For there is only one mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus.
~ 1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT)
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We live in a world where people have a hundred and one different ideas about life, the after-life, God, the soul, and sin.
* How do we communicate that there is only one way to God, if they don't believe in God, or don't care if they reach Him?
* How do we explain the need for a Savior, if they don't care about right and wrong?
* How do we share the hope of an after-life, if they couldn't care less about heaven, just partying it up here on earth?
These are deep questions, begging for answers, but often it's like chasing a moving target. Even within defined religions, there is movement in definitions and doctrines. What people once thought and believed sometimes changes.
The good news is this: Jesus never changes. And the principles of God's spiritual laws don't change.
All have sinned against a holy God. (Romans 3:23)
The punishment for sin is death. (Romans 6:22)
A perfect blood sacrifice is required to atone for sin. (Leviticus 17:11, 1 Peter 1:19)
Jesus, God in the flesh, paid that sacrifice with Himself. (1 John 4:10)
Those who believe are saved from death. (John 3:16-18)
So, how do we communicate with people who are flying in the cosmic debris of galaxies called "Don't Know/Don't Care" and "Makin' My Own Way, Thank You Very Much -- Don't Bother Me"?
Ahh...from Stage left enters life. Life, in all it's unbiased rawness. No one is safe from life. It hits everyone with both barrels at one time or another. And that is when people may begin to wonder things like...Is there help somewhere, real help? Am I alone in this garbage dump called my life? Maybe there is a God...does anyone really know God?
If you have been touched by the living God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you know the answers to these questions. You've been where they are and you've come face-to-face with Love, Grace and Mercy...His name is Jesus. Your story is worth more than a thousand tracts, bumper stickers or books that try to convert secular theologies through inanimate means. You are a living, breathing testimony to the reality of Jesus Christ and His power to overcome the garbage dump of our lives apart from God.
Are you listening to people as they go through this life? Are you hearing the struggles they go through and the methods they use to cope? If you are willing to enter into their lives, to really care about them as people, you may just gain an audience willing to listen to your story.
I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one can come to God except through Him (John 14:6). I believe that because He has made Himself known to me in my spirit. He has changed me from the inside, from darkness to light, from death to life. False doctrines and secular world views will reveal their weaknesses and inabilities to save a dying soul in time. Jesus stands the test of time and eternity. We need to be there to offer the other side of the coin when people begin to question the strength of their beliefs.
Are we willing to be a real part of people's lives and gain their trust, so that what we say will be heard, will even be weighed as an option?
No one can refute the testimony of your life story...but getting them to even hear you in this world of atheism, paganism, pluralism, universalism and a hundred other isms is a God-sized job. So love people for real, deep down, and be ready to make an eternal difference through the divine power of Jesus Christ.
Love,
Joelene
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2 comments:
Just today at work, I was party to a conversation where a co-worker was just going off on how "church-people" are not always so perfect and clean and moral, etc, etc. She harbored so much anger and resentment toward "church people" based on examples of people in her life that claimed to be Christians, but didn't display any of Christ's love in their lives (starting with her own dad while she was growing up).
All I could tell her was that the fruits of the Spirit, of a life lived actually following Jesus, are love, patience, kindness, etc... and to look for people like that in the church as better examples of "christians".
Just as you say, no one can refute the testimony of our life story, for good or ill. I guess she just reminded me that it's imporant to remember, people are watching even when we don't expect them to be.
You are so right, Mike. When will we learn the truth that actions speak louder than words? I pray that God will open up a door in your co-worker's life that you can compassionately step into with the love of our merciful Jesus, so that she can see who He really is.
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