“Christians have lost it” is a fairly common claim by those who have no experience of the life that we have been given, but they are making the claim from a false premise that we cannot really mean the things we say.
In fact they are partially correct. The person who has it “all together” has no need of God; it is the one who knows that there is something missing in their life who is ready to meet the God who can fill that hollowness. I do not make these statements lightly.
We should be able to “exude” our faith and we can only do that if there are porous parts in us. The classic Greek word for “sincere” is best translated as “without wax”. A pot was deemed sincere when it could contain boiling water without leaking. This was the standard and the analogy by which the best pots were assessed.
We sing songs to Jesus about Him being the potter and us the clay He is forming.
Christians should be aware that maybe we should be a little “cracked”. We do not convince others by the brilliance of our logic or the upright life that we live, even villains and con men can do that. People are introduced to the Master when they see the Life within us; it is Jesus Himself who draws people. We are merely the pot that they see Him in.
Fortunately it is through the flaws found within our pot of clay that He can shine out, that as well as the love that He gives us so that we may live the life He has called us to. If we drop a bottle of aerated water on the ground much of the time the fluid will build up and find a way of escaping. it doesn’t happen with water which hasn’t been treated. This is how we are to live a spirit life. Just as the bottle cannot restrain the aerated water our life should ooze God’s love to those around us.
Sincerity or the use of the word has changed only slightly over the years. It is now seen as a virtue meaning that what we say we will keep. Now this is an admirable quality in the workaday world and even in the faith world, but if we cannot leak the love and life that Father gives us to others, how are they to experience what we have?
The New Testament is replete with instances of people who, having experienced the Christ brought others to Him. Andrew spent a day with Jesus and went away to bring his brother Simon. The woman at the well, after discussing her life with Him, went away to bring back her entire village. The shamed bringing her judges to meet the Teller of Truth. Others are somewhat more ambiguous, like the paralytic who was lowered down through the roof and the centurion who went to have a servant healed.
We can, if we like, lock in the evidence of our spirit life. We cannot fulfil the life that we are called to live doing this, and will inevitably suffer the consequences of such a decision. The folk we may have introduced to the Christ will need someone else to be their vessel of faith, if they are to meet Jesus.
We can, on the other hand, be vulnerable a little and let the light and love of the Lord out through the pores of our being, all it takes is to learn to treat others as He has treated us and be ready with an answer when the people we interact with have a question.
The best part is that He already has the answer ready for us to give; all it takes is to trust and obey Him.
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