The sixteenth chapter of John records Jesus telling His disciples that He was leaving and that they would be better off after He was gone because the spirit would come. They, of course, could not believe that they could exist without His physical presence much less be better off. In fact, they had not developed very far while He was here. They were still convinced He was going to build a kingdom here on earth and they were jockeying for positions and arguing over who got to sit on His right hand. Faith by sight makes very few changes in lives, nor does it go very deep. If they had doubts all they needed was to attend the next miracle. If they were afraid, they could remember how He calmed the storm. Hungry? well He feed thousands with two fish and some bread. They followed what they saw with their eyes and heard with their ears, but He knew that faith only becomes real and life changing when it internalizes and changes how we think and feel.
Read MoreChurch is a great place to find friends and fellowship with fellow believers. It is a great place to study the history and doctrines of the Christian faith. It is a great place to find a way to serve others. And can become almost a family to us.
But the church is not the best place to discover and develop a real, close and individualized relationship with Christ. That happens inside the human heart.
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