Who do we think we are?

Luke 7:7 -9 says, "When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, "Master, you don't have to go to all this trouble. I'm not that good a person, you know. I'd be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I'm a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; another, 'Come,' and he comes; my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works."

So many people in the church seem to think that they know all about God. They have been studying and learning for years and they know how it all works.

But look at this passage. Here is a man who is not a Jew, not a believer. He lives among the Jews as a Roman soldier, and he probably knows a lot about them, but he is not a Jew. He asks for healing for someone else, and also recognizes the authority of Jesus unlike anyone Jesus had encountered! Jesus knew even back then - people on the 'outside' are watching. They are always watching what we say and do. By observing and listening, they probably understand more about God and how He works than many of us realize.

When a person who was not raised in the church is saved, their lives are brand new. They truly live out the verse about being a new creation. You can see the changes and they embrace this new sense of security and freedom.

But when someone who has lived all thier lives in the church is saved, it's not that much of a change. They already know the lingo and all the regular liturgy of the church. I think sometimes we do (mostly younger) new believer a disservice when we don't treat them like a new believer from the 'outside'. How many of these kids and young people fall away because they never go through a life-changing event? They may say all the right words and do all the right things, but how many of them are put into a position to really have to make the choice?

How do we do that? I don't know. But we cannot just assume that they know it. They must be given words and actions to use in situations. They must be given alternatives to do and say in place of the things they know in the world. They must learn to go out and tell. New believers usually go out and tell all their friends, the change is that drastic. But I rarely hear a young person do the same. How can we make the change that drastic so that they cannot help but tell?