We would see Jesus

One of the critiques of most Christian churches today is that they are not well equipped to lead the so-called “unchurched” to “seeing” Jesus.  (“We would see Jesus” they asked Andrew.  John 12:20-21.). The churches most of us know and encounter are churches that deal with OUR needs, offer us what WE want. We shop for churches, we look in that cafeteria of spiritual possibilities until we find the one that looks right for us. Such churches work under a broad unwritten assumption that the conversion to personal faith in Jesus Christ has already occurred in people’s lives elsewhere and that church growth merely involves assimilating those “already converted” into the ongoing life of the congregation.

Jesus told them he wasn’t interested in being “seen” but in changing lives, and in clearing the way for a real relationship with God. I wonder, do we really think Jesus went resolutely to betrayal and pain and death, for the church to solely focus on what makes us comfortable?

Read Dr. Paynter's complete column in The Clarion .