Plastic Christianity’s Failure To Recognize Sorrow And Understand Joy
By Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard in Christian News
John 16:16-22
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
I have to confess that I don’t have much patience anymore for what I call Plastic Christianity. You know, the kind of Christianity that isn’t real. The kind of Christianity where people pretend that they are happy all the time. The kind of Christianity where you supposedly walk around in the victorious life – free from sin, sorrow, and pain. Yes, I don’t have much patience for Plastic Christianity because it has ruined way too many people — emotionally and theologically. Furthermore, I have no patience for it because it is simply not real. It is fake; it makes a mockery of the Christian life. And it ignores the reality of what Jesus talks about in the reading from the Gospel of John.
In John chapter 16, Jesus says to His disciples – and to you and me – that in this life, we will weep and mourn. He states that we will have pain. Such is life in this vale of tears. But Jesus also promises us that our pain will turn to joy.
So, this brings up an in…