“I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.” —Revelation 3:1
Sitting on the piano lid in my living room is a lovely arrangement of flowers. Their fresh appearance makes you want to lean your face near and take in the fragrance—which some people do. But these flowers aren’t real. While they give every outward indication of being authentic, they are no more alive than the dust they collect.
And neither are some of us.
Sadly, this is true of too many of our churches and too many of our families. True of what happens inside the walls of too many of our homes—lives that aren’t the same in private as they are by reputation. Artificial. Passionless. Busy about everything except cultivating closeness to Christ.
Could the same be said of you? Please don’t move beyond the conviction of the Holy Spirit, not if He is speaking to you about areas of your life where spiritual vibrancy has given way to private indifference and coldness. Artificiality can sometimes be hard to spot. But Christ isn’t deceived by our outward appearance. He knows.
Make it Personal
Have you stopped to rehearse the life-giving power of the gospel recently? What evidence is there that you are spiritually alive?