OF COMETS & COMPASSION
This past week has been a sad one. In Quebec, four more people associated with the "Solar Temple" cult committed suicide. This brings the total deaths in this cult to around 70 souls. Then the news broke about 39 other suicides connected with the "Heaven's Gate" cult in California. It seems that this group felt that the comet Hale Bopp was the sign they were looking for to escape from their "earthly containers." I was able to read through some of this cults' writings off of a mirror to their web site and I must admit that I found their material to be less than appealing or convincing. I certainly wouldn't have ended my life based on the premise of their beliefs!
But, that's academic anyway, isn't it? I mean, it doesn't matter if I'm willing to die for such stream of consciousness candy. What matters is that 39 other people were willing to die... Thirty-nine people died for a dream. They died in the hopes of a better world, a better place. They wanted to find that place where they would be loved and accepted. They wanted to find that place where they would feel like they belonged.
Before you write these people off as weirder than weird and brainwashed nerds, please remember that these people were very intelligent, very knowledgeable, very accomplished in their fields of expertise. This wasn't a group of people whom you would consider gullible or targets for such a cult. These people were thinkers. But their minds, their intellects, their knowledge didn't stop them from trusting in this bad, science fiction falsehood. Nor did it warn them about the dangers of their actions. What they thought would be the path to freedom was in reality a sentence to eternal bondage. Their attempt to find=acceptance, love, purpose, and meaning, ended in a place where none of these things exist, because God is not there!
Want to know something more disturbing? You're going to see this kind of thing happening more and more in the next couple of years as we approach the unknown expanse which is the 21st Century. History tell us that people start to get a little snaky at the beginning of a new century and they get downright strange at the turn of a millennium. Now mix this fact with a society that has lost its spiritual and moral moorings and is suffering from every sort of brokenness and dysfunction and we have a cocktail for disaster!
The question we need to ask ourselves is this: what are we as Followers of Christ going to do with this opportunity? Friends, I firmly believe that we are living in the most exciting time the Church has ever seen. The hurt is great. The needs are great. We are surrounded by people who feel lost, alone, empty, and desperate to connect with other people, with a "Higher Power." Well, we have the love of Christ; we have the fellowship of the saints; we know exactly who that "Higher Power" is even if the people who are searching don't. All we have to do is open our eyes, open our hearts and start to connect with the people around us and we could see the greatest growth the Kingdom has ever experienced!
I don't know if it's fair to blame the Church's shortcomings for the loss of these people to a misguided dream. It's not an easy question to answer. But I can say that the Church needs to play catch up when it comes to communicating the Gospel to this generation. We need to speak with passion, with force, with intelligence, with honesty and compassion -- through lives of love. We need to stop sweating the small stuff and stop examining each other under the microscope, and instead reach out! Were all the people who died this past week exposed to the Gospel sometime in their life in a way with which they could connect and understand? I hope so. I hope their spiritual decisions were based on an informed rejection of the Gospel, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. Would you bet yours?
Points to Ponder
The greatest attraction of any cult is the sense of belonging, of acceptance into a group. If I was to walk into your home, or your church, would I honestly be made to feel comfortable and accepted?
Are you hurting, frustrated with your experience in the Church? Don't give up on Jesus, or the Truth of the Gospel just because of a bad experience or two. Believe it or not, there are Christians somewhere nearby who can love you and show you the joy of living for Christ. Don't stay in a situation that is choking the spiritual and emotional life out of you!
Don't argue with or condemn those who have different beliefs than you do. That only drives people away and helps them identify more with the group of which they are a part. Instead, love them, pray for them, stand up for your own beliefs, but always in a way that is respectful and loving.
Make a promise to the Lord and yourself that you will start to really look around you for people with whom to connect. If you're really shy, or awkward around people, don't worry about it! God can bring you people whom you already know, people with whom you can feel comfortable in sharing your life,your love, your faith. And, the Lord will give you the strength, the situations and the words to plant seeds.
Prayer
Dear Lord, everywhere we look we see evidence of people who are hungry. They are hungry for love, for a sense of belonging, hungry to find meaning in their lives. And Lord, sometimes their hunger is so great and their need so strong that they will believe anything and do anything. Lord, help us see those people around us who are in need of your love and receptive to the kind of help we can give them. Help us connect with people and show them the truth of the Gospel. Lord, help us rescue people from their sins, from their mistakes, from their bondage and help us to lead them to life, not death! Lord, help us to make our places of worship sanctuaries of love not insensitive, cold waiting rooms. Help us serve others, put their needs and comfort above that of our own. Help us reach out -- Amen!
