Whom Shall I Send?

People today are very wrapped up in a love of comfort. They seek safe spaces where nothing jars their self adjusted definition of right and wrong, or their lazy idea of meeting the challenges of a virtuous life, which often amounts to nothing more than “I’ll just be nice to people and accept them as they are.”

A perfect example of that attitude is this bumper sticker I saw two days ago. Notice the heart and the minor brushstroke symbol of a cross? What about that image says CATHOLIC? Yet this is a Catholic Church sticker.

 

The mission statement below the graphic says:  "Our mission is mercy and love."  I wondered as I sat there at the traffic light staring at the rear end of that car, whatever happened to saving souls?  This is why I believe people have let go of truth for the sake of comfort.  Truth can be painful to a sinner.  Truth can drag us right into the greatest mental conflict of our life when it asks us to give up what we have grown to love for the sake of loving Christ more.  This was in fact what Martin Luther struggled with and in the end, his sin won out.  He went so far as to create a doctrine that would accommodate his sin and push it all off on Jesus.  His idea that it doesn’t really matter what we do, allowed him to get away with anything as long as he “believed in Jesus” as his personal savior.  (For an excellent history of Luther and a clear and concise explanation of his beliefs, read the essay written by Bishop William Adrian, published in The Wanderer in 1967.)