Thursday, January 15, 2004
What is Radically Real?
For too long people in the church have had a false view of ourselves thinking we are somehow better than the rest of the word. We use terms like the unchurched... Our attitudes often make them want to stay that way. Being radically real is about being authentic. It's about being truthful about who you are and the things that Jesus is doing in your life. It's about being able to look at a hurting person and realizing that they are a person loved by Jesus, and then sharing the love of Jesus with them, not from a position of superiority but from a postition of realizing that if it weren't for the love of Jesus and the grace of God we'd be in the same boat.
I have a pretty gory story. It's not that hard for me to relate to someone who is deep in sin because it wasn't that long ago that I was. Some have always lived in Christian families and have been influenced by Jesus from childhood. Their salvation story is not all that gory. They always had Jesus modeled for them and when they heard the Spirit, they answered the call and started living for Him. Praise God that's how I hope it will be with my kids. But don't miss this, if this is your story, you've still been rescued. By putting you in that environment, God in His infinite grace and mercy spared you a lot of pain. Remember that grace and mercy when you deal with someone who has not yet received it and you will be radically real.
While I'm on the subject there's one other area I'd like to touch on, church. If you were going on a mission trip to a country that spoke another language, for example, Spanish. You'd do one of two things, you'd learn the language or you'd get an interpretter wouldn't you. It would do you no good to share the gospel in terms the people could not understand. I wish we'd handle our pulpits and our teaching the same way. There are people in your seats that don't know what it means to "pray in the spirit," they don't know what "prepitiation" is, they have no idea how to "seek God's face", they may not even understand being "saved."
We have got to make ourselves clear. We have got to drop the "christianese" and put it out there in terms everyone can understand. You say well many people in the pews already know this stuff. That may be true, but Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. Those who already know also should know enough to realize that it's not about them. If they know everything the preacher is talking about they should really focus on bringing someone who doesn't. Keep it real, keep it simple and let the word of God do it's job.
For too long people in the church have had a false view of ourselves thinking we are somehow better than the rest of the word. We use terms like the unchurched... Our attitudes often make them want to stay that way. Being radically real is about being authentic. It's about being truthful about who you are and the things that Jesus is doing in your life. It's about being able to look at a hurting person and realizing that they are a person loved by Jesus, and then sharing the love of Jesus with them, not from a position of superiority but from a postition of realizing that if it weren't for the love of Jesus and the grace of God we'd be in the same boat.
I have a pretty gory story. It's not that hard for me to relate to someone who is deep in sin because it wasn't that long ago that I was. Some have always lived in Christian families and have been influenced by Jesus from childhood. Their salvation story is not all that gory. They always had Jesus modeled for them and when they heard the Spirit, they answered the call and started living for Him. Praise God that's how I hope it will be with my kids. But don't miss this, if this is your story, you've still been rescued. By putting you in that environment, God in His infinite grace and mercy spared you a lot of pain. Remember that grace and mercy when you deal with someone who has not yet received it and you will be radically real.
While I'm on the subject there's one other area I'd like to touch on, church. If you were going on a mission trip to a country that spoke another language, for example, Spanish. You'd do one of two things, you'd learn the language or you'd get an interpretter wouldn't you. It would do you no good to share the gospel in terms the people could not understand. I wish we'd handle our pulpits and our teaching the same way. There are people in your seats that don't know what it means to "pray in the spirit," they don't know what "prepitiation" is, they have no idea how to "seek God's face", they may not even understand being "saved."
We have got to make ourselves clear. We have got to drop the "christianese" and put it out there in terms everyone can understand. You say well many people in the pews already know this stuff. That may be true, but Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. Those who already know also should know enough to realize that it's not about them. If they know everything the preacher is talking about they should really focus on bringing someone who doesn't. Keep it real, keep it simple and let the word of God do it's job.
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