Forgive me for offending you.  But to make my point, I'm afraid I must offend some.

It is a well-established fact that I cannot stand the taste of creamed corn.  The truth is, after one bite, I honestly begin gagging.  I wish it were not so...but it is. (See—now I've gone and done it--offended all the creamed corn lovers out there.  My apologies). 

At a recent Christmas party, I turned down someone's prized recipe for creamed corn and was entreated with a familiar line: “If you'd just try it.....I think you'd like it.”  Trust me—ain't gonna happen.  And it’s not like I “tried” to whip up some awful hatred for creamed corn. What could be more American than corn?  I just honestly, sincerely, don't like creamed corn.

In the same way, I think we Christ followers sometimes miss the mark when sharing Christ with the people around us.  We logically assume that in a culture that reveres experience over just about anything, it's a powerful argument to say, “Just try Jesus.” 

For some people, that simple invitation may indeed be the tool the Holy Spirit uses to redeem a life. But an increasing number of people have a built-in distaste for a faith of any kind.

Just like my strong aversion to creamed corn, there are people who simply can't stand the notion of surrendering their life to Christ.  [All the pleasant language in the world about a King who longs to make right a world that's gone terribly wrong makes no difference to these folks.]

Does that mean “End of story....let's pack up and go home.”?   No! It just means that these people will need something else: the powerful evidence of life change in US.

If you were to do a life inventory, how much change could you—would you—honestly claim for this last year?  Are you and I tangibly more like Christ today than last January?  What will ultimately win hearts and minds, as Colossians 1:27 eloquently states, is “Christ in you—the hope of glory”--not fancy speech.

Christ in you.  And in me.  Now THAT's a taste we can ALL agree on.