What’s The Difference?

It’s amazing to me that two people can experience the exact same thing and come away with two completely different reactions. My wife loves mushrooms. I would rather chew off my own ear than let a chunk of the nasty fungus anywhere near my lips! Two people can sit down at the same football game and each of them can fervently root against the other one’s favorite team.

A difference of opinion such as these was amplified recently. A trusted friend from an older generation responded to Hillsong’s “From the Inside Out” with an “I didn’t like it at all.”

Did my jaw really drop open and land in my lap or was that just an internal response?

At youth camp last week, the lyrics and desperation in that song left me completely undone. As I worshiped and lifted up the words to my Savior, my heart was as “totaled” as a car flipped end-over-end off a cliff.

In my heart, In my soul
Lord, I give you control
Consume me.
From the inside out.
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring you praise
From the inside out
Lord, my soul cries out.

So the same song that resounded so clearly within my own heart, left my friend’s heart untouched. The same lyrics and driving beat that rippled through me to the point that I was sobbing and could no longer stand, had no effect on him whatsoever.

“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.” – Romans 10:12

I suspect that believers will continue to have preferential differences until Christ returns. Until then, we all must strive to call on Him out of a sincere heart. Just remember: the mushrooms you love may make me sick to my stomach. And I’ll try to remember the team I’m rooting for might be your mortal enemy!