It's Greek to Them

Do we speak the language of the lost? Do we even recognize the need to? There is a whole world out there who does not know the language we speak in our religion. There is a world who needs to hear about Christ in their own language. And we have to learn to speak it.

So, what is this language and how do we learn it? It's an ancient one, one spoken first by the master. The language spoken by kneeling in the sand by a broken, sinful woman and calling out the "righteous". It is the language Jesus spoke. It is a language that communicates not so much by words but by actions, touch, and compassion. It is a language that sets aside self and comfort and gets dirty and sometimes even uncomfortable.

The language of love. It means whatever I do, I will give all the glory and thanks to God. It means that everything I do will not be for my own comfort or about what I like, but about what I can do to reach out to as many as possible, so that some may be saved by God. (ICor 10:31-33)

We mistakenly think that broadcasting our church life is the way to bring people to God. If we have the best programs, the best preacher, the best.... First of all, God never called us to bring people. God called us to bring Him to the world. Remember, He said "go". Sometimes the world needs us to just listen. Hear them. Feel their pain. And give them the same hope that gets us through each day.

Salvation for the world is simple. It's about a God who loved his creation so much that it broke his heart to know he could not be with them. It is the Father who was willing to sacrifice His very own son because of HIs love for us. It is a story of the power of submitting to death and the AWEsome power of RISING from the dead and opening the door to the Father. It's about recognizing that we had zero hope and now we have everything. It's the realization that I can be more than I ever hoped to be because the VERY SPIRIT of GOD actually lives within me. All I have to do is submit to Him, and through the mysterious, wonderful act of baptism, His spirit moves in and RECREATES me.

The language the world wants to hear? Tell them they can have a second chance. Tell them that God doesn't just want to "fix" them...He will re-make them.

God does not care about whether we sing with or without instruments...or whether we take the Lord's supper on Saturday or Sunday or any of the thousands of other things Satan has used to distract God's people. What God does care about is that the world that he loves sooooo much needs to hear there is hope. We must set aside all the rhetoric and return to what we were called for. The simple message of the first century...Jesus died and rose for you...now we can live for Him.

I pray that we can get better and better at realizing how walking with Him is worshipping Him. I pray that we can recognize Satan's place in our churches and ban him from there. I pray that we will make our gatherings a time of love and encouragement and even sometimes a kick in the pants to do what we ought to be doing. I pray that as people come into our midst, they will recognize that God is present and be amazed.