Who, me? There I was, in shock with my own hand raised. I was tricked into realizing I was backslidden. you might be thinking, “C’mon, if you were backslidden you would know, they always know.” That line of thinking is correct, if what we think we know about backsliding is true. backslidden means those people who have left their once held Christian faith (and therefore will no longer darken the doors of our churches)…right? I felt the same way–until I learned a new definition. During his message, the preacher asked for honesty and participation (in church of all places, can you image?) “Raise your hand if your Bible reading has decreased.” My hand reluctantly went up. “Now, raise your hand if your prayer life has decreased.” My hand reluctantly went up, again. “If you raised your hand on either or especially both, you friend are backslidden.”
I instantly smelled brunt rubber as the tires of my mind screeched to a holt. Who, me? However shocking, however frustrating, this definition of backslidden is correct. This is not the obvious “left the church” backslidden. It is the subtle, dangerous, place of living life backed away, backsliddenfrom Jesus, yet still going through the motions. I was doing less and less while Jesus was calling me to do more and more. I was fading away, literally backing away from Christ by not personally connecting with Him through His words nor through prayer.
Realizations: (1) People backslide long before they leave church. it is a slow, subtle process that starts with doing less than we know to do. (2) We are all susceptible.
In reading this, if you felt a hand reluctantly raising, if you see that you have backed off from personally connecting with Christ, do not be condemned. Just make a decision to front slide! Slide, run, jump–whatever it takes–to get to the open, loving, and waiting arms of our God.
This article was written by Kate Jacobs