This is my favorite Pedro the Lion song- and that statement carries a lot of weight because I enjoy so many of his songs.
I have to disagree with the previous poster who feels that this song is from the perspective of an outsider, but it really is just a matter of perspective either way! To me, this song is not about an outsider at all, rather, the person who was raised up and inundated in the church life but didn't find God there(and not for lack of trying).
The hard fact that we as Christians struggle with day-by-day is that Christians are human too. We can't quite seem to wrap our minds simultaneously around the non-performance based concept of redeeming grace in light of the everyday, tough, cutthroat experience of dealing with other Christians. This dichotomy of spiritual truth and physical experience lends itself to bitterness and the emotional boundaries that come from betrayed trust.
Trust me, I go to Valley Forge Christian College, and I know too many who are so racked with guilt, they can't seperate God from their feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Too often, this manifests itself through defensiveness and protective legalism. So many in the school admin trip over themselves to prove that they are morally upright- and the self righteous learn that they too can excersize power through the enforcement of rules. Have we learned nothing?
Real spirituality is not something you incidentally stumble across. It's not something that happens because you were raised up in the church or went to Bible college. Some might say it could happen IN SPITE of such things. To find truly authentic, real spirituality you need to dig for it, and pursue it as the absolute highest priority. You need to love a genuine relationship with God- like you would love the most precious commodity imaginable. It's a life work- your singular and lasting magnum opus. It needs to be your first pursuit instead of pursuing the feel good affirmation of other Christians who themselves are just scared enough and just hurt enough to do a lot of damage(both to professing believers or staunch atheists).
But what could I say that Pedro hasn't himself expressed with greater eloquence?
Likely the greatest wisdom to endure the tumultuous experience of corporate religion is simply: "Be still, and know that I am God."
This is my favorite Pedro the Lion song- and that statement carries a lot of weight because I enjoy so many of his songs.
I have to disagree with the previous poster who feels that this song is from the perspective of an outsider, but it really is just a matter of perspective either way! To me, this song is not about an outsider at all, rather, the person who was raised up and inundated in the church life but didn't find God there(and not for lack of trying).
The hard fact that we as Christians struggle with day-by-day is that Christians are human too. We can't quite seem to wrap our minds simultaneously around the non-performance based concept of redeeming grace in light of the everyday, tough, cutthroat experience of dealing with other Christians. This dichotomy of spiritual truth and physical experience lends itself to bitterness and the emotional boundaries that come from betrayed trust.
Trust me, I go to Valley Forge Christian College, and I know too many who are so racked with guilt, they can't seperate God from their feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Too often, this manifests itself through defensiveness and protective legalism. So many in the school admin trip over themselves to prove that they are morally upright- and the self righteous learn that they too can excersize power through the enforcement of rules. Have we learned nothing?
Real spirituality is not something you incidentally stumble across. It's not something that happens because you were raised up in the church or went to Bible college. Some might say it could happen IN SPITE of such things. To find truly authentic, real spirituality you need to dig for it, and pursue it as the absolute highest priority. You need to love a genuine relationship with God- like you would love the most precious commodity imaginable. It's a life work- your singular and lasting magnum opus. It needs to be your first pursuit instead of pursuing the feel good affirmation of other Christians who themselves are just scared enough and just hurt enough to do a lot of damage(both to professing believers or staunch atheists).
But what could I say that Pedro hasn't himself expressed with greater eloquence?
Likely the greatest wisdom to endure the tumultuous experience of corporate religion is simply: "Be still, and know that I am God."