Many would-be children of light regret that they don’t have a greater connectedness with God, that more of God’s light isn’t pouring through them. Some are shocked to consider that they have let a life of church activities be their substitute for having a life with God.
They are so focused on organizing groups, dissecting the personality of the pastor, or increasing the church building’s parking capacity that immersing themselves and others in the presence of our Trinitarian God rarely crosses their mind.
A program, in particular, can easily become a vessel. We become loyal to it; we give our money and time to see it continue. Meanwhile, we acknowledge the treasure—the real presence of Jesus Christ in our midst—but don’t focus on it.
A church that concentrates on the treasure isn’t as likely to borrow successful programs from other churches. Instead, apprentices of Jesus in such a church get on their faces before God and ask him to show them how to immerse others in God. Even if the result looks something like an existing program, it will be administered from very different hearts when it comes out of the church’s life with God.
TODAY’S EXPERIMENT Speak to God about the vessels you hold dear. Perhaps you’ve attended a certain Bible study for many years and it has become, frankly, your life with God. Perhaps you’re devoted to a certain program, a certain teacher, or a certain work of service. Is this vessel in some way eclipsing God, who is speaking to you today?
Consider what God may be telling you about this vessel—how God might become the life and breath within it or how you might examine your loyalty to it or even perhaps discard it as an important consideration in your life.
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