John 7:37-52: ...some in the crowd said, "This is really the prophet." Others said, "This is the Messiah."...So there was a division in the crowd because of him....Then [Pharisees asked the police], "Why did you not arrest him?" The police answered, "Never has anyone spoken like this!"

Last night, an ad for a sports network spoke of the "next generation" of sports fans. Those fans described themselves, saying, "We are the ones who love the game so much we're going to change it."

I pray that a similar spirit of change comes soon in the Christian religion. We Christians get so caught up in our religion that we forget the essence of the faith, as taught to us by Jesus. We debate doctrine and neglect to love one another.

Perhaps, like the fans, we need to love the "game" of Christianity so much that we're willing to change it. Religion is safe, but choosing truly to follow Jesus by loving other people complicates our lives and makes us uncomfortable.

Even in Jesus' time, people argued about who he was; John's Gospel says, "there was a division in the crowd because of him." But the authorities wouldn't arrest him because, "Never has anyone spoken like this!"

Jesus didn't come to change religion; he came to change us. And to this day, "Never has anyone [else] spoken like this." So it's time to reconsider what we do in Jesus' name.

We can be the ones who love Christianity so much that we're going to change it.

Psalm 80; Genesis 25:19-34; Hebrews 13:1-16