Storage Units?

I had to run to the bank this morning. The primary branch that we bank at sits up on a hill and overlooks a neighborhood and what used to be a large field. About a year ago, they began to excavate the field and I assumed they were building more homes. Much to my surprise they weren't building homes, they were building Storage Units. You know the u-store-it kind of buildings where we spend $100.00 a month to store the stuff we can't fit into our 2500 square foot homes that sit on 1/4 acre lots with 2 car garages and a shed out back. I don't know about you but I see these kind of storage companies all over the place.

Now I know that some people have legitimate reasons for needing these storage units. They run a business out of their home and they use their storage building for a warehouse. Some people are in between homes and need to store their stuff until the new place is ready. We actually used one when we first moved to Virginia because our new house wasn't ready yet.

However, as I rounded the back side of the bank this morning to go to the ATM machine, I noticed they were clearing more ground and building even more storage space. I wonder why we need so much stuff that we never use? I wonder why we strive to obtain more stuff then our neighbors only to end up not having a place to keep our stuff so we rent a storage unit to store our over abundance of stuff and most likely forget that it's even there?

Isn't this what most Christians do? We attend church every week from the time we're 6 until we're 96 and we store in our brain everything you can possible know about God, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments, Noah and the Ark, Paul and his journey & everything in between. We keep notebooks of every message outline since the beginning of message outlines. We have libraries filled with highlighted books that we'll never look at again. We end up forgetting most sermons, bible studies and messages within 36 hours of hearing or reading them and yet we still want more. We want to go "deeper." We want to feel "spiritual." But we forget the information and never use it. We never tell anyone about Christ, we never invite someone to church, we never put into practice the principles that Jesus taught nor do we try to emulate or reflect the lifestyle that Jesus led. I read in a book that the vast majority of "Christians" are educated way beyond there ability to actually act or live out that education. We just keep storing it up, wanting more and never using it.

Here's my challenge. Don't just acquire knowledge. Don't just sit in church, take notes, go home and file them and never use them again. Share the knowledge with those who don't know Christ. Reach out to your neighbors, friends, relatives and share your spiritual journey with them. If you don't feel comfortable sharing with them directly then invite them to church so they can hear what Jesus has done for them. Don't waste your time storing up knowledge and forgetting its there. Live it out and invite people in. It will have a dramatic impact on their lives and yours for all eternity.