….between you and the Gospel. Hard to believe, isn’t it? However true, especially by nature of the term. Gospel means “good news”… implying we need it. Difficult when we mean it on religious terms. I first need to acknowledge I am lost before I can be found, or blind and now see.
In a recent message, I talked about the difference between God as a “concept” versus an “experience” citing the prophet Isaiah’s radical conversion and declaration…”here I am, send me.” Conversion? Wasn’t he already a Hebrew, a prophet, and of the royal family line. What could he convert to?
Isaiah was a bit pre-occupied with his life, until he actually sees the Lord. “High and lifted up, and the ‘glory’ filled the temple.” Isaiah no more expected to “see” what he saw, than any other church member on a Sunday morning expects to see. This time, however, he saw the glory of the Lord. That is hard for most of us to grasp. Glory means weight…and in that moment the glory “converted a concept” of God, into an “experience.” He would never be the same. The “experience” is what made Isaiah say, “Woe is me, I am undone, a man of unclean lips…”
A concept is something I shape. I make it fit my design for my life. I mold it, shape it, and use it at my convenience and leisure. The “concept of God” is easily something that works for me. I need inspiration, motivation, and help to attain the goals of life. I am squeamish at the thought of suffering, trial or trouble in life. I want to escape it and any self-help aisle in the bookstore will help.
The Gospel challenges the “concept idea” of God in life.
An “experience” is real. What that means is there are issues in my life that are weightier than my convenience.
Everybody who has had this experience can tell you about it and when it happened.
No longer is God a “concept,” now He is real.
My ever-increasing prayer is that we not only leave our “concept” at the altar, but that our “experience” would leave us “undone”…or never the same.
Pastor Greg
PS…thank you for using the online donate button when weather and schedules keep us apart!
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