If I insulted the churchgoer…
// August 26th, 2009 // 7 Comments » // OUT LOUD THOUGHTS
Today on my TWITTER:
TWEET: approx 10:45am People are so easy to inspire but rarely do they ever change.
TWEET: approx 10:46am I think churchgoers are addicted to inspiration, but people who truly follow Jesus are marked by change & transformation.
TWEET: approx 10:49am I think some churchgoers are addicted to inspiration, but people who truly follow Jesus are marked by change & transformation.
Let me introduce you to the Paul that I live with every day. This Paul is a guy who lives in spiritual frustration in a good kind of way. It’s one thing to be just frustrated. I think that’s bad. But I live in a frustration of what can be and what is….with myself, not so much with people or the Church.
A lot of people don’t get that about me. I remember a former colleague of mine saying, “Paul, you always say such weighty things and people aren’t always ready to handle that kind of stuff.”
It doesn’t always help to tell people that you’re teaching this out loud to yourself and letting others in on the conversation.
That’s actually why the spiritual musings section of my blog is called “Outloud Thoughts.” That’s what they really are.
But I suppose I would be frustrated with people if they are totally comfortable living in a place where they can’t handle prying, difficult statements or questions. Or if their mere allegiance and faithfulness is brought in to question.
I mean, Peter got kinda got upset at first too when Jesus kept repeatedly asking, “Do you love me.” I think part of following Him is that He’s not afraid to keep asking that question no matter how frustrating it is. [John 21:15-17]
For me, I simply must have my mind insulted with the hope that it will reveal my heart.
So this morning I both got re-tweeted and lightly slammed for my tweets because it was a bit misunderstood. And I’d have to give people a break when it comes to that, first because no one lives in my head so they can’t understand. But I do often say things, as a pastor, a teacher, or a wrestler with God, myself, and life that are controversial at first and are meant to ask the question of ourselves.
Sometimes we can ask those things on a deeper level; take them to heart and find that nothing sticks and there’s no conviction. Other times we react to those things in other ways because they are pointing to something in our hearts.
And sometimes? Well, we just don’t get it. PERIOD. We’re like the teachers of the law after Jesus unleashed some heavy woes:
LUKE 11:45
One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
And Jesus is like, “Um…yeah, that was intentional. I’m talking about you!”
SO REGARDING MY TWEETS THIS MORNING…
How did I arrive there? What was I talking about?
If you’re around me for very long, you’ll probably notice that I have a huge expectation of God to bring His power and His presence to bear and bring change and transformation to ourselves and to the world around us.
I think the very evidence of God alive in us is going to be radical change.
A few years back, I guess I used to think that some people were more holy or more righteous than others. Or that they had less to get over than others who were into really bad sin, and so the change that we’d see in their life would be less than those who had more for God to clean up.
As non-sensical as that previous sentence is in its poor construction, I think it is just as non-sensical when it comes to our theological understanding of God’s power and presence in our lives.
If we are being brought from death to life and what was old is now new, then that is incredibly drastic. We can expect some things to look totally different than before. We should be very different people.
I don’t know about you, but God is much bigger than me, much better than me, more powerful than me, and much more holy than I could ever dream of being. His ways are not my ways. At times they are the opposite of what I understand in my humanness. I am starting to get that. And my sincere desire is to see His likeness more evident in me every day.
New from old – I think I should be radically different than I was a year ago, even though I’ve been following Jesus since I was 13 and full-time over the last 9 years….(full-time…that was clever wasn’t it?)
If I don’t have an expectation of change that is that radical, then one of two things I believe:
- I’ve in some way arrived and I can’t be changed that much more.
- God’s not powerful enough to bring that level of change.
And if either are true, I might as well forget this following Jesus thing.
INSPIRATION VS. TRANSFORMATION
There are a handful of guys that I really enjoy listening to whenever I’ve got a chance. And there are times that I listen or I’m reading one of their books and I honestly do engage with God and have that warm fuzzy feeling.
But I walk away – maybe days or weeks or months later – and I realize that I wasn’t actually changed by those inspirational words.
Sometimes it has to do with the very words themselves. They aren’t words that have an authority or a weight. Sometimes they appeal to my sense of accomplishment and achievement and wanting more out of life. They appeal to my selfish senses. I do think there are a number of those voices out there. And we have to be careful.
Sometimes though, these words are the Words of God. And somehow, when I look back over the months, I recall that inspiration but wonder where…or more importantly why I left it.
I think this is what James was talking about:
JAMES 1:22-24
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
The Word of God should result in something – it should result in our responding to God in relationship. It should result in our seeking Him more. Because a mirror in and of itself cannot change us. But God’s power through relationship with Him can.
The result should be us knowing Him more, drawing more to Him, and a byproduct being our transformation.
Even scarier though to me is the thought that there have been times I’m so inspired by these words or moments that I own them on my lips and not with my life.
You can preach and re-preach Truth – because it still is Truth – and not live it.
So I just leave you with my statements as ways to insult your mind and your walk with God so that possibly it can reveal your heart:
People are so easy to inspire but rarely do they ever change.
I think churchgoers are addicted to inspiration, but people who truly follow Jesus are marked by change & transformation.
