REDEMPTION CORNER
Redemption - PERSPECTIVES OF A CHRISTIAN SINGLE MAN
By Family and FaithMagazine Contributor , Richard Brown
The image presented by Christians in Church
Christians should make greater effort to be real about the life they are living or trying to live . This was echoed at a recent men ’ s linkup I attended . The life that Christians portray often frightens or turns people away from church , especially men . The impression is often given of extremely sinless people . And at times it is not intentional , but , even our very appearance , speech and church culture gives that perfect superhuman impression . On the other hand , some non-Christian men , backsliders included , see Christian men as hypocrites who are sleeping around secretly and indulging in other secret pleasures while putting up a façade . And we just need one ‘ strong ’ Christian Brother to get a sister pregnant out of wedlock or a Pastor to be found guilty of carnal abuse to prove their point ! Some see us as super-humans that they can ’ t ever be , while others see us super-hypocrites they don ’ t want to be .
When Christianity is displayed to us as men , whether from the platform or through conversations , there is a kind of inflated superhuman kind of vibe about it . It makes you quite suspicious of the pastors and men who are shouting amen in church . You wonder , how do they do it ? And how do they remain so perfect that God seem to be blessing them ? Or are they just lying ? No wonder most men ’ s response is , ‘ bwoy mi affi go clean up mi life fuss before mi start come church .’ Men are logical thinkers and logic and Christianity clashes in two ways . Firstly , being asked to believe in a controversial God that cannot be
12 familyandfaithmagazine . com seen and secondly being told we must resist sexual temptation and other pleasurable addictions . I can testify personally that these two things , faith and sex , are what led me out of church in 3rd form back in high school . And even today that I am back , they threaten my Christianity on a periodic basis .
The story of my redemption
Between the summer of 1998 up until that Ash Wednesday 1999 , a series of life changing events happened . It was the end of 5th form and with time on my hands , and being at this juncture in my life , I began to ask myself some deep questions . How did this world begin ? What is the purpose of life ? Why was I born ? Is there a God ? I then began to read every piece of literature I could get my hands on that related to religion and God . I was on a logical quest to find the true God . In the midst of this , with time on my hands , I also discovered ‘ others things ’ I could do with my hands . My search for God eventually came to a disappointing unsuccessful end . After examining all the religions I could , I came to the realization that whichever one I believed in would require faith ! No religion presented any tangible final evidence that set them above any other .
While my search was going on , my bossy , obnoxious , self-centred older brother was becoming a respectful , caring and compassionate listener ; transforming into someone different before my eyes . This was shocking and got my attention . He was a ‘ Christian ’ for most of the time I knew him but now he was a new Christian . He had changed church and was being transformed . I soon attended church with him and he was the main reason why I attended that fateful Ash Wednesday conference . The testimony and realness of my brother and the transformation in his life , caused me to abandon my unsuccessful search for truth and logic and to embrace faith . I had no reason for becoming a Christian except to just try it in faith seeing what it was doing to my brother . On that Ash Wednesday , I recommitted myself to being a Christian . My deliverance from that ‘ handy ’ but unhealthy and unrighteous habit was also received . The second major impediment for male Christians was addressed and for the next year or so , after the first few months of intense battles , I was able to resist and more or less maintain my sexual purity . A burden was lifted as I received much needed honest revelation and understanding about male-ness and how I could manage my sexual desires physically , mentally and spiritually .
Overcame and overcoming
With each passing year , there have been challenges . I have fallen repeatedly into sin . I have also questioned many times the reality of God . I have felt like a faithless , unrighteous hypocrite many times . But when I think of giving up , I look back at my journey , and find there are some undeniable things that I know was God ! To lose faith or to give into sexual immorality is not something I consider for long .
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