I hear you. Many in the Church (and often those with the most brash voices) want to keep us mired in the 16th century, as if nothing good has come about in Church history since then, as if every Christian born since then is an also-ran. I just don’t get that.

Still, what if…? What if this is the time when we need to go beyond sola scriptura and so forth to having true, personal relationships with Jesus Christ? when we hear His voice as a matter of course, as an everyday occurence for the every believer, and not just at significant times of special revelation that occur only once in a while, if at all?

Sure, the Christian Right (to stereotype) can tell the flock to read their Bibles, pray every day, and evangelize. The Christian Left can tell the flock to get out there and serve the poor and underprivileged. But without a personal, daily relationship with Him, what are we doing except reading words, praying words, and mingling with people we don’t really care about? Even if we do develop an affinity for the people, is it His love flowing through us? Or is it a works gospel after all, reading so much of the Bible, praying so much of the day, and doing this and that kind of ministry?

I may “know” more of the Bible (that is, being able to find things in it, know when it is being misquoted, and beating everyone at Bible trivia) than my pastor. But he has something I don’t have. He hears the voice of God on a routine basis, for matters large and small. At least he claims to. Do I? I’m sure He tells me things all the time, although I don’t recognize His voice as His voice.

I need that kind of relationship. Otherwise, although I may affirm the doctrines of the faith, and I may pray now and again and see answers to my prayer (which, in times of doubt, can be written off as just mere coincidence), and I may do acts of service towards others, without that personal relationship…a real one…with Jesus Christ, what else do I have but a bunch of stories, proverbs, and theology to follow? How do I know if I am serving my neighbor the way I need to serve him or her? How do I know?

Elijah is an interesting case. If ever there was a “depressed” prophet, it’s Elijah. He seemed to complain a lot, suffer from neurotic and paranoid tendencies, constantly repeated negative “self talk,” and manifested a litany of what we would deem psychological troubles. And this despite his closeness to God and the miracles God wrought through his ministry. In fact, Paul and Elijah seem to be remarkably dissimilar in their outlooks, yet God used them both mightily.

I think that some Christians who struggle with meaning are little more than cultural Christians. Even so, many committed believers struggle with meaning as well, people who do have a personal relationship with Christ and are doing most everything right. Still, many roadblocks exist, some that we may not see as they are societal constructs held up for esteem even though they are damaging to the soul.

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that I believe the way we have structured our work lives and forced our home lives to conform to that flawed result brings an enormous amount of loss to our communities, our homes, our churches, and our very souls. The industrial revolution has not been kind to us Christians, yet we simply don’t acknowledge what that little dance with the devil has done to us.