are you paralyzed?

Leonard Sweet tells of one of his favorite West Virginia stories. It’s of a boy and a girl at the conclusion of their first date. Standing under the porch light of the girl’s front door, the boy looked at her and said, “Can I kiss you?” The girl smiled demurely and said nothing. The boy tried again. “I mean may I kiss you?” Again the girl smiled and said nothing. “Are you deaf?” the boy asked. The girl fires back, “Are you paralyzed?” That’s a question we in the church need to ask. Are we paralyzed? What’s holding us back? Even though at times the world may seem ugly and froggish, what’s keeping us from kissing it with the love of Christ and seeing it transformed?