Mannequin Christianity!
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10).
The one thing that God wants to see above all else in me, and that He prizes above all else, is a genuine thirst for Him and His kingdom. He makes this the condition of service. Aaron was chosen as high priest for Israel because his rod “budded” (Numbers 17:8); it sprouted with blossom and fruit because God Himself had miraculously given it life. The lesson is obvious: unless I possess this type of total dedication to Him. I will be fruitless.
God’s people have institutionalized spiritual service. We call a man to be a pastor, and because his is officially a pastor, we expect him to be a mouthpiece for God. Not Necessarily. The title is not the reflection of the type of life God desires, and the office is not the fruit. God does not bless an office or a title; He blesses a person, and He blesses him because he evidences the flow of dedication and integrity in his life.
Jesus Christ was a Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6). Why? Because Melchizedek was a priest in function, not office. He had no temple, no sanctuary, no ritual; but his life was a continuous outpouring of the life of God in his heart, which blessed others, including Abraham.
Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is what God requires and what the world craves. Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is walking in LOVE which fulfills the law (Romans 13:8-10). Nobody, not even an agnostic, will refuse the life and fruit that God gives through His people, but everyone will bitterly denounce the “mannequin” aspect of Christianity, form without life. If I am to serve the world I must have life, the “more abundant” life that Jesus came to offer. Men have no use for “rods” or “sticks” that are beautiful in appearance but helpless to makes things new. God is the Reviver of dry bones and the Restorer of parched deserts; He is the Giver of Life through His Holy Spirit, by whom I become gloriously, overflowingly alive (Ezekiel 37:14).