Christian Photographers Community

March 25, 2006

Incubating Christians

Francis Frangipane

I wouldn't call it something as lofty as a vision - it was just a
thought with a "video file" attached. In it, I saw Christians
sitting in ordered rows, like eggs in incubators, only they were in
their churches.  They sat and listened, but the pastor's words were
barely heard or understood.  They had life inside, but they were
trapped within religious shells.  It wasn't necessarily that their
ministers lacked anything in their messages; their sermons were
historically and factually true.  Yet, for the most part the shell
surrounding each Christian seemed impenetrable.

Yet, there were exceptions.  Every once in a while, the shell of one
of the "eggs" would crack under the pressure of inner hunger;
someone would fight through the shell.  When one broke free, others
nearby followed his example and began to break through their
religious shells as well. When a majority had hatched, their church
was no longer just an endless incubator, but it became the body of
Christ Himself and the people in this group transformed the world
around them.

What did it mean to break through the shell?  It meant an individual
understood that God's plan for their lives was not incubation, but
transformation.  The church was a place where God empowered people
to become Christlike.

Today, heaven is again calling each of us to break free of the shell
of  "religion" and embrace the liberty and power of a Christlike
life.  Indeed, we have been created to become like Jesus.  There is
no lasting spiritual fulfillment apart from walking "from glory to
glory" toward this one great purpose!