I have a bad track record with windshield wipers.  Somehow they don’t seem to last long enough for me.  They’ll go more than a few days, of course, but it doesn’t seem to take much time at all for that solitary line to streak across my windshield…then it becomes that wide-banded blur of road-grime-tainted water streaking across two thirds of my viewing area.  That’s when I take strong, decisive action:  I decide to deal with it.  It’s good enough, right?  I’ve got young eyes that can see pretty well, and after that moth pays the ultimate price to decorate my windshield in one final, selfless act, the least I could do is preserve its memory for awhile.  At night, I simply need to avert my eyes toward guardrails to avoid the blinding light of oncoming headlights reflecting after dirt particles.  No big deal.  Then I run out of washer fluid.  That’s not a problem, either, because once God sends the rain I have one more reason to be thankful for it.  He decided to clean my windshield for me.

But we all have windshield wiper issues.  There we are looking ahead toward the path where God is leading us, and our view gets obscured.  Even though we could see so clearly before, it’s not so bad now.  The view is still kind of there.  That’s when we take strong, decisive action and choose to deal with it.  So the moth of lust just slammed into your windshield, making an ugly mess.  You don’t want to smear it around, do you?  Your washer fluid reservoir – the one that is replenished when you immerse yourself in God’s Word – is running on empty.  Even if the fluid was there, those wiper blades are getting pretty cruddy.  Those arms, so practiced at removing the sinful distractions at life, are even more adept at selectively allowing certain things to slip through.  The gossip is okay with a certain friend, the one who usually brings it up in the first place.  You’re just keeping the conversation going.  You might watch a little too much TV, but everyone needs an outlet for relaxation.  Every week (though it’s sometimes two or three) you get a good rinsing from those showers of blessing that come in the church service.  You remember some alliterated sermon points and even went to Sunday School – practically a wash and wax job!  So a spotty, grimy windshield with an empty reservoir and inefficient wiper blades are no big deal.

I’ve done this…countless times.  I don’t mean relating my spiritual life to windshield wipers and road grime.  I mean settling for a version of my faith that is simply “good enough.”  Sometimes my version of following God (as if I’m entitled to my own version) is characterized by little effort, a lot of useless motions, no cleansing power, and aimless plodding along because I’ve gotten used to an obscured view of God.  Sometimes I see the benefit of clearly seeing God and being led directly by Him, but other times I let my view get so clouded for so long that it becomes the new picture of my faith.  I’d rather keep looking at the sin as it blocks my view of God than to actually clear it out of the way and see God for who He is.

My denomination is meeting in Baltimore right now, with a pastor’s conference geared toward one plea to our heavenly Father:  Show me your glory!  That’s what Moses asked of God.  This is the same Moses who ascended the mountain to be with God and returned with a glowing face from his time in God’s presence.  He still wanted more; he yearned to be in the presence of God, experiencing God’s glory.  The rest of Israel, like so many Christians today, had a different response.  As Francis Chan shared earlier, Christians would forego a hike up the mountain to be with God in order to take selfies with Moses.

The obscured faith invents new heroes

When we get to the point where we do not desire God’s presence, other things take its place.  Sometimes good things get elevated to a position that belongs to God.  I can read books or use Bible study software for hours on end without meeting with God, the ultimate subject of those resources.  I can find a Christian leader who is the voice I choose to hear for matters of faith.  I can replace my prayer time with Christian music.  I can bankrupt myself while keeping my useless blades busy in a frenzied cadence, impressing people with my devotion.  It’s repulsive.  It’s repulsive because I’ve done it before.  You likely have, too, though perhaps your version of it is different.  The bugs that hit your windshield may not be the ones that hit mine, and your wiper blades likely developed a different wear pattern.  What have we settled for?

The obscured faith loses its influence

In our culture there are churches who have compromised on doctrine because their windshield has been obscured for a long time.  They are made up of individuals whose views have likewise been obscured to the point that their attention is neither on God nor on the path He has laid out for them.  The splatters of the culture which dominate their view become the stars by which they navigate, the plotting points for their destination.  A dramatic shift has happened.  The church has begun to emulate culture.

The role of the church is to be a light.  It is meant to show the world the light of Christ and so lead it to repentance and salvation.  When the church begins taking its cues from the world, it relinquishes its God-given task of influencing the world and becomes a tool of society.  It spends its time reflecting culture and not Christ.

Clear faith

Change must come when individuals, tired of the effort it takes to work so hard while being so ineffective, finally acknowledge their need for God – not something “good enough” or a suitable replacement, but God Himself in their lives.  There aren’t any special secrets to this.  It is just as simple and difficult as it ever was.  Get into God’s Word.  Get alone with Him.  Talk to Him and dwell on the things of God.  Clear out that sin, not with your own strength but with the power of Scripture and its ability to renew your mind.  Then you get your direction back.  You get the compelling purpose and leadership provided for believers:  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:2 NIV)

Many people are simply looking for compelling faith, even (or especially) those who are not Christians.  Some of them even test believers for the express purpose of seeing if they hold true to their faith.  Sadly, when that uncomfortable Christian, who has been staring more at culture than at Christ, is faced with these uncomfortable challenges, he or she backs down, tones down doctrine and attempts to show how it fits with some belief of the world.  Don’t do it.  Keep your faith strong, your direction clear, and don’t settle for a “good enough” version of your faith.  Only take the real deal, resist the devil, and draw near to God (James 4:7).