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As the Russian said, ‘Men have forgotten God’

In 1993, Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, of Gulag Archipelago fame, said, “If I were called upon to summarize briefly the principal trait of the entire 20th Century, I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: Men have forgotten God.”

Safe to say, this reality has bled into our 21st Century.

Perhaps Christians have not forgotten God as much as they have put Him on a shelf to attend to “more urgent” business, like growing churches or fighting social injustice or serving the poorest of the poor. Those are all righteous things, in their own right, and certainly admirable, as well, except when sitting at the feet of Jesus like Mary did in Luke 10 turns into a mere afterthought.

Fall is the activity season. As the school year gets underway, families put all sorts of schedules and routines and plans into play. Churches gear up their vast array of programs, activities, and groups. A distinctive feature of American Christianity seems to be activism. Activism of deeds — opening food pantries, family-friendly outings, similar interest groups like crocheting or yoga or volleyball, servant events and the like. All of those activities are a significant part of healthy ministry, but, in all our busyness of doing, are we missing out on simply pondering, meditating on the words of the Holy One in the Scriptures?

In the present clamor of social noise and frenetic activity, is there any time at all for silence with the God who says, “Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)”?

Have we forgotten that our God is not found in the rock-shattering wind, the earthquakes and the fire, but rather in a quiet, gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12)?

Our words and deeds become much like “clanging cymbals” if they do not flow out of regular times of thoughtful prayer and meditation centered in Christ and the Word of God.

As long as we remain at the center of all our activity, we feel indispensable. Ministry becomes all about ourselves, all that we’re doing for the Lord, and the opportunities we have to speak out into a communication-saturated world.

Making time for solitude helps us to resign from being CEO of our universe. We begin to entrust people into the hands of God instead of trying to save the world on our own. Sometimes our devotional, quiet time can devolve into the noise of words, plaguing God with petitions that tell Him what to do or mindlessly repeating empty words. Time would be better served, perhaps, with the silence of attentive listening to what God is saying in the Scriptures. The Spirit of God surely will “hover over the face of our deep,” its chaos and frenzy, and create us anew in Christ as His people.

What will make a difference in our world is helping individuals remember the One they have forgotten.

The more we listen in quiet communion with the forgotten One who reveals Himself in His Word, the more He will form in us the mind of Christ. Then will our words and actions be more than mere busyness that frantically does things for God, motivated by self. Instead, solitude with God, with full attention to His word, will fill us with the “pleasing aroma of Christ,” both among those who are being saved as well as those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15).

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