It is a great sorrow when you have a life that looks Christian from the outside, but is not. It is a great sorrow when your real life is not the life that others see. For in time you too will come to approve of the outward and neglect the inward. It will be like FACEBOOK. Your life will appear to be what you post, but what you actually live will not be known.
How blessed is the man who slips up and reveals his anger or lust. How blessed is the women who exposes her lust for things or beauty. Would that we would be Christian enough to confess our sins one to another and be healed. I like to post on this blog and on facebook some of my endless mistakes, blunders and faults. It help me to be real to myself, to be mindful that others are more gifted, more influential and more better!!!!
But what real good would such humility bring. Would it deal with pride, our selfishness or self love. YES. It is an unsafe place to live a life where people think you better than you are. Better to be know for who you truly are. For this truth will help protect you from believing the lies that all others believe.
This is even more destructive for those in leadership. Is it not enjoyable to have people think you are much better than you are? Is it not nice to be though well of? What if we didn’t tell those little stories of our faults to build connection with our audience? What if we went beyond relevant communication and our whole life became the message, not just some words on Sunday morning or Wednesday night?
I ran across an article today that stressed how prophecy is replacing miracles in many churches. It was for the gift of prophecy, but revealed how we can replace the absence of miracles with talking about them. We can “predict” them in the future if we cannot experience them now – and most congregations seem to be content with this.
The authority for miracles require a lifestyle, not a message. In truth our city is unchanged because we/I am unchanged. I am unchanged because I become content with myself. I am not longer trouble by my own condition. You do not know me, so I am not compelled to live a holy life for your sake either.
It will be a most sad thing for me to lead a city wide prayer movement and not have people know how I live. If I dwell behind some title, office, position or status and do not open my daily life to others – I fail in the most basic Christian way.
Jesus was known to His followers in the most basic and humbling ways. I am not more important than He. And while the status of leadership in the American church has changed, status of leadership in the Kingdom of God has not.
Get a friend who truly knows you! If you can’t find one just find one of your enemies, they will be a great blessing to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment