It's Real

{sidenote: please go to www.sheseeks.org to read a powerful post that goes along with my post, this morning}

I am still living in the afterglow of what happened in my heart yesterday.

I was hit in the face by the power of the very Gospel I base my life upon. I was reminded of its unique ability to change lives. I was reminded of its impact. I was reminded of its message of truth, love and selfless service. I didn’t think I needed the reminder. But I did.

Without going into all the details, let it just suffice to say that the past two weeks in my house have been rough, at best. Others in the church have experienced the same thing. We’ve been tested and tried and felt weary and generally discouraged in certain moments. But we’ve pressed on, believing God for the outcome…knowing that His Gospel and the cause of Jesus Christ never comes up void, no matter what trials have to be endured to get there.

So as I sat in worship yesterday and listened to the Gospel preached boldly and unashamedly, it hit me square between the eyes. It was as if God had given me new eyes to see and new ears to hear, as if I were a child in my spiritual infancy hearing about the miracle of who Jesus is for the very first time in my life. It took my breath away. It shattered my complacency and moved me in the deepest places of my soul, agitating calmed waters that longed to be stirred.

The Gospel jumped off the pages of my Bible, jumped into my bones and infected me from the inside-out. Rarely do I remember a personal moment such as this one, in the bazillions of church services I have sat in in my 37 years of life.

After the service ended, in the midst of men in black shirts working their tails off to break down the stage and lights and serve God with their hands, I noticed a tall, young man making a beeline for my husband. He was weeping, almost uncontrollably. I watched as my husband took him to a side room, much more private than the one they were currently in. To respect their conversation, I won’t go into all the details of what was said between them. But what I will tell you is that this young man, who no one remembers inviting to our church, showed up, became infected by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and went from death to life in a matter of 5 minutes behind a make-shift stage in a rented room.

And I was reminded, again, that the Gospel is so very real.

As I reflect on it this morning, I am still shaking inside from being hit between the eyes by the saving power of Jesus Christ. I’ve seen other people come to Jesus – many of them – in my years as a believer. But this one had particular impact on me. Maybe it was because the battle the week prior was strong and heavy. Maybe it was because of the reaction of a strong, healthy-looking young man weeping openly in front of people he didn’t know.

But I suspect it is more.

I believe I needed to be jolted back to the reality of Jesus Christ at this particular moment in my life. I believe I needed to go back to the beginning and remember what it feels like to fall madly in love with Someone who isn’t sitting in front of you but is more real than your own family. I believe I needed to see a tangible reason why all the hard work and effort of a fledgling, start-up church where people serve more than they are served is not only worth it, but gravely needed.

All I can tell you is that I sit at my computer this morning wanting to love God harder, serve God stronger, and share His message in a bold, new way. The Gospel has, once again, infected my being and I cannot write about anything else until I remind you of what I was reminded of yesterday…

It is real.

Romans 1:16 – “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”