A Pretty Sorry Lot

After my post last week, I did a lot of reading about the delicate balance between the grace of God and the faith of men.  I also happened across wordle.net and plugged in last week's blog to see what it spit out...it's always such a poignantly creative way to view something new. For those of you who are new to "wordle," it is a website that takes a text document and creates a piece of artwork with the words from the submitted passage. Here's a little example and a GREAT article for our worship tech's to read, as well.

The image you see is what "wordle" managed to contrive, and I found it compelling how God became the center of the picture, set off by "grace" and "faith."  It's amazing how our faith cannot save us, and yet is the conduit God uses to grant His perfect gift.  I think my favorite part about the whole concept is that I cannot fully understand it, similar to the way I cannot fully understand God's love and mercy for me as a sinner; which makes my faith that much greater.  It's all a blessing to me, really; the fact that God is the decision-maker when it comes to eternal life, and not men.

I Corinthians 15:19 - Perhaps the crux of Paul's writing to the church in Corinth, this passage really clutches at the heart of the stagnant or complacent believer.  As the Message paraphrases it, "If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot." A beautiful reality, beautifully written; but painfully compelling.

So, what do you get out of Christ?  Something more than just a little inspiration for a few short years?  Something more than just an energetic, "fun" praise time on Sunday morning?  Something more than a collection of friends, comprising something that is not vastly different from a social club?  Something more than a warm, fuzzy feeling which you might get from a blog posting about the importance of Christ?

hm... ;)