Alfie lost Bub while he was picking blackberries. Alfie, about, three, looked in his pocket and Bub, a rather worn comfort creature with spots on wasn’t there. I overhead this as I walked by on my way up the lane.
A few yards further on there on the path was Bub looking lonely. I picked him up and shouted to Alfie and his mum. Alfie and Bub were reunited. So was there much rejoicing? Well it’s a bit difficult to rejoice with your mouth full of blackberries. I think Bub was pleased though as he snuggled into Alfie’s pocket.
That familiar story of lost and found is familiar. It’s in our remembered bibles. As a result it crops up often and can be miss used or over used. The church often uses it to guilt trip folks back to church. The interpretation goes like this: you don’t go to church because you have lost your faith in God so come back and God will find you there and you’ll be welcomed home.
Now as one rethinking her faith identity who doesn’t currently go to church in the traditional understanding, I struggle with that. I have not lost faith in God. Jesus is still with me as promised.
As for the church; I am angry, sad and disappointed. I am not the first. Many people I meet tell me their stories and they resonate with me. But they do not always express loss of faith in God and whilst they too may be reconsidering their faith identity, many say they are Christian.
Unlike Bub these folks are not lost. But the church has lost out on their participation. There’s long been an argument that ‘you can’t be a Christian without going to church’. Now, not for the first time I am one. After all, if I had been in church I might not have found Bub.