real

I received a compliment today from an unlikely source. I married a young couple, friends of mine. The wedding was less than formal, primarily because neither the groom's or the bride's family are not into show or formality. The wedding and the reception were held in the same location, a local Grange Hall. At the reception I sat beside a young lady probably in her late teens or early twenties. I had barely sat down when she turned to me and and said, "I have been to other weddings but this was different. It was real".

I've been reflecting on her words. From the bit I know about her, I can assume that church is not part of her world. That's why her words were a compliment to me. Jesus had the ability to move freely among sinners, among those that were considered "less than" by the religious folk of the day. He was "God with us" yet those who considered themselves to be the people of God gave Him the most trouble. It almost seems as if the "sinners" were closer to the Kingdom of God than the religious. Repeatedly we find that the "Word in Flesh" touched common people in a way that the religious elite did not.

I have found sinners to be interested in God, in the Bible and the practical application of the Bible, almost more so than the religious. They want to know how to do life. They want to know what God has to say. However, the have no interest in theory or the theology of self hidden behind the facade of God. They easily discern the difference between what is real and the religious posers.

I get frustrated with Christians who continually lament how evil the world is; how difficult it is to witness. I don't think the problem lies with the bad people in the world. I believe that the problem lies within us. For many of us Christianity is a facade. We say the correct things but our heart is far from our words. The sinners instinctively sense our hypocrisy and shut us out.

However, if we began to live the 'Logos", the word, the sinners will take notice. They respond to real.