AN AGENT OF HOLY UNREST (51 OF 56)
An Agent of Holy Unrest (51 of 56)
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 23
Read Acts 23
Francis Chan is a well known Christian pastor, and understandably so. He has a true passion for the gospel as well as for the body of Christ and frequently communicates gospel truths in quite unique ways. For instance, in his book Crazy Love, Chan used a bag of potato chips to illustrate the tragedy of the lack of integrity in many Christians' lives.
Recently I saw a bag of potato chips with a bold declaration splashed across the front: ''Zero grams of trans fat.'' I was glad to know that I wouldn't be consuming trans fat, which research has shown is detrimental to my health. But then I flipped the bag over and read the ingredients list, which included things like ''yellow #6'' and other artificial colors, and partially hydrogenated oil (which is trans fat, just a small enough amount that they can legally call it ''0 grams''). I thought it was incredibly ironic that these chips were being advertised in a way that makes me think they are not harmful yet were really full of empty calories, weird chemicals, and, ironically, trans fat.
It struck me that many Christians flash around their ''no trans fat'' label, trying to convince everyone they are healthy and good. Yet they have no substantive or healthful elements to their faith...Obviously, it's not what you advertise that counts; it's what you are really made of.
Wow! That raises an interesting question: what are we really made of? You can usually tell what somebody is truly made of in times of great trial or testing. In those moments, we get to see if the label matches the reality. That was the case with Paul, anyway, as he stood before the Jewish high council to launch a defense of himself: his label matched his reality. His example in this episode (which really is just an explanation of his life) provides us with a model for how we too should live as followers of Jesus.
Live with such a fier ...
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 23
Read Acts 23
Francis Chan is a well known Christian pastor, and understandably so. He has a true passion for the gospel as well as for the body of Christ and frequently communicates gospel truths in quite unique ways. For instance, in his book Crazy Love, Chan used a bag of potato chips to illustrate the tragedy of the lack of integrity in many Christians' lives.
Recently I saw a bag of potato chips with a bold declaration splashed across the front: ''Zero grams of trans fat.'' I was glad to know that I wouldn't be consuming trans fat, which research has shown is detrimental to my health. But then I flipped the bag over and read the ingredients list, which included things like ''yellow #6'' and other artificial colors, and partially hydrogenated oil (which is trans fat, just a small enough amount that they can legally call it ''0 grams''). I thought it was incredibly ironic that these chips were being advertised in a way that makes me think they are not harmful yet were really full of empty calories, weird chemicals, and, ironically, trans fat.
It struck me that many Christians flash around their ''no trans fat'' label, trying to convince everyone they are healthy and good. Yet they have no substantive or healthful elements to their faith...Obviously, it's not what you advertise that counts; it's what you are really made of.
Wow! That raises an interesting question: what are we really made of? You can usually tell what somebody is truly made of in times of great trial or testing. In those moments, we get to see if the label matches the reality. That was the case with Paul, anyway, as he stood before the Jewish high council to launch a defense of himself: his label matched his reality. His example in this episode (which really is just an explanation of his life) provides us with a model for how we too should live as followers of Jesus.
Live with such a fier ...
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