As I was thinking - it suddenly occurred to me. A startling revelation, and not a pleasant one. Enlightening, yes, but hardly pleasant. It hit me, in that one moment, that if I were a non-believer - I would not be attracted to the Christian faith at all.
Yes, I could read the Scriptures and texts. Messages and sermons earnestly being told by believers who hold on to their faith unashamedly. I would admire them for their belief and their unwavering faith, wishfully wondering if it were possible for me to have that kind of security in an entity without any doubts. I could scroll through the Internet, and research about this faith, read through thousands of testimonies about life-changing experiences with a God so true to them. I could do all those things.
And then I could take a look around at the church, the people belonging to the church, and have what little faith I had crash down on me. I look around at the church through the eyes of an unbeliever and see people who have seemingly perfect lives. And it would seem to me that this religion is only for those who have it going good for them. And I would turn away, with the doubt planted in me, that God only has use for those with perfect lives.
As an unbeliever, I would not want to belong to a faith that has perfect believers. As a person of the world, I have scars and hurts and pains. I am jaded and I do not need a sugar-coated faith. Deep down or physical, I am hurting and I need to see with my very eyes that these people understand me. That these people have hurts and do not try to hide behind a wall of shallow truths and masked shadows, but are unashamed to boast of their weaknesses because God is their strength. That they went through the fire as dross laden metals and came out as silver. To connect to a God that went through hurts and came out victorious, I need to see that through His believers. I don't want to see your strengths. I want to see your weaknesses made into strengths by this God you serve.
As an unbeliever, I wouldn't. Because despite the perfumed letters and strong words, all I would be able to see is what they choose to show. I don't need that. I don't need the masks of perfection. I need the raw reality of this Love they hold on to and the extent of its depth for the world that is broken and in need of a Saviour. I need to see the impurities being burnt away by a furious love. I need to see it first in the believers, before believing for myself.
