What’s Missing?

I was thinking the other day about this scenario: What if you had never met any Christians and had never attended a Christian church? All you had was the Bible. You had read the Old Testament and saw the Spirit moving over the unformed earth. You had witnessed the Spirit moving into and away from the various characters in the Old Testament stories. You had seen both Samson and King Saul move mightily with the Spirit, and you had seen the Spirit leave them as they continually grieved him.

Then you got to the New Testament, and at the Gospel of John, Chapters 13-17 especially, you heard Jesus’ promise of a new power, a power that will never leave you. You read on, watching as this promise of power played out so obviously throughout the apostles’ lives. Wow! And that’s not all: You continued to read the rest of the New Testament and see the promises of this A-plus “life that is truly life,” energized and fulfilled through this Holy Spirit.

You couldn’t help but think, “Whoa, this Holy Spirit must be something else!”

Now, after a time, you get the opportunity to visit America for the first time, and for the first time, to meet these Christians you had been reading about. What will it be like? Will they be super-humans? Spiritual giants? Will they stand out in every crowd, shining like the sun?

Of course, they will. That’s the promise. It’s right there throughout the New Testament. It’s everywhere, this promise… this power. It’s what happened to all those who placed their saving trust in Jesus, that guy I’ve read about.”

This is going to be great, you think to yourself. You have lived among ordinary people all your life. You’ve witnessed first-hand their C-minus lives. You’ve seen plenty of people who are just getting through the day, coping with their ups and downs as best as they could manage.

You could see they knew something was missing. They didn’t know what this missing link was.

What will these Christian worship services be like? Surely, they will be filled with joy and thanksgiving. Of course there will be rejoicing, songs of praise, and people practically bursting with enthusiasm. The energy in these worship services must be amazing.

You are so excited to meet these Christians. You’ve seen enough of the mundane lives around you. But these Christians, they would surely be so different from everyone else.

They would have love, joy, peace, and patience. They would have compassion, kindness, and humility. As Jesus said over and over, they would be like fountains overflowing into the lives of everyone with energy, clarity, and creativity.

But then you attended an actual church service. You met a bunch of people calling themselves Christians.

And you wondered …?