This week’s theme has been ‘Testimony’. And it has opened my eyes, not to the lack of testimonies but the lack of changed lives – including my own – the kind of change that sticks for the long-run.
A while back we had a certain move of the spirit, and I asked God if, because I shy away from supernatural drama, I am missing out on what He has for me. And the answer was: to see the fruit in the lives of those who say they were touched. Real Touch = Changed Lives.
Maybe I didn’t miss out this time – but I still pray that I don’t get so cynical that I miss the real touch God has for me, and be open to it when it comes.
And I got to thinking about this different kind of Gospel that is on show in our churches these days. It’s a gospel that is missing the fundamental fullness that God promises He has for us.
This is a different kind of gospel. Its us, the people that shout with all our might at Jericho’s walls when we haven’t spent six days in silence. Its those of us who swear that we would fight Goliath but we haven’t stood up for God’s name when Goliath was speaking out of turn. Its those of us who publicly break perfume on Jesus’ feet when the perfume has cost us nothing – it had no personal cost and cost no sacrifice to obtain it. It’s us, the healed lepers that never had leprosy. Its us, the soldiers that say the armour prayer by rote but we never actually wear the real armour – its just a word-prayer that gets checked off our list everyday. Its our meetings and services that hold no spiritual value in the long run. It’s those of us that flaunt our ministries but behind the scenes we have not even enough sense of responsibility for the most basic needs of others. Its those of us who flock to hyped-up worship nights, but are sorely missing at the prayer group. Its those of us who have lied about being true followers of Christ because we refuse to live circumcised lives. Its the Body that exists to serve the five-fold ministry, and not where the five-fold serves the Church. It’s a different kind of gospel – and one I would no longer like a part in. It’s a gospel that does not really believe that we will be held accountable in heaven.
Chasing after the fake and flaunting the fake hold no promise for us. What a waste of time – and time is too precious. The real Gospel is too precious to be wasting our lives on anything else.