Wormwood's patient becomes a Christian.
Yet, despite his concern, Uncle Screwtape does not despair. He still sees opportunity to keep the "two-legged animal" in a state of mind far from God. He carefully instructs Wormwood on some of the weaponary at his disposal. In this particular letter, he focuses on distorting our image of the church.
There is no doubt the enemy wants to blind us to the true nature of the Church universal. That last thing he wants us to see, in the words of Screwtape, is ...
"the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans."
Instead, the tempter wants us to see an "imperfect" and therefore "irrelevant" church, a view skewed by human pride and mainifested in judgment and self-elevation.
"Your patient, thanks to Our Father Below, is a fool. Provided that any of those neighbours sing out of tune, or have boots that squeak, or double chins, or odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous. At his present stage, you see, he has an idea of "Christians" in his mind which he supposes to be spiritual but which, in fact, is largely pictoral."
So what image of the church do we have? Is is pure or pictoral? Is the body of Christ a family of the redeemed and forgiven or a collection of hypocritical, self-righteous, spiritual wannabes who belong behind us in the line to the throne?
Smugness and humility cannot coexist in the heart of the faithful.
We will never travel far in our journey of faith unless we are willing to cross the threshold from emotion-based imagination to God-spoken truth of who we are in Christ, both individually and collectively as the Church.
Just like Screwtape, the enemy doesn't mind too terribly if our vessel leaves the shore. He is content to simply watch us sail in circles within the visible confines of our familiar past. But that is not where life will be experienced. It will only be endured.
So look around. Are you tired of the shallow harbor? I know I am. The wind is picking up and God is calling me to the deep waters. What about you?
1 comment:
Thank you for this post.
It breaks my heart with both sadness and joy.
Sadness that we are so easily preoccupied and turned aside from the one who so deeply loves us. I know I am.
But His grace is not without effect and I hear His work within your longing to be free of the harbor and sailing in deep waters.
And it's never, "Be careful what you wish for," when we wish for Jesus. He is absolutely good and strong and desires for His children more than they ever know.
Poor Screwtape. No matter the advice of Wormwood the love of the Father is stronger and more beautiful than can be imagined.
glorious grace
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