What shook me about Ravi Zacharias.

 

Disclaimer: This article is not some attempt to arbitrate on the Ravi Zacharias report neither will it attempt to draw any conclusion on his eternal destiny. It is not my opinion on what happened rather It comes from my reflecting on my own heart through this season of events.

 

There are two kinds of people who have or will read the report about the noted Christian writer and apologist Ravi Zacharias. There are those readers who love the Lord Jesus and those who do not. This article is not about the latter group whose reactions to the report range from indifference to aggravated arrogance and all that is in between. Among those readers who love the Lord Jesus there many groups as well. There are those who are hearing his name for the first time (yes, another example of how big the world is). Then there are those for whom he was just another speaker and possibly one they were not particularly excited about. Then are those who were impacted by his ministry in many ways and will probably have resources from RZIM peppered across their life. Then there are those who joined as staff with RZIM or have volunteered at events and been blessed by all these associations with not just Ravi but the army of Godly men and women that made up the RZIM teams across the globe.

 

I count myself in that second last category – a person who was blessed by Ravi’s ministry, has a line of RZIM resources on my bookshelf and who has partnered with RZIM on multiple occasions. This reflective article might resonate most with us in the last two of these groups of readers. We were shocked, surprised and even disheartened at what we got to read. I had many contacts writing in to me with links to articles and asking what I thought of all that was going on “how could such a thing be true?” I admit I was still processing what I was reading and trying to make sense of this turn in events.

 

I saw many comments on other articles and links from those who like me had been blessed in some way by this man’s ministry. Many of these comments were about how they felt broken hearted, shocked and some even used phrases like “these things shook me.” I resonated with that sentiment of being shook up. But as I reflected on my own heart I asked myself the question “what shook?” My faith was still intact. The morality of any man, good or bad doesn’t change my belief in the existence, sovereignty, character and goodness of God. I was not in a place that some would call a crisis of faith but I still felt deeply shaken.

 

As I looked harder at myself I could see that what shook was my confidence in the heart of man and even confidence in ministry. If true, then these reports reveal a man who had the ability to preach the word, exalt Jesus and the to do so while indulging in deeply disturbing sexual sins. This forces me to that place where I put no confidence in the flesh and where I cry out with the prophet “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer 17:9). I have served in pastoral ministry for many years and before that in youth and worship ministry as well. These years have not been without my own battles with sin and so I am not one to entertain any wishy-washy ideas that those in ministry have somehow attained a stature of sinless living. I am well aware that we are all prone to struggling with sin and even losing the battle in some pretty shocking ways. But though I knew that intellectually, in reality I held many who I saw passionately exalt Jesus to a standard where my mind and heart could not believe they would struggle with sin let alone lose battles in such shocking ways. The confidence that gets built up the more you serve in ministry can be subtle and this season can serve as a painful and yet important reminder that we are weak and fallen in so many ways. I have learned once again the importance of accountability, community, transparency and so much more as I grapple with the unfolding of these events. It has brought me face to face with my helplessness and my desperate need for Jesus in everything.

 

If false, then these reports bring me to that realization of how easily the devil can unravel any good thing we do. Sometimes the size and scope of the ministry we are part of can very dangerously give us a false sense of security. When we are enjoying a powerful ministry and are marching on with 100’s of coworkers who are wonderfully passionate about the Lord Jesus we can feel almost above the darts of the devil. But the devil is that master of deception and he hates with a passion anything that exalts Christ. Sometimes we forget how easily the devil can attack reputations and ministries and sow seeds of doubt all over the place. This season forces me to see Satan for the enemy he can be and not the distracted and timid foe that I unknowingly pretend he is. This once again brings me face to face with my helplessness and my desperate need for Jesus in everything.

 

As I said at the start this is not an article that attempts to arbitrate over the case at hand neither to determine anyone’s eternal destiny. It is a reflection on my own heart (maybe yours as well) and a reminder that though my faith in the Lord Jesus has not been shaken the shaking that did happen is good and can, by the grace of God, the love of Christ and the brilliant presence of the Spirit bring about a deeper level of faith.