Something Needs to Change

“Why has it been rare for me to be so moved by the needs of others that I have fallen on my face before God and wept?”, asks David Platt in the book, Something Needs to Change.

A few weeks ago our youth group watched a live simulcast related to this book.  We watched scenes and snippets from the Himalayan trek that became the source material for this book.  We heard as Platt laid bare the questions that he had to deal with as part of his journey into a world where the gospel is not always welcome, and following Jesus can be dangerous.

After the video, we began to review the book as part of our Wednesday night Bible study.  Early in the first chapter, Platt asks, “…I wonder why being so overwhelmed for others in need has been uncommon for me.”  He goes on to wonder, “if we have subtly, dangerously, and almost unknowingly guarded our lives, our families, and even our churches from truly being affected by God’s words to us in a world of urgent spiritual and physical needs around us.  We talk a lot about the need to know what we believe in our heads yet I wonder if we have forgotten to feel what we believe in our hearts.”

Platt further wonders how we can hear statistics on poverty, or those with no access to the gospel, and not be moved.  Really moved.

Are our hearts so hard that we are not burdened for people we know personally who have never yielded to Jesus?  I don’t mean a passing thought of, “Oh, they need Jesus.”  I mean a crying out in our soul for neighbors, friends, co-workers, even enemies, who need to hear of Christ.  Are we so uncomfortable with our own knowledge of the salvation we have that the best we can do is invite someone to our church service?

As Platt says, something needs to change.

I am sharing this from the recognition that this is how I’ve lived my life.  For example I know that I have neighbors within walking distance of my house that I have never shared the gospel with.  And that bothers me.  But, what have I done about it?  I even pray for these people, but I don’t know that I’ve ever been moved to tears.  Is my heart so cold that I can meet God in prayer and simply list their need for the gospel and feel…nothing?  Do nothing?  And I feel like I’m not alone in this.

Something needs to change.

What could God do with a church who is so broken before Him for their neighbors near and far that we are on our faces before Him pleading for their souls?

How glorious would that be?