africa and imparticular the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. An older member of one of my fellowship circles asked, “What makes those people so special? What do they have that we don’t have?” I responded quickly with a reserved indignation, “Those People” have a level of devotion and desire to serve God at all cost that just doesn’t exist in the west and I have never seen a faith in my years in the states that compares to the faith of the Orthodox in Ethiopia”. The individual was quieted and I think realized just how offensive the question was to me and how it revealed an even deeper, more troubling issue that seems to plague a lot of Christian fellowships, both Hebrew Roots and other wise.
Some of us are so focused on “stylized” dogma, ritual and self image that God and the worship of him in spirit and truth IS NOT the basis for our motivation. The daily worship of God through our life style, actions and purpose DO NOT affect our “walk”, guide our everyday interactions, general perspective or world view. I mean this in the sense that God is not our TRUE foundation….. In essence WE ARE! And we live life from a place where we have built a faith and belief based on the physical and “relevant truths”, without humility and a sense of awe towards God. We have become complete narcissist. We are in essence our own “God” and the membership of a “Christian organization” is simply a social construct that satisfies the innate human need to “belong” or be a part of something while also providing a platform to display our “holiness” and perceived righteousness amongst other Narcissist.
When a person has made their foundation the physical church in a sense that they are identified by the physical elements and characteristics of their fellowship they have in essence missed the mark. Christians grounded and rooted in self, are often quick to separate themselves or distinguish themselves from other people or groups even of “like faith” as they declare themselves “Holy” or in essence, “Super Christian”. In my humble opinion an “Us vs Them” mentality in the realm Christian fellowship is a a sign that one has failed to grasp the concept of the “Christian Journey”. They fail to realize that the election and calling of God is a BLESSING and A GIFT that is to be approached with the deepest sense of humility and thanksgiving and that the humility, love and respect of God DRIVES you to seek and truly worship the living God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23-24). This seeking is done in humility and deep respect of the one who has called you and is a continuos action as you journey on the path to Mount Zion. The seeking is done while developing a deep, personal relationship with the one who called you and WANTS to fellowship with you as parent does a child.
In a nutshell reverence, awe, Godly fear and respect are the hallmarks of the devout. This so much so that certain purposeful will full sins are uncharacteristic and unfathomable in the THINKING and ACTIONS of the devout. The motivations of the devout are to serve the God of the universe that you are in awe of and deeply respect. Serve this God with your life, a life of service and selfless sacrifice as you are deeply committed to his way and truth and BEING AN EXAMPLE OF THAT TRUTH AND WAY OF LIFE. Not walking through life with an offensive hypocritical arrogance claiming a religion your personal life in no way reflects.
The major issue in my circles is that some people are deeply ignorant of the anything beyond their immediate environment, and refuse to change that. Modern day social philosophy perpetuates and endorses narcissism that in-turn keeps people locked in ignorance. People are by and large deeply ignorant with a deeply flawed world view, which in-turn informs their personal philosophy and theology. I find that many critics of the Eastern and African Hebrew Christianity barely know the basics of their own faith let alone the history and theological aspects of what exist in Africa and the East. I feel that people who claim Christ and claim to be educated need to come to a greater world view and spend more time examining other communities of faith before ridiculing them and voicing notions of superiority over those different than themselves. Those who are in essence their forefathers who have a more direct connection to 1st century Christianity than they do. Maybe we should also spend more time examining just who we are as people and make charity, love, patience and wisdom a part of our character as opposed to words we read continuously in the scripture and don’t apply. Once and for all I just think its time for a change. A change from hypocrite to living witness, from obnoxious heretic to obedient, humble servant…from a child of Satan the devil who attends church every week faithfully, to a child of the living God who lives as Christ every moment of his or her life. Just a thought…..