Can Others See Jesus in You?
Posted in holiness of Jesus, looking different from non-believers, Patty's Posts 0 comments
What was it about Jesus that made sinful people immediately
realize their sin and crumble at His feet in repentance? The woman caught in
adultery didn't argue with Him about how it wasn't any of His business who she
slept with. She didn't accuse Him of trying to force His morality on her. He
simply said, "Go, and sin no more." And we are left to assume that
she did precisely that.
Fast forward to today. How would we react if an adulterous woman or a same-sex couple visited our church? Would we assume that, because they darkened the door of our building, that surely they were ready to repent of their sin and begin new life in Christ? Would we expect them to immediately "behave" like Christians, and know all the protocol? Or would we humbly fall on our faces, thankful for an amazing opportunity to extend the love of Jesus?
We who claim Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God. Why then, are people not immediately convicted of sin in our presence, like they were with Jesus? Is it because we have fallen so far from His plan for our lives that we don't look or act any different than non-believers?
Jesus was fiercely righteous. Holiness blazed in His eyes. When He spoke, the power of God consumed everyone around Him, and people were changed. If we are indeed the temple of His Holy Spirit, why do people not sense that same holiness, and respond to us as they did to Jesus? We prefer to get into heated arguments about what Christians should and should not do. Our desire to be right is suddenly more important than a person's eternal soul.
If we enjoyed constant communion with our Father as Jesus did, if we fed ravenously on His Word every day, if we prayed to be filled with and guided by His Holy Spirit, if we pleaded for God to give us ears ever attuned to His voice, if we cried out to be the fragrance of Christ wherever we go, if we tearfully prayed for Him to send us people who need Him, would people react differently to us? Would they sense an unmistakable difference in us that compelled them to want to know our "secret"?
I pray this week that we will all desire to live and move in the power of the Holy Spirit, and look a lot more like Jesus. I pray that His presence in us will be such that others will be drawn to us as they were to Him.
Fast forward to today. How would we react if an adulterous woman or a same-sex couple visited our church? Would we assume that, because they darkened the door of our building, that surely they were ready to repent of their sin and begin new life in Christ? Would we expect them to immediately "behave" like Christians, and know all the protocol? Or would we humbly fall on our faces, thankful for an amazing opportunity to extend the love of Jesus?
We who claim Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God. Why then, are people not immediately convicted of sin in our presence, like they were with Jesus? Is it because we have fallen so far from His plan for our lives that we don't look or act any different than non-believers?
Jesus was fiercely righteous. Holiness blazed in His eyes. When He spoke, the power of God consumed everyone around Him, and people were changed. If we are indeed the temple of His Holy Spirit, why do people not sense that same holiness, and respond to us as they did to Jesus? We prefer to get into heated arguments about what Christians should and should not do. Our desire to be right is suddenly more important than a person's eternal soul.
If we enjoyed constant communion with our Father as Jesus did, if we fed ravenously on His Word every day, if we prayed to be filled with and guided by His Holy Spirit, if we pleaded for God to give us ears ever attuned to His voice, if we cried out to be the fragrance of Christ wherever we go, if we tearfully prayed for Him to send us people who need Him, would people react differently to us? Would they sense an unmistakable difference in us that compelled them to want to know our "secret"?
I pray this week that we will all desire to live and move in the power of the Holy Spirit, and look a lot more like Jesus. I pray that His presence in us will be such that others will be drawn to us as they were to Him.
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