Less "How to" Books and More "How to" People

With countless resources available concerning personal growth, emotional health and spiritual development, we should be the strongest, healthiest, most empowered generation of all time. If ever the church should be walking in the fullness of the power and likeness of God – it would be now.

Yet, looking around, it seems people are just as unhealthy and “in bondage” as ever. Relationships are marked with strife instead of love. Lifestyles reflect worldly priorities instead of a Kingdom agenda. Many within the Body of Christ lack a passion for the things of God. Few have an accurate picture of who God wants to be for them, in them, and through them.

Could it be that information alone does little to ensure the transformation necessary to live out our destinies in Christ Jesus?

Paul writes, ^“After all, though you should have ten thousand teachers (guides to direct you) in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the glad tidings (the Gospel). So I urge you and implore you, be imitators of me” (1 Cor. 4:15 Amp.).

It seems we too abound in teachers but lack the fathers (and mothers) who willingly model Christ to us at an intimate level. Unlike teachers, who can easily tell us WHAT to do, fathers and mothers show us. They get into the trenches of our lives to help us define vision, work through obstacles, nurture us in times of struggle, and hold us accountable for our choices.

While Jesus himself taught to the masses, it is no accident that He invested the bulk of His energies into a small group of people who were willing to be shaped by Him. He was intentional to build strong connections with this group – allowing Him to freely speak into their lives. They were known by Him – and privileged to know Him at a much deeper level than the masses.

Today, we seem to have “ministry” backwards. We’d rather speak to the crowd – teach the masses. As a result we have a small impact on the many we lead.

Such a focus prevents us from making the kind of deep impact that will bring true transformation into the lives of others.  Transforming lives takes intention and commitment away from “ministry goals” and places them instead into “people development”.

While we cry out for revival in our land, we have forgotten that it is the fruit of our love that will reveal to the world that we belong to God. If our love is cold, if we neglect pouring our lives into one another – not programs – then we are missing the mark needed to spark revival.

I encourage you to be a “how to” person. Take time to intimately invest in the lives of those around you. Live in such a way others would want to imitate you as you imitate Christ.

 

Pursuing the Life You Desire

“Do you want to get well?” It must have been an awkward question to hear Jesus ask the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (see John 5). After all, this man had been paralyzed for thirty eight long years. Who would want to stay in such a miserable condition?

Yet Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?” The man explains why he isn't well. No one will help him into the pool. He is unable to overcome the obstacles of his circumstance. He is a victim of an unfortunate situation.

Surely he wanted to be well - after all, he had been waiting at the pool where the stirring waters could heal him. Yet, Jesus asks him all the same. Perhaps Jesus saw beyond what was presented. Did this man truly want a different life?

And so it is with us! We say we want a life that is somehow better than the one we are currently experiencing. We want a stronger relationship with God. We long for greater intimacy in relationships. We want a better career, more opportunities. We desire to have a greater impact on our children. We hope to make positive contributions to the world around us – and so on.

There are many situations we wish were different. Yet while we long for our circumstances to be changed, we refuse to deal with the one constant in all of them – ourselves. Just like the paralytic at the pool, as long as our solutions remain outside our control, we have plenty of reasons to settle for life as we know it while maintaining the pretense that we want something better.

For the paralytic to suddenly become well, he would have to be willing to face a whole new way of life. He would no longer be known as a helpless man. He would enter a world of new responsibilities. Even his relationships with others would be radically changed.

Likewise, if we hunger for the abundant life Christ promised, we’d better be willing to deal with the mindsets that keep us from becoming emotionally healthy and spiritually mature. We better plan to “work” at changing some behaviors that keep us in bondage. We’re going to need courage to confront our self-imposed limitations and excuses. There is a cost to be paid. It is here that many disciples turn back and settle for a life far below God’s intended plan. It is here that YOU must answer “do I want to be well?”  

So where are you on the journey to wellness and abundant living? Do you have a plan to create a different future? Or, are you wandering aimlessly through life simply “hoping” a magic genie will appear and make things better?