It was a memorial service.

The deceased and their surviving spouse had had a very difficult relationship. That much was clear to everyone who knew them. The carefully scripted service tip-toed around the obvious. Glowing eulogies seasoned the somber ceremony, and one would’ve concluded they’d had a model marriage. It was easy to see this was a careful act.

I sat down and looked around the large room. Sprinkled throughout the audience were various people I knew – some relationships went back almost 40 years. There was more than one ‘act’ going on here.

Over there was a lady who was once very active in the church. She’d been a ‘mover and a shaker’ in ministry, you might say. But her life had faced one key challenge. Others had faced the sametrial – but this one had changed her. She has since rejected her faith and she’s pursued worldly goals. She is all about personal success now, and no efforts on my part to steer her back to sanity have prevailed. Her kids have ‘gone completely off the deep end.’ Like their mother, their choices show they’ve strayed far from God.

Across the room, on the other side, a gentleman sat. His life was peppered with poor habits, low standards, and rounded corners. His choices had painted him into a tight spot. He’d struggled to find an identity and purpose in the same way he’d struggled to keep up meaningful relationships. Unable to make much headway, he felt ‘called to the mission field’ where he could escape his predicament, reinvent himself, acquire income and a benefits plan. It was a chance to be esteemed by others who knew nothing about his larger story. He’d taken his dysfunctions from here to there, as many missionaries have done.

Near the middle of the room, two women sat. They whispered back and forth through the entire service. I felt tugs of distress rising in me as I watched them. These two women had singlehandedly torn apart at least three bodies of believers that I knew of. They were ardent gossipers and fervent grumblers. Both knew a great deal about the Word of God, but both showed very little evidence of Holy Spirit control.

Towards the back, and to my left, an older couple sat. They were proud of their traditions, their ‘old school’ attire, their massive King James Bibles, and their long list of who they knew. But they had flitted from one church to the next for as long as I had known them. They never stayedtoo long in one place because there was always something wrong with every church they had attended. They spoke abusively and openly about specific people with no flicker of inhibition. They were perpetual faultfinders: discontent, pompous, arrogant, and intolerant.

Not far down to my right, one row ahead of me, a middle-aged couple sat. The last time I knew, they had churned through more than 30 churches and had not found one to stay with. Knowing them well as I did, I knew their kids had a big part to play in these itinerant patterns. The kids were always unhappy, always controlling their parents, and always wanting something that appealed to ‘their needs.’ Because most young people’s spiritual roots today are a mile wide and an inch deep, real ‘spiritual food’ is not their choice just as ‘endurance’ is not their character. Rather than leading their kids as they should have done, this couple has followed them.

Down in front, over to the left, a trim, polished, professional-looking couple sat. They were about my age because I’d first met them when I’d moved to Colorado in the 1980’s. But their genes were rare; they didn’t look a day over 40. As I watched them, I felt another knot of despair welling up in the pit of my stomach. We used to be good friends. I remember when this couple led Bible studies, stood for the truth, and boldly called out fraud in the church when that was needed. But the cares of this world – mostly the love of wealth – have crept into their lives and taken over. They haven’t been part of a church for more than 20 years. My personal appeals to get them to return to fellowship have been callously rebuffed. They look down on me because I am ‘too Biblical’ and not like them.

Just in front of me were two ladies. They were in their 30’s, and I knew them both when they were riding tricycles. Neither of them knew each other then. They would call themselves ‘artists,’ and they have impressive musical resumes to back up this claim. But about 10 years ago or so, they began to drift away from the faith. I’ve watched and listened as they’ve argued with what the Scriptures plainly say. They have found a church that emphasizes ‘experiencing Jesus’ instead of teaching truth. It is an emotionally driven, ‘culturally relevant,’ and ‘all-are-welcome’ church. The pastors are women. These two ladies eventually ‘found’ each other. Their alternative lifestyle has been supported in their chosen ‘place of worship.’

By herself, near the left wall, an angry-looking lady sat. Honestly, had she tried to smile, I think her face would’ve fractured. She has repeatedly clashed with clear Biblical truth when it confronts her personal choices, her left-leaning political views, and her deep cultural prejudices. The scary thing is she’s wormed her way into positions of influence. She’s gotten various church leaders to see things HER way – even if those things are against what God’s Word clearly says.

As I looked around the memorial service, I was struck by all the tragedies represented there, and these were just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more like them.

For anyone reading this, ‘the shoe may fit,’ and if it does, then it’s for you. Our problems are common, in the same way as our fallen nature is predictable. There’s nothing new anymore (Eccl. 1:9).

But it’s tragic to see so many people playing ‘the act.’ Some folks have ultimately evidenced they lack real faith. So many people have succumbed to the cares and pursuits of this world. So many people want to ‘sip their doctrine through a straw’ rather than chew on meat. So many people have tossed out eternal priorities to focus on their earthly goals.

Said another way, in that room was a small sampling of folks who “went out from us, but they were not of us” (1 John 2:19). It’s that whole ‘you-will-know-them-by-their-fruits’ thing (Matt. 7:16). What we SAY and what we DO show who we really ARE. The Bible is clear.

Several folks there had fallen victim to the “deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). They had chosen to “serve two Masters” (Matt. 6:24) and they’d turned their backs on the most important one. They are living for the moment – not the eternal view.

Others had had become quite “friendly with the world and hostile towards God” (James 4:4). They’d “set their mind on earthly things, and not the things of God” (Col. 3:2). They’d “slandered whatever they didn’t understand” (Jude 10) – – or didn’t WANT to understand.

Problems abound for all of us, and we all share many similar ones, but this is a good time to remind ourselves that the true Christian life is one of faithful endurance in one direction. It is a life that is marked by getting up EVERY time you get knocked down. It is a life that shows by the things we say and do that the Holy Spirit reigns and overcomes our natural self.

The true believer ‘fights the good fight of the faith’ (1 Tim. 6:12), sees trials of all sorts as a chance to prove out real faith (James 1:2-4), ‘contends for the faith’ (Jude 3), ‘strains towards what is ahead’ (Philippians 3:13), ‘worships God’ in the face of stiff traumas and adversities (Job 1:20), and is ‘faithful even unto death’ (Rev. 2:20).

Yes – the true Christian life is a tall order, no doubt. I’ll be the first to say that only Jesus knows the true condition of our hearts, but it’s not a good thing when the rest of us can see all the wrong indicators – especially against wiser counsel. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” It’s a whole lot easier to run with the crowd than to suffer with the remnant.

We live in times when God is dividing those who are not His from those who are. The main point here is I believe the church is being sifted. I think the number of those who are truly saved is probably much smaller than many of us might have thought.

A big part of enduring faithfully is keeping a proper perspective on the present and the future. A big part of having real faith is SHOWING that faith when challenges come, temptations arise, and the lure of this world appeals. As Paul said in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.”

The true believer has every reason to stay faithful and press on. Those that truly belong to God understand that