Today's Mental Image:
Secret Portals to New Beginnings
millions are
MISSING HEAVEN UNAWARE
and that's just in the church!
Our world is filled with people in their 50’s who DIED in their 30’s. Yeah, they still roam to and fro in the land of the living… but they are comatose in a spell of meaninglessness!
Larry Crabb: Real Church: Does It Exist? Can I Find it?
I'm not at all persuaded that I need what Western Christians, especially American evangelicals, think of as church ... Nothing is wrong -- and much is right -- with all of it. But I can take it or leave it. More often, I prefer to leave it ...I'm fighting life-threatening cancer of the soul, and too often what we call church offers me a pain pill, religious distraction, false promises, encouragement to live in denial, or a facelift. I don't want to go.
[I am neither promoting nor opposing this book,
but the cry above resonates with too much reality with too many
Christ-follower/Christ-seekers I know]
I personally also believe that may persons in the "church" [as contrasted with the Church] are missing heaven unawares. Many more live like many good non-believers thus the graphic picture "comatosed in a spell of meaninglessness" speaks well my concern for these decades old "new borns" in Christ - having never taken a step of growth past birth, if that is possible in God's eyes. What too many people don't know about God, though Romans declares that what can be known is clear being revealed through the creation itself, betrays a biblical iliteracy enough to make the Holy Spirit cry. 1 Corinthains affirms that we can not know the spiritual things of the Bible except by the Spirit of God. Iif we don't even crack the book, if we leave it to the "Bereans" to search the scripture, and we refuse to study to show ourselves approved [we prefer the beauty pageant form of "let me prance around and look pretty" so you can approve of me] then I must question if we hunger and thirst for Christ at all. Certainly we don't hunger and thirst after righteousess or we would go where the meal is and move past the intoxication of "feel good/get high" religion and fancy hors d'oeuvres.
All of this, however, only makes me long even more for the "church" and the individuals in attendance to experience transformation into Church. Even more so, I long for the unchurched and de-churched to find the longing of their souls being fulfilled in us . . . and so see the Church as their last great hope, which it is.
God help us! Lord transform us! And through us, Lord, reach and transform the world! Amen.
Here are some provocative videos about Missing Heaven Unaware:
[I'd be interest in what you think about them]
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