True representatives

I'm starting to realize that the Church (with a capital C because I'm talking about Christians at large) today is mainly split into two groups: those who are self-satisfied and lacking an outward focus, and those who are relationally apt, but neglect the truth in their quest for relevance and "reform."

There's a third group — a much smaller one — and I think it's what Jesus wants for His church. It's a kind of believer who stands up for Truth (here we go with another capital letter) uncompromisingly, serves others and is empowered by the Holy Spirit to do amazing and unsettling works.

Someone I know found me at Starbucks reading the Bible with Travis recently. I assume she's not a believer, since she encouraged me to watch some online movie that claims the Gospel actually was plagiarized from a story the Egyptians had developed thousands of years before Christ, in relation to their gods. (In my brief research, I never found anything that supported this.)

It's one thing to be able to show that unlike Egyptian gods, Jesus really lived on the Earth, and that His extraordinary life and death is better documented than any myths the Egyptians cooked up, or most other generally accepted ancient figures of the day — but it's another thing to show He lives today by executing His LOVE (most importantly) and His power on the Earth.

The Lord can be real to people only if we are His true representatives on this planet. That entails being a shoulder to cry on, healing the sick, prophecy, speaking truth in love, meeting with other believers (broken as we all are), and serving — breaking a sweat!

Make me that representative, God! Church has to change, but not at the expense of unflinching truth! I think this song, "Under Bridges" by Brave Saint Saturn, encapsulates this feeling... (sorry for the poor audio quality... listen carefully; if you can't hear it, the amazing lyrics are HERE).