heartwashed

2 Corinthians 3:4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but a our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

One day leading a small group of first through fifth graders,our study of God's word focused on unreached people groups. Using scripture as our guide, we discussed God's desire to make His name known throughout the ends of the Earth, and what that meant for us as followers of Christ. We asked some kids to pray and they did. The last prayer came from a little girl who prayed, "God make them normal, like us". I was paralyzed and shocked at what I had just heard. The little girl's words gave away her souls view of the world. I think what captivated me was a larger truth. I believe her spoken words communicate the true sentiment of the vast majority of Church goers in America today. Even though we might not say that so clearly and out loud, it certainly was my world view for most of my life.

Now lets think about the statement, "If we can get them to be normal, like us, they will be better off", for a moment. Have you stopped and looked around America today? I want to say loudly that I praise God for His mercy on our country, and I love being American as much as anyone, but let's be honest and think it through. We are a culture marinating in debt, pills, lust, greed,pride, power, vanity and sensuality. If we take all of that and export that to other places, what good will that do anyone?

Paul's Heart is clear in the verses above, peel back all of the Paul that is in him and Jesus at the core is what is worth sharing. Jesus is who empowers His children for His glory, and because of this we can have great confidence in God's work. We must assume that the opposite is true as well. That would mean all that we do powered by our strengths and talents outside intimate communion with God, is as Paul says "insufficient".

A question that I wrestle with all of the time in my life is this: "Chad, in whose strength are you walking in?" If it is Christ's then I can, like Paul, have bold assurance of the full competency of Christ that life will radiate vividly from me. If it is my own strength, well then, I will radiate an insuffient love that is far from complete. I must admit this is a struggle. The thought is simple, but the application is the battle of the ages for all mankind.

So what about you? Whose strength do you you walk? If you do ministry work, do you want people to be more like you, or Christ in you?