Almost every week, my daughter takes my grandson to the La Habra Children’s Museum. She has a pass, and likes to take him when they first open up… before the busloads of day campers overrun the place… and overwhelm a little 2-year old. After the museum, their routine is to have lunch at the Corner Bakery Café in La Habra at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Idaho Street. Jenny appreciates the healthy children’s menu, and especially the fact that they have a selection of menu items that don’t set off her allergies. Since they make everything fresh, you order, go sit down, and they bring it to you when it’s ready.Two weeks ago, she and Jeffrey were at a table waiting for their order, when Jeffrey looked up into the exposed ceiling of the eatery and exclaimed: “Look, Mommy, a dragon!”
Now to a 2-year old, the twisting, turning exposed ductwork might well be perceived as a dragon. Jenny looked up, chuckled at his imagination, and explained: “No, sweetheart, those are ducts.”
A week later, what do you suppose happened? Sitting in the same restaurant, Jeffrey points to the ceiling, and happily proclaims: “Look, Mommy, duckies! There are duckies in there.” His brain registered the correction, but not the subtle difference between a ‘duct’ and a ‘duck.’ He couldn’t see any duckies, but Mommy had said that’s what they were last week, so it must be true. His faulty perception had been corrected, but his limited perception of the world had led him to a belief in something that was still false. He’s only two, so his perceptions, and vocabulary, will continue to grow, and he will soon grasp the truth about ‘ducts’.
It’s much more difficult to change the faulty perceptions of adults.
How many people in the world have a faulty perception of Christians and Christianity, because of what they have seen, or heard, or witnessed? Do we think enough about the perception we project as Christians as we go about our daily lives? Do we model Christ, or the world, in our unintentional witness?
And if they see ‘dragons’, do we lovingly and patiently take the time to understand their position so we can better understand their perceptions? Or, do we just hurriedly swap ‘dragons’ for ‘ducks’? Where they once saw only a capricious and vengeful God, now they see an irrelevant God. What perception do you develop when you see people in clown wigs at sporting events, painted up, and holding a sign that reads: John 3:16? That sure takes a lot of explaining!
Churches teach classes on how to share the Good News with the unchurched. You can find books and seminars on evangelism by the hundreds, with more being published every month. I’m convinced, however, that while all that may be well intentioned, Christians who are alive in the Spirit of Christ don’t need any of it. If you are alive in God’s Spirit, the Spirit leads and guides you. We need to encourage each other to be more alive in God’s Spirit!
How do we do that? How do we become more alive in God’s Spirit?
There’s more than just admitting that we are sinners, and then asking Jesus to be Lord of our lives. That is just our birth into a life with Christ. As in the physical world, we need to do more than just be born to stay alive, to be healthy, and to grow. To be alive in the physical world, after we are born, we need to continue to breathe, we need to drink, and we need to eat. There’s more, of course, but let’s start with the basics.
To be alive in the Spirit we need to do the same things as in the physical world. We ‘breathe’ during prayer; as the Bible says: “At all times and in all situations.” We ‘drink’ during worship; satisfying our thirst for God-in-our-lives through praise and music. And we ‘eat’ when we devour God’s Word; His scripture strengthens and protects us.
When I’m breathing, drinking, and eating in the spiritual world, it seems quite natural and expected to be alive in the Spirit… like riding a bicycle. If I am not, just as in the physical world, I begin to suffocate, die of thirst, or die of hunger. Have you ever felt like you were in a spiritual desert? I know I have.
As I said before, we need to encourage each other to be more alive in God’s Spirit!
Breathe! Drink! Eat! God has great plans for you!
Your brother in Christ,
Dave
a couple of other misunderstandings;
ReplyDeletea toddler who sang, "Jesus loves me, I don't know"
and Agape fellowship (mouth wide open? wide gap?)
"It’s much more difficult to change the faulty perceptions of adults.
How many people in the world have a faulty perception of Christians and Christianity, because of what they have seen, or heard, or witnessed? Do we think enough about the perception we project as Christians as we go about our daily lives? Do we model Christ, or the world, in our unintentional witness?"
That's exactly right. We say we believe, and then do wrong to people. My daughter's landlady once and a former realtor were such that I would not attend any church they represented, acting more like the rich in James chapter 5 (who by the way James does not address as 'brothers'). Even the golden rule is given lip service (well, if she says the golden rule and she acts like that, she must want to be treated that way) (no I try not to give back what has been dished out if it is negative, but my mind works on that). Lord, I am not perfect. Help me to not be a stumbling block to others, help me not to hide your love.
Your grandson is always learning, with joy. May we continue to learn the great love God has for us and ENJOY Him.