DISMANTLE THE SYSTEM & RETURN TO THE SOURCE

I feel at times like I live in a time and place spoken of by Amos, a time when there is a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or thirst for water but of hearing the words of God.  The Christian’s Story has been deemed by some as a meta narrative and been reduced to a relative and pluralistic attitude that if it works for you fine, but keep it to yourself; there are a lot of stories so pick one that works for you, where you live.

God, Jesus, and the Bible have been lumped together and categorized under the label Christianity.  Christianity has been often an abusive and destructive force in the world throughout history.  It has intruded upon cultures, been the instigator of wars, and is consumed with power and control over the minds and lives of people.  Therefore, like any other evil force or evil empire in the world today it must be stopped and destroyed; ‘Shock & Awe’ style.  As one who has suffered harm by that system, I have no problem or objection to eliminating the system.

What I do have a major problem and objection to is that God, Jesus, and the Bible are identified with that system and have been disrespected and done away with as well; tossed out with the proverbial baby thrown out with the bath water, or an innocent man being crucified and killed by the very system itself.

Anything that replaces God in the hearts and minds of people is an idol.  When the system of Christianity, or the Church itself replaces God in the hearts and minds of people they too become an idol.  God commands that there are to be no idols, no other God before Him, no matter how good they may look or religious they may seem.  Whatever replaces Him in the minds and hearts of His people is anathema to God.

As people consider and envision how God’s people are suppose to be in this world today; how the church is suppose to be in the world and in our neighborhoods today, we must attune our ears and eyes to God Himself and His voice, not to what a world living in famine requires and is demanding.  The church is a manifestation of God; it is not about us working for God; it is about God being the object and motivation for our work and our life in this world.

As people of God we need to know God’s eternal purpose for all things; we need to have eyes to see and ears to hear the prophetic vision laid out since the beginning that will culminate in the end of time, in God’s time.  We need to fix our eyes on Him, tune our ears to His Word and walk with eternity in our hearts.  Anything else is idolatry and will not do.  We must return to God, the fountain of living waters and stop building our own cisterns, broken cisterns that hold not water.

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

There is much thought going into what the church was, is, and ought to be.  That is to be expected in a seminary environment where people are in training to work in the church.  I enjoy studying church history and the people throughout the years who have put all of their life energy into building a house for God to dwell in.  They are men and women of strong conviction, faith, and love of God.

The desire to build a house for God to dwell in goes back to David.  In 2 Samuel 7 David realizes that while he is living in a fine cedar house, God is dwelling in a tent.  So he decides to build a house for God for God to live in.  God stops him.  “Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I command to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built ma a house of cedar?”  David got the lesson and passed it down to his son Solomon who writes in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house those who build it labor in vain.”

Church history would verify to the fact that David’s lesson was not passed down throughout the generations.  I don’t question the sincerity of the people who put their time and energy into doing something for God, that to them seems like the right thing to do.  Unfortunately it is possible to be sincerely wrong and misguided.

When God made a covenant with the Israelites in the desert after freeing them from the bondage in Egypt, He was very clear about the construction of the place where He would dwell with them and the way they were to dwell with Him. (Exodus 25-40)  That system worked for generations, through many trials, tribulations, and deportations.  But this outward form was not the finished product. It was merely the foundational principles of how humans and God are to dwell with one another.

If I skip to the end of time, to the new earth and new heaven of eternity, I can read the ultimate results of what this small beginning was foreshadowing and it is all about God dwelling together, face to face with His people, as it was created to be since the beginning in the garden. (Revelation 21, 22)  So the question is how do we get to there without making the same mistakes that our former church founders made?

God sent His son Jesus to dwell among us, to teach and to demonstrate on life in the eternal kingdom of God.  We are called to come and follow him.  It makes sense to me that all of our questions and concerns about what the church is and ought to be would be found in Jesus’ life and teachings.  He was, is, and will be the fulfillment of the foreshadowed construction in the desert that was directed by God Himself.

These are my thoughts.  The church is not a place; it is not a building; it is not a system.  The church is a Presence; it is the Lord God Almighty and Jesus the Lamb.  It is their Presence, where we are face to face, dwelling and worshipping the One who created us and had loved us since the beginning of time and will love us throughout eternity.  In the Presence we are His treasured possession and He will be with us as our God forever.

Jesus’ life on earth was a demonstration of what the church is to be.  People dwelling in his Presence, teaching others to love God and live lives according to that love; healing and feeding those who we come upon during our journey through life on earth; worshipping, praising, and thanking God for all He is and all He does whenever we get together. We are people of the Way, the Truth, and the Life; not an establishment, not an institution, not a congregation, not a system.  On our way, wherever we are, we simply live in his Presence and be present to one another and to the others we meet along the way. That to me is what the church is; simply people in the Presence, living with and loving one another.

Colossians 3:12-17; Malachi 3:16; John 4; Matthew 17

I WANT A HERO

It is interesting to watch the reaction of the world, especially America’s, to the new Pope.  What they like about him is his humility and commonness with all people; he’s one of us, equal with us, not above us.  We are a people who like equality; no one above us telling us what to do, where to go, or how to live.

I sense that was why God came to earth in the form of a human being.  He wants His children to know Him on an intimate level and love him as a friend, companion, and a brother.  I certainly feel that relationship with Jesus and I appreciate and love being in it.

But, there are time that I want someone who is much bigger than me, much wiser than me, and much more powerful that me; I want someone to run to when I am afraid, someone to defend me, protect me, and help me out of the situations I often find myself in the middle of, because of others or because of myself. 

I don’t want an equal then; I want a Lord, a King, someone above and beyond my reasoning and my ability.  I want the hero who rights all wrongs; I want the God whose thoughts and ways are much higher than mine.  I want the God I can freely bow before and submit to because I know He rules and reigns with love, care, and compassion; but also with ultimate power.

In my weakness I have God as a stronghold and that is where I feel safe, secure, and sustained.  The Lord God Almighty is my shepherd and I shall not want or lack anything.  He leadeth me and I gladly follow Him in all His ways, all the days of my life.