Sometimes I wonder if freedom is the worst thing for the church in America. Seriously, what if we had to follow Christ in the face of persecution or death? I've got a sneaking suspicion that 85% of Americans wouldn't claim to be Christians anymore!
What if going to church and wearing a WWJD bracelet wasn't all there was to following Christ? What if we had to give EVERYTHING to claim the name of Jesus? What if we had to choose between Jesus and our freedom? What if claiming the name of Jesus was a one way ticket to a firing squad? Or an electric chair? Or a prison where you had to lay naked in a stone cell, with temperatures well below freezing? What if meeting on Sunday and worshiping Jesus was always under threat of a raid from police, where you would probably have your children taken away? What if you couldn't fake it anymore!?
What if our churches were full of living, active, radical followers of Jesus Christ? What if it was impossible for pastors to stand on stages and "wing it?" What if our 3 point, 3 sub-point sermons out of a text book made people mad, because they were desperate for a move of God? What if we were more concerned with worship than we were our own comfort? What if we worshiped like nobody was watching....or better yet, like God was watching! What if we had no patience for abuse? What if instead of watching, we stepped in when people were being hurt? What if we cared more about a teenage girls pain than about her modesty? What if we cared more about a man's pain than about his earrings, tattoos, long hair and cigarettes?
What if we stopped caring about popular opinion and started caring about the Holy Spirit's leading? What if we were willing to take on everyone for the sake of our Jesus?
What if we were willing to do that alone?
What if we did it together?
