Christian Spritual Warfare
Jesus wasn’t on my list when He found me.
On my list was:
Dream house ✔️
Financial security ✔️
Family ✔️
Golden Retriever ✔️
I thought I had finally reached solid ground. My firm foundation.
I was wrong.
That’s when the rug got pulled out from under me.
Finances. Family. House. Gone.
Even my dog died.
It was just me, God, and the Book of Job.
The one thing I never wanted to do during that season was sit alone with my thoughts. So I started volunteering at a local food pantry. After all, that’s where all the Christians would be, right?
If I’m honest, I started for selfish reasons. I needed something to take my mind off everything that had gone so horribly wrong.
But while serving there, God revealed some things that I think we need to talk about. This isn’t a criticism of the many good people I met. It’s an observation about how we, as a society—and especially as Christians—can do better.
- Despite operating at a church, most of the volunteers weren’t from the church.
- The church blessed us by allowing us to use their property, but I rarely saw pastors praying with people in line, volunteering alongside us, or engaging directly with those in need.
- Many people in line assumed I was the pastor and asked me to pray with them. So I did.
- Eventually, the church decided they no longer wanted the food pantry on their campus, and we had to move.
- We moved to another location, and the same patterns repeated themselves.
- No church I approached invited us to speak to their congregation or recruit volunteers. Many seemed concerned it would compete with their own fundraising efforts.
- I saw a local politician stop by once for a handshake and photo opportunity.
- I saw representatives from the local food bank a few times, but instead of helping us find more resources, it often felt like we were competing for them.
- Church leader after church leader promised to come help, but never showed up. One even asked me not to contact her again.
- I attended a large nonprofit networking event where many people took our information. Almost nobody followed up.
As Christians, I think we need to ask ourselves why churches are shrinking and why so many people are walking away.
People don’t just need to hear about Jesus.
They need to see Jesus.
Too often they feel neglected, ignored, and passed along.
We aren’t signing up to be the Good Samaritan. Many of us are sitting on the sidelines waiting for Jesus to come back and fix everything.
And He is coming back.
But when He does, what will we tell Him?
That we were too busy?
That someone else would handle it?
That we spent more time posting about problems than helping solve them?
If you aren’t part of the solution, maybe it’s time to be.
God needs ordinary people willing to step into the mess, fight the good fight, and show others that this Jesus thing is real.
You may be saved.
But what about your neighbor?
