Christianity…A Fellowship of the Heart

Christianity…A Fellowship of the Heart

By E. Stanley Ukeni

I have sought widely, and researched extensively, on what it means to be a true, salt-of-the-earth, Christian. I finally came to the understanding that Christianity is a fellowship of the heart—in divine communion with God, through love, devotion and stewardship. To this effect, I dare say that anyone who is yet to awaken to the realization that a true Christian is measured by how much one loves God, and cares for his or her neighbor, probably know little about Christianity, and even less about God.

I am increasingly of the opinion that the lack of this fundamental awareness is why Christianity has been in decline in Europe, and now, increasingly, in North America. Equally, as a consequence of the ambivalence to the requisite utter commitment to faithfulness to God, in Africa and South America where Christianity seems to be on the increase, and perhaps other parts of the world as well, many who call themselves Christians habitually consult with nefarious deities to appeal for unearned favors, and in some instances, conjure up demonic entities from the depths of the netherworld in a bid to extricate themselves from intractable problems—contrary to the dictates of their professed faith.  

I have come to realize that many seem to think, rather erroneously, that Christianity is a religion. And as such, many people who identify themselves as Christians do so by default. What do I mean by this, you may ask? Well, there is this widely accepted notion amongst religious devotees around the world that if one is born of parents of a particular religious faith, that person is consequently a member of that faith—and in the case of Christianity, one becomes a traditional Christian by temporal heritage.

If this theory holds true, then we, in essence inherit our Christian identity and owes no special duty or put in any effort to maintaining this identity. This idea of a traditional Christian character can only hold true if in fact Christianity is a religion. But this is not the case—far from it. Religion tends to weave itself into culture and tradition, and as such perpetuate itself through the sheer power of habit—born of the instinct for social and cultural continuity. On the other hand, Christianity, in its true sense, concerns itself with nurturing relationships, based on selfless love.

This notion of traditional Christian adherent is an artificial construct designed to morph a divine idea into a quantifiable concept that can lend itself to evolving a hallowed institution. However, this flawed paradigm almost always begins to crumble at the first onset of a crisis of conscience. This is because it is not anchored on the intrinsic divine principles that lie at the core of the true Christian doctrine of love—which manifests through care and interactions.

If relationships of the heart are not cultivated and nurtured with Christian principles, one would find that in times of personal or social challenge—when he or she reaches out to supposed brethren for succor, and finds none to help, an internal conflict evolves in the mind. In the face of this perceived crisis of faith, a quasi-Christian’s thought quickly becomes jaded to the Christian doctrine, which is supposed to nurture a caring heart. It is at this moment of mental frailty that a cynical quasi-Christian is born. I must add here that it is not the doctrine of the Christian faith that is flawed, and thus failed the jaded Christian. No, it is the half-committed Christian who’d unwittingly missed the mark.

There are some who claim that the gospel of the Christian faith resonated with their psyche, and so decided to affiliate with Christianity—without the requisite interest in transforming their heart. Though these sorts deem themselves to be Christians, they secretly nurture a heart of darkness. This is an inner constitution of some of these half-baked Christian, whom the light of the Christ-consciousness does not reside in their hearts. 

The question that is so often asked by the peripheral Christians is, ‘what is the use of committing one’s self to a faith that is not going to come through for one, in times of moral crisis or social tribulations?’ This questioning of the merit of devotion to God is the result of the mistaken believe that by declaring one’s self a Christian, an adherent of the faith is granted divine immunity from life’s challenges and tribulations is, in part, why so many are turning away from practicing Christianity.

Well, that notion of entitlement to instant grace of God is in itself is born of a lack of understanding that true Christianity is a relationship, first with God, and then with others—both friend and foe. It is in this genuine fellowship—which is born of a Christ-filled heart, that one gain’s divine communion with God. And it is as a consequence of our relationship with God, that we are granted access to the realm of miracles.

The fact that many churchgoing adherents of the faith are oblivious to the fact that they are quasi-Christians is actually bad news for Christianity. This is because there is a general believe amongst the clergy that it is much easier to preach the gospel of salvation to a thoroughly lost soul, than to evangelize to a half-convert.

Another bad news for Christianity is that many of these quasi-Christians are quite entrenched in the highest echelons of Christian leadership. And from their exalted pulpit, they advance outlandish secularist doctrines and fancies that promote fringe Christian way of life. No wonder many in advanced societies are now finding Christian churches hollow and unappealing to their spirit.

In a spiritual sense, most of the modern churches are boring edifices—offering mere theatrical rhetoric of rehashed biblical stories, rather than practical demonstration of God’s might and compassion.

In other to regain the commanding height, in the battle for the hearts and souls of the agnostics and the profane, modern Christian leaders need to seek divine grace for miracles—for, in seeing the mighty hand of God at work in the lives of people, a dubious and rebellious generation will come to believe that God, whose son Jesus Christ died for the remission of our sins, is omnipotent and He is true.   

Authored by E. Stanley Ukeni, © 2015. All Rights Reserved.