We are part of Christ body. No doubt because we keep our fellowship with one another, we go to church every Sunday and other worship days. We seek God in the church. But after we sought God, what do we do?
Read and study our Bibles. Pero teka, ilan bas a atin ngayon ang matiyagang umuupo at nakikipagpalitan ng opinion tuwing Bible Study or Sunday School classes? O ilan bas a atin ang habit niya ang magbasa at magbulay-bulay sa kahit isang chapter man lang sa Bible a day? (Fact: The first Methodist John Wesley wakes up early in the morning just to read and study his Bible.) Dr. Roland Lavell’s Characteristics of Christian Today states that 25% never read the Bible. I just wonder, how many of that 25% claim to be Methodists.
The story of Christ’s salvation to humanity is found in the Bible (tama?) particularly in the Gospels. So if we don’t read and study our Bible, how could we offer Christ to others? Keysor regarded the church as a sleeping giant! Isa pa, inaasa natin kina pastor at diakonesa ang pag-eevangelize. Well, every Christian is under sacred obligation to offer Christ. Pero paano kung hindi nga natin kayang sagutin kung bakit nga bakit pumarito sa lupa si Jesus?
Because of our weakness in offering Christ, nahihirapan tayong hikayatin ang ibang tao patungo kay Kristo, especially young people. (Take note: In offering Christ, we are not offering them to be Methodist but to be Christians.)
Churches in America move with the grey haired people. Why? Because young people do not find Jesus in our church anymore. At yan, ay hindi malayong mangyari sa Pinas. If you’ll notice, the UMC is losing more and more of its young people yearly to other and new Christian groups, worse to the secular world. Bakit, e active naman tayo. Yun nga minsan ang problema, we are too activity-driven that we overlook what really are important in our lives as Christians. Aminin na natin: Our church is very bureaucratic. Mahilig tayo sa meetings at magaling tayo sa parliamentary procedures (other denominations salute us for that); but when it comes to discipleship and nurturing of members’ faith, hmmmm… (assessing… evaluating…)
Actually, offering Christ is not so much of a failure. We conduct evangelistic campaigns every now and then but after adding baptized people into the membership rolls, (tama, we encourage them to go to church every Sunday), but more often than not we stop there. Sigh. Actually nakakapagod ng banggitin at ipaalala yung ano, yung… yung Confirmation classes. Conducting confirmations classes not only for the youth but also for new members is one way for the church to take care of her members. A story tells one Methodist man was asked how many sacraments do his church have. Undoubtedly, he answered, Pito!
Okay, cut!
Hanggang dito na muna. We’ll talk more of this next issue kaya abangan niyo.
A CHALLENGE. As long as we still have the time to turn our failures into successes, our weakness into strengths, let us take actions and do them for the young people and for the next generations.
haisst..
You’re right sister Earlie. Most of us claim that we really are a part of the body of Christ, however, we aren’t doing anything to make Him known. And I am one of those people before but I have realized that I am lacking with something important. I realized that I am not fulfilling my mission in this world, it is as said in Matthew 28:19 (I think), it says there “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nation. Baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Thank God, he reminded me of this mission.
Thank You for this wonderful article.
God Bless you all.