It just broke my heart. The words of our new friend. "Will you scold ‘him`, if my friend comes to Church? What he meant was. My friend is still not ‘clean’ from his addiction, will you still welcome him into the Church. He could have said: "Will you point the finger? Will you shame? Will you condemn or judge? Will you belittle the weak one?"
In a sense I was shocked. Immediately seeing the consequences of a Church who lives by the structures of religion and not a Church who reigns in life and in the grace we ourselves have received.
The background to this story is that Ingvar gave this our friend a hug the other day. To affirm this guy who had just fallen again and was full of self shame and self condemnation…. Ingvar just told him: "I know you are a good man. We just love you".
I see again the father of the prodigal son. We have spoken, preached and taught and tried to live it over and over again. But as Ingvar just said to me. It’s not our church they are against, it is a religious spirit or a religious stronghold in peoples minds to generations of indoctrinations which is behind this lie saying: "You are not good enough to come to church. You have to change first (by your own power) or do merit enough".
This mind set is so strong.
The son who was lost in the parable of Jesus in Luke 15, wanted to return as a slave in his own home. But the father welcomed him as a son. This son who already lived like an orphan, was welcomed with open arms and was affirmed by the father. God help us not to be the ‘staying-at-home’ son.
Hugs Anna
