Let me ask: do you live from the outside in or the inside out?
Welcome to Joni and Friends and I think I’d better explain what I mean by that. I was talking with a woman named Lisa recently and during our conversation, she confessed that she was having trouble “acting” like a real Christian. Now, I knew what she was saying, but I don’t know, there was something backward about her take on Christian living. Lisa seemed to be more troubled about how she was coming across on the outside than she was about what had to be happening on the inside – know what I mean? Lisa just wasn’t seeing the connection between her conduct and her heart. As far as I could see, she was experiencing trouble, because, well, there was no “power” giving shape to her Christian outside life.
I think Lisa is like many of us. We tell ourselves and we agree with our Christian friends that, yes, Bible reading and prayer are important. We shake our heads “yes” when the director of the inner-city shelter stands behind the church pulpit and extols God’s love for the homeless or disabled. We read books, listen to tapes, and check out videos from our church library, go to conferences, and attend seminars on everything from witnessing to Scripture memorization.
But for all of this, for all the many ways we conform our speech and behavior to fit what we think a Christian should say and should do… for all that’s on the outside, I sometimes wonder if we’re not a little like Lisa… a little like those mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:5, “[Have] a form of godliness but [deny or contradict] its power.”
Now, this is not a guilt trip, but take a moment and think of all the spiritual disciplines you talk about: prayer and fasting, witnessing and worshiping, memorizing and meditating. Now, stop and go back over that list. How many of these disciplines do you actually practice – not hit and miss, but on a regular basis? Hmm… I don’t think I need to push this point further except to repeat 1 Corinthians 4:20, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Let me read that verse again: “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk,” (which we are so good at), but it’s a matter of power. When all we’re doing is living a form of godliness, cracks are going to show; our speech and conduct will begin to sound hollow. The talk will ring vacant or empty. As Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you,” and our spiritual lives can only be lived from the inside out. Not from the outside, in.
You can start today. It begins by asking God to energize you from the inside out. You can’t “shape” your godliness; but you can let godliness shape you. And it is God’s power that will then affect everything you say and do. Live from the inside out “so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” just like 1 Corinthians 2 says. And don’t forget today is your last day to ask for your free copy of my booklet “Access to God” which contains my journal of questions I asked the Lord after my diving accident, and amazingly, his answers from his Word. Those answers certainly got me living from the inside out – not from the outside in. Again, that’s “Access to God” and you can get your free copy at joniandfriendsradio.org. Again, joniandfriendsradio.org.
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