A voice crying in the wilderness

I found this left as a comment on Fr Stephens blog, and it just sort of grabbed me. It's written by an African Christian, but I cannot tell from what nation. It may seem to some that the comment is critical of the Church, but to me it's not the comment that is critical, but the Word of God. Regardless of traditions ancient or modern in the churches, the Word of God is still among us to winnow the chaff from the wheat, and the Church just happens to be the threshing floor. Here's the comment…

On the contrary, I think we’ve succeeded in making Christianity very complex. It now means many things to many people. Jesus Himself simplified it – restoration of the relationship between God and man. Check out John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they might KNOW thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." If Christianity is Jesus’ creation, we must appreciate why He stepped out of glory to our realm. He said in John 6:38-40, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."

Whenever I read the New Testament, I’m at loss as to what to make of the Christianity of this generation. While knowledge of all sorts of things has increased, the conduct of most people who profess Jesus Christ as Lord gives cause for serious concern. I’m not being judgmental. The light that’s in most of us is so dark that the devil’s just smiling [on his way] to the bank everyday. We make merchandise of men by preaching a perverted gospel that presents God as a means to our ends. Where Jesus emphasized relationship with the Father, we push for self-actualisation. We substitute the gospel with motivational chats that encourage men to pursue gain instead of godliness. We should cry out to God to deliver us from our whoredom instead of wasting our time arguing about irrelevancies.

This is certainly a voice crying in the wilderness!