There is a lovely story that I think is highly relevant to this search for community that is real. It is found in John chapter eight, the woman caught in the very act of adultery. Old Testament law prescribed that she be stoned to death, and they brought her to Him in order to test Him. I think she was set up, I mean where was the man? Last time I checked it takes two. But I digress.
Jesus is amazing. He tells them “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”, and they leave from the oldest to the youngest. When they had left He asked her “Where are those who would condemn you”. She answers that there are none. Jesus tells her “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”.
There are many things to say about this wonderful incident, but the point I want to make here is that in the presence of Jesus, the Pharisees (hypocrites) either leave or are changed. When He is there in His fullness hypocrites are just not comfortable. I am afraid that this says a lot about how present He is in many of our Churches. As in the days of old (in the Temple), there are things that will cause Him to withdraw, or at the very least diminish, His presence among us. We can after all quench His Spirit, and it behoves us to learn what those things are, and to change them.
He has promised that when two or three meet together in His name, He is there in the midst. But He will not come in his fullness where He is not truly welcome. Meeting in His name, like asking in prayer in His name, is not intended to be a casual thing. It is much much more than going through the motions, mouthing the words. We cannot play church and expect Him to show up tangible ways. For example, we sing Hymns and Worship choruses, but do we truly worship Him? When was the last time you or I were, with the Hymn writer “lost in wonder love and praise”? Many of us are unrestrained in our worship of hockey, baseball or movie stars, but how unrestrained are we in our worship of the Lord? And who is worth more? That is not to say that everyone must express their worship of God in an unrestrained way in the here and now. But I can tell you this, our worship in heaven will not be restrained. You only have to read the book of Revelation! And you think hockey is exciting!
His Word tells us that He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3 KJV), and that the Father seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23). And there is the rub. We cannot continue to wear masks and/or refuse to deal with our sin, and still expect Him to show up in any real and tangible way! We do not have to be perfect, but like the woman in the story, we must, if we want to stay in His presence, be willing to deal with, and turn from, our sin. Jesus makes it clear that the despised, the tax collectors and sinners of His day, would enter the Kingdom before the Pharisees. Is it any different with the Pharisees of our day? I think not! After all, Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever. He came to call sinners to repentance, and we find Him in the fellowship of the forgiven, not in the fellowship of the (self) righteous. Being forgiven is where it starts, but not where it ends.
As a young, innocent and even naive teenage, I used to dream of being smothered by the kisses of a certain gorgeous young thing, as I lay back saying “you may proceed (to love me)”. In my innocence and naivety while I was (in my dream) the recipient of her kisses, it did not occur to me that she might want my kisses too (I did say naive and innocent – it was a different age). I came to realize how repugnant this would have been for her, me being a limp lover, for her about as exciting as kissing a wet sponge. The point I am making is that God does not want limp lovers either. We are to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. This is how He loves us. Look at what He paid to buy us back from slavery to sin. He wants to pour out His love in tangible ways, and He will more than match and delight us with His presence when we start to love, serve and worship Him as He deserves. When we do this, we start to discover with Abraham, that He is our exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1). Why else would more and more people all over this wicked and hurting world die for their faith rather than give it up (see http://www.persecution.com/).
We need to ask ourselves, “Is what I have (what we have as a Church) worth dying for? It has been said that if we don't have something in our lives worth dying for, we do not have anything worth living for. Have you ever asked “Is this all there is?” Am I satisfied to live a life of quiet desperation that is said to be the lot of most of us? Jesus said “I am come that you might have life in all its fullness”. The World tells us we are deluded. Either they are right, or there is so very much more than most us have. There is more, there is always more. I have had glimpses of what it can be, but I know with a certainty I cannot explain, that we have barely scratched the surface, even in such glimpses.
I pray, and I invite you to pray “Lord take away my sin, my shame, my pride, my apathy, and my willingness to live with mediocrity. Give me a passion for Yourself that is worthy of who You are, and what You have done” (Revelation 5:12). When we enter into this we find a place that is truly safe, because together we find our refuge and our strength and our safety in Him. No one can pluck us out of His hand.
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