When Jesus and his disciples cross Lake Galilee, they are greeted on the other shore by another crowd. People recognise him and word spreads. Everywhere he goes, he is met with people who plead with him for healing. They assume that even to just brush against his clothes will bring life and healing. This is the right expectation. You cannot come into contact with Jesus and go away unchanged.
So, first of all, there is the challenge for you and me. How has your life been made different by meeting Jesus? Then we should have the expectation that if Christ is life transforming that if a church is genuine about Jesus we can expect people’s lives and even communities around them being changed. The Gospel will have an influence on people and on neighbourhoods.
I think we pick up on some of this in Hebrews 6:4-6. The passage talks about those who “have been enlightened”, encountered the Holy Spirit and “tasted the goodness of the word of God” but still fall away. This has caused plenty of controversy as people have sought to square it with Bible passages that emphasise that none can be lost from Christ’s hand. I believe that what we see here is the way in which it is possible to get so close in so that there is a real impact on your life without coming to full repentance and trust in him. So, there is also the challenge to us that we must not settle for the brush by and a little change.
So, has my life been changed? How? And further, am I seeing the lives of others being changed as I share the Gospel?
Faithroots 