Chris Tomlin’s concert was amazing this weekend. The Burning Lights Tour with Louie Giglio rocked the town. Thousands of people singing praises to God filled the stadium with celebration and joy. Chris commented on the beauty of our praises being so much more than just voices singing a song. When God’s people come together and praise Him there is power in that praise.
Soaking in the celebration and power I began to think about our witness to someone who doesn’t know, or have a desire to know Jesus. Could it be that person had a negative experience in a relationship with a follower of Christ that turned her away from the relationship God wants with her? Or perhaps that individual became disengaged because she saw Christians embittered toward one another?
With thousands of people gathered that evening, certainly there was some history of discord represented among us, and perhaps much conflict. God tells us He inhabits our praise. This is true, not only in our singing, but also in our living and interactions with others. He wants us to live in “concert” with one another. Surely we will have conflicts, disagreements, and negative feelings toward other followers of Christ, however it’s what we decide to do with these attitudes and emotions in relating to others that will either, show a faithful hope to the world that Jesus is truly the son of God , or will reflect hopelessness, irritation, and irrelevance. That weighty decision, in every strife-filled relationship, is mine . . . and yours.