Better to be Inside Looking Out
Ever feel like you’re on the outside looking in? Like it’s just too hard to read the Bible, raise your hands in worship or jump around in the joy of the spirit. That was me once. I lived life on the fringe of the church for about 6 years. Yes that’s right, 6 years; ridiculous hey. I’m not proud of it and definitely wouldn’t recommend it.
Do you know all it took for me to get away from the fringe and into the church community was the word ‘yes’. Yes I will come to your house for tea; yes I would love to come to that toddler group. Yes my husband and I would like to go to the cinema with you; yes we would love to help you decorate your lounge. Yes we will come to your Church in the Home, although they were called something else then. The wonderful thing about church community is the amazing opportunity we have to experience Jesus face to face every day, if we choose. Once I had let people into my life and allowed the Holy Spirit to direct me through them I found a new lease of life.
As Dave has preached so powerfully over the last few Sundays, you cannot be a Christian without being a disciple and being a disciple means being part of the community. You have to seek the Jesus you see in the people around you. The Holy Spirit helped me see that if I ignored my tendency to shyness, and accepted the hands of so many who were reaching out to love and grow me, then I would actually start to experience more than I could have hoped for. Once I saw Jesus in people I got a fresh revelation of God’s perfect gift.
It scares me to think where I would be without the love and care of those brothers and sisters who encouraged me away from the fringe. That was nearly 4 years ago now and I thank God every day for the family he puts around me. For the way he speaks to me and shows me how to live through the example of the lives of others.
Now I am rooted in the church community I am able to look out for others who need me to share the life of Jesus with them. It is much better to be inside looking out rather than outside looking in!
Jane Barrow
