/ Gentle Reformation

Are Christians bored with God?

Much has been written about the wave which has swept through the church, of a craving for well orchestrated, talent led, aesthetically pleasing worship? Some denounce it, others question it, many have tried to explain and then justify it. The fact that it has begun to creep quietly into the heartland of the reformed community begs the question ‘what lies at the root of it all?’ It’s something I have thought about throughout my ministry. The conclusion I have reached is that in essence this is an issue of ‘boredom’, boredom with God.

There are a number of factors which feed into boredom in general.  Many, because of a gluttony for self-indulgence, have developed an insatiable hunger for instant gratification.   Inevitably boredom threshold's have been driven down. Getting what you want when you want it, always results in an increasing frequency in boredom pangs.

But what is this Christian boredom with God?  A boredom which I see as lying at the root of the ever increasing thirst for 'humanly gratifying worship’.  What is it's parentage? Is it a phenomenon borne of the fact that too many Christians have become laissez-faire about God's call upon their lives?  Is it a child of ease.  Has the idea of cross bearing self-denial simply become a step too far for many 'followers' of Jesus, because of  their casual associations with the world? Has the Christian life become so comfortable, that the thought of mourning sin, let alone putting specific sins to death, never crosses the mind? The question has to be asked, how can we expect to be enthralled by the Living Holy God if we are constantly seeking to subjugate His sanctifying work in our lives? Does the glorious and hugely exciting truth that we were predestined before the foundation of the world to be conformed to the image of His Son, just quietly pass us by amid the busyness of life?

Surely if we were to train ourselves to take what we have been taught and to stand obediently in God’s presence, the basis for much of this boredom would be driven out by God's astonishing works of grace in our lives.  Can it possibly be the case that a life lived, abiding in the Son, by imbibing the Word of Father, through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, is insufficient for our hearts and minds? Certainly not!

Whatever you do in 2015 brother or sister, take great care not to become bored with God, it's a lonely road to nowhere, no matter what way you seek to travel it.