There is a unique hunger in the Western world for a practiced, embodied religion.  This is so for at least two reasons.  First, people are increasingly skeptical of religion that only affects the mind of its adherents (and then their supposed eternal destiny).  It seems intuitively wrong to the average person today that a person can claim to believe in Jesus, maybe even believing that he died and rose again, but live badly at work in the neighborhood and at home.

 

It has become a subconscious way to avoid intentionally living in alignment with Jesus’ words as “incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living” rather than “foundational words, words to build a life on” (Matthew 7:24-25).  The words of Jesus are subconsciously seen as mere words used in Bible studies, not to be worked into our life.

 

No matter what the present day, socially correct, postmodern vibe says, we must entrust ourselves to something, to decide to follow one path and not others.  Commitment is possible, even necessary.  As the apostle Paul said, we don’t have to grope around in the dark forever (Acts 17:22-23).  But to follow Jesus, we need to bind ourselves to him and his message of the kingdom of God.

 

© Todd Hunter, Giving Church Another Chance, Used by Permission, IVP