SethGodin.com just wrote a blog asking…”What’s inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa?”
The answer is Nothing. It’s a hollow tube.
One of the most photographed buildings in the world is empty. But people do not care. It is an iconic building and wows people from all over the world.
I love that this is opposite of the reality of the Church. The Church’s building sits empty most of the week…but it’s old news that the Church is not a building.
You are the Church. The bride of Jesus. The body of Christ. Get a couple of people like you together, and God is there with you! Grasp that!
The big question is, why aren’t people wowed by the Church all over the world?
There are negative and positive answers.
We know the negative reasons. Do you know the positive ones? Here’s one to remember…
“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” 2 Corinthians 2:15-26
That Scripture asks a very pertinent question in its last verse. Who is adequate for such a task?
The answer: YOU! You are adequate just as you are. Oh, you might have to pick up your cross of sacrifice and live differently than you currently are…but that doesn’t make you inadequate. It just makes you leaning…limping…wounded. But that is what makes you remarkable.
I’m not sure I can trust anyone who doesn’t walk with some sort of limp…or lean. The Bible is loaded with historical records of people that limp and lean. I’m grateful for my wounds that cause me to now limp. Your limp tells a story of victory and conquering. Or it should. If you’ll allow it, that thing, that wound, which caused the scarring that makes you limp, will make you even more remarkable…yes, your leaning can make you incredible. There are millions of beautiful buildings around the world…but the ones that lean…they have looooong lines of curious gazers and photographers.
You are adequate. You are never empty, if you are the Church. You are worthy. You can live your life in such a way that some people will go crazy wanting what you have.
Its not easy. You’ll have to lean into Jesus more than you think is even possible.