The Word has power

It's pretty clear that Hope doesn't like coming to church with us.

She grew up in a family that, while not hostile to Christianity, did not wholly embrace it either. She has the barest knowledge of Christianity: Christmas is Jesus' birthday, Easter is when He died (but she doesn't know precisely why). She knows about Moses and the Ten Commandments, probably because she's seen the movie. She thinks those commandments are outmoded and that god (her version of god) probably allows for some flexibility in enforcing them.

I'm not slamming her lack of knowledge or lack of faith. She wasn't exposed to the Word growing up so how can I expect her to understand any more than she does? She doesn't complain about coming to church...she just tries to avoid it if at all possible. *Smile.* Lots of teenagers, even ones who grew up in the church do that.

There's a lot of "to do" lately about making church "Relevant". Frankly, I'm not sure what that even means. Yes, our church probably seems pretty old-fashioned to her. Redeemer Lutheran Church unapologetically follows the historic liturgical practices of the church. It is nothing like what she is accustomed to out in the world. The customs probably do seem somewhat outmoded to her.

But the reason that Hope doesn't like church is not because it's irrelevant. I watch her as the pastor preaches the Law and she practically squirms. It's obvious that hearing the Law makes her very uncomfortable. No, the reason that Hope doesn't like church is because it's TOO relevant.

She is hearing - maybe for the very first time - about God's uncompromising standards and that she (as we all do) fails miserably short of meeting those standards. Deep down, she's known it all along. She wants to measure up, but she can't. She despairs over this and so she does what many of us do when we don't want to face an unpleasant truth - she tries to hide from it.

The Law is doing it's job. It's like a mirror, reflecting back her inability to keep it perfectly as God demands. It's driving her to the place she needs to be in order for the Spirit to do its work. It's driving her to the cross.

Please pray for Hope. She has heard the first half of the message and she needs to hear - with ears opened by the Spirit - the second half: that her sins have been dealt with. That she need not despair anymore because Christ has taken care of it all.