Personal transformation had powerful missionary implications.
Before and after pictures are compelling. In a glimpse they communicate that something—often someone’s life—has changed.
Lost in all of the talk about evangelism and mission is the fact that, far too often, it’s been a long time since many people have actually seen God’s Spirit transform someone’s life. Yes, they’ve likely heard the stories.
They are familiar with the pastor’s clever tales about salvation and life transformation, but these stories are often about people and places they’ve never met and haven’t seen first-hand. Some of these individuals can recount their own personal story of transformation, but even these stories have accumulated dust over the years.
Many in the church haven’t had a front-row seat to observe God orchestrate powerful acts of deliverance and change.
Over time, a lack of visible transformation fosters a certain predictable apathy. We know that God can save. We know that he does bring freedom from sin. We’re aware of the hope found in Jesus.
Yet, like a certain diet or exercise regimen, mere affirmation of potency does nothing if not matched by actual practice. We may know in theory, that something, or someone, is transformative, but we all need personal examples of that change to continue to inspire our actions.
We read these stories in the journey of Israel to the promised land.
Time and again, each of the 12 tribes are mentioned, the various land allocations described, and the people accounted for. God’s deliverance wasn’t for a vague powerful group, but real-life people who experienced the power of God in a personal way.
When Moses testifies that the Israelites were cared for the in the wilderness, that they were ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/32vb7W0
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