I love to read espionage novels. I found the following line most insightful, “Dress him up in a suit and tie and put him up in $1,000 a night suite, but once a terrorist always a terrorist.” Dressing up the outside does nothing to change the person inside.
I just got back from my MiniChurch that reaches people who strongly dislike church and would never go back (though they didn’t realize they were in church) where I asked, “What comes to mind when you think of Christianity, religion or relationship?” The instant reaction, to a person, was religion. I asked, “What does religion look like?” They all said Christians focus too much on outward conformance and following certain man-made rules. It was this mentality that made church repulsive to them.
To them the above quote could be said of so-called Christians. Dress them up in a suit and tie and put them in a church building, but they’re still not worth being around. If believers in Jesus want to make a difference in this world, we must start being real with each other and with those around us.
We must stop focusing on looking good on the outside and conforming to Christian or Church traditions and start being real with our challenges, letting the Spirit change us from the inside out and continue learning how to listen to Jesus and do what He says in our daily lives (i.e. living with a biblical worldview).
As this happens, not only will we get back to the Christianity of relationship, but those around us will also crave the One we love. And the perfect place to start is to be in a Bible Impact Group (see Resources). Make the commitment to meet with at least one person to let the Word of God and the Spirit of God change your life from the inside out.
“Set Free Nowww”