Christian Living

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We, the Body of Christ, have allowed ourselves to be deceived. A few years ago I began to realize that something was wrong, terribly wrong. I didn't know what the something was, I just knew it in my spirit.

Yes, I began seeking God in a whole new way, and yes, He sent the Holy Spirit to help me, and yes, I relied on the authority and power of Jesus, not man, to carry me where God wanted me to go.

We all understand the mess this world is in. We all see the chaos infecting our country. We all see the suffering and oppression of our brothers, sisters, neighbors, and our families.

But are we willing to do anything about it? We are to pray without ceasing, but does that mean we stop everything else we are doing and spend long hours in prayer? Does that mean we hold meeting after meeting praying and calling on God to solve our problems? Does that mean we attempt to force others to become us, basically walking around seeking who we may devour?

We have been on a path of self deception looking to force-feed the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we should have been offering the LORD's "prepared table" of salvation and life abundant. We have not seen the fine line between offering nourishment and force-feeding.

There are some who are not hungry for the LORD. There are some who are confident in their own power. There are some who reject Christ. What have we, as the Body of Christ, shown them? We have shown them condemnation, contempt, and disgust. What we tell people means nothing. What we demonstrate to them means everything.

Have we demonstrate to others love beyond anything they have ever known? Have we demonstrated joy, and hope, and excitement of life without seeking to control everything around us? No. We have demonstrated envy, greed, and unforgiveness. We have demonstrated fear, manipulation, and demands.

We have created our own laws of righteousness. Behave this way and you are Holy, behave that way and you are unholy. Do this and it is good, do that and it is bad. We are hypocrites. Our behavior will not get us any closer to heaven if we have not allowed our mind, soul, and will (our heart) to be completely turned over to God and transformed from the inside out.

WHO AM I? This is the something that my spirit sensed was wrong. The something that was wrong was who I thought I was. We want to control who others think we are. We want to control who WE think we are. Therefore, we walk down the broad path of self-deception, seeking who we may devour with our thinking, our ideas, our beliefs.

Who are we to condemn the homosexual or the angry while envy and jealousy consume our hearts and minds? Who are we to condemn the behavior of our brother or sister while secretly trying to figure out how to achieve recognition for ourselves? Who are WE?

We are the example of what does not work. I can no longer be part of the problem. I must follow the path that searches for solutions. I must follow the path that seeks peace. I must follow the path that leads to oneness and unity with my LORD and Savior, Christ Jesus. I am leaving this broad highway to follow a trail through the wilderness that God has set before me. He is making straight and paving this path as I take each step, sometimes only seconds before my foot touches down.

There are those who will not listen. There are those who will not follow. It is frustrating and heartbreaking. It may seem unfulfilling and worthless. Jesus was human. He must have felt these same things. He must have many times had the thought, "they don't care" or "they are just not getting it". And His time was so short. How hard it must have been not to harp on every point or insist they listen. How hard it must have been not to demand people stop what they were doing and pay attention. How hard it must have been to not remind them of hell with every mistake they made?

Instead, He offered Himself as the example for people to follow. He honored the free will of every person. He was a leader, not a pusher. Instead, He offered nourishment, hope, healing, forgiveness, and salvation to any who were hungry and in need. He offered compassion when others pronounced judgment. He offered kindness in the midst of the self-seeking rudeness of the world.

He understood the difference between offering nourishment and force-feeding. He understood His mission was to offer healing, wholeness, and salvation to the hungry, not overthrow their free will and force them to become a Frankenstein.

The Body of Christ is full of Frankensteins. I am a Frankenstein. Knowing what I am, facing the truth, is what leads me to further transformation. Being convicted by the Holy Spirit sets me on a new journey to be transformed by the power of Jesus and walk in His authority. Being convicted by the Holy Spirit lays before me a path to BECOMING what God has intended, an example. An example of His love, His power, and His righteousness.

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