AS THE DIFFERENCE DIMINISHES

(Post by: Lilly Hobbs)

At the beginning of this new year, I began reading a book I was quite anxious to begin after receiving it as a Christmas gift. I decided it would be the book that would accompany my Bible reading early in the mornings.

The book is titled, “The Set of the Sail” and its author is none other than A. W. Tozer, a man of God whom I genuinely believe in his day, was a modern-day prophet.

One of his greatest passions was to see the Church live, breathe, and function how it was always intended to. Believe it or not, Tozer and I share this passion to a very great degree. As I have spent time contemplating some of his thoughts about the Church as well as Christianity these last 18 days, I have come to the conclusion that I was in desperate need of some time spent returning to the basics.

Our family and some of our dearest friends have been earnestly praying about what Church should actually look like these past couple of weeks, and I must be honest with you dear reader, my hope for the Church to experience true repentance and revival was lacking.

Then, early one bitterly cold morning, as I sat in our little Ministry Center spending some time with the Lord, I came across this quote by Tozer which says, “The church’s mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs, and sinks as the difference diminishes.”

It is so very hard to see how we have missed this in the American Church, and we haven’t missed it by an inch, we’ve missed it by 100 miles. Maybe more.

We have strayed so far from what Christ intended for the Church that the only possible way for us to get it right again is not by simply walking backwards a few steps and beginning again from there, but by beginning again completely.

Due to our sinful and weak tendency to imitate the world around us, our difference has indeed diminished, and in the process, we have lost our power, and we haven’t even noticed.

Tozer goes on to say, “Men are impressed with the message of the Church just as far and as long as she is different from themselves. When she seeks to be like them they no longer respect her. They believe (and rightly) that she is playing false to herself and to them.”

How embarrassingly true.

1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

It is past time for us to break off the yokes of bondage that we have allowed misguided men to place upon our necks, and for us to straighten our backs to stand courageously against the darkness they have allowed to enter through the front doors of the Church.

May I remind you that we have been called out of darkness and brought into Christ’s marvelous light!

Must we apologize? Must we apologize just to win the favor and approval of misguided men?

We have men in church leadership whose decisions and actions are worse than secular business owners who have no knowledge of Christ. We have people who are sitting in our trendy worship services every Sunday whose lives are falling apart at the seams. Their homes resemble dumpster fires more than they do the temple, and their marriages are like part-time jobs to them.

We have long been settling for cheap and worthless substitutes when we could have the glory of God in our midst.

In a post I wrote back in 2019 titled, “Where Did Church Go Wrong” I ended with a quote by Leonard Ravenhill who once said, “You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.”   

This very day, your community either knows that your church is on fire for Jesus or that the fire has diminished.

So, with that in mind I ask, how different are you really?

SO, WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

= Did the Holy Spirit reveal anything to you as you read this post?

= Do you desire to be different?

= What are you going to do differently?