Jesus, I Know How You Feel
I overheard a conversation between two men. The first wanted to spend time with the second. He said, “I would like you to come to my house for dinner, but I must ask that you not bring your wife. She is not very attractive and she is boring.” The man who was invited declined the dinner invitation.
Can you imagine? How would you have responded?
In our city, Tucson, 72% of the population claim to be Christians, yet only 7% of our citizens attend church. Interestingly, the conversation they are having with Jesus goes something like this, “Jesus, I love you and want to spend time with you, but I just can’t stand your bride (the church). Your bride is not very attractive and she is boring.”
Any successful city movement must help Christians understand the importance of loving the bride of Christ as much as we claim we love the groom.
Biblical City Transformation will not happen without spiritually transformed people. When spiritually transformed people agree to work together for the glory of God, nothing will be impossible for them. The training ground for learning to work with others in the body of Christ is the church. That is God’s plan. That is the way He designed things to work. In Jesus’ last prayer in John 17 he prayed for this.
Our job, as followers of Jesus, is to make the bride of Christ – the church – attractive to others in our community. Each city movement must intentionally work through the church and God’s people to see sustainable biblical city transformation.
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22-23 (NKJ)
The next time you hear a follower of Jesus say that he is not interested in the church or that the church is boring, maybe you should invite him to dinner, but exclude his wife. After the initial shock, explain that may be just how Jesus feels when we say that about His bride.
Comments