I’ve had a lot of jobs in my past. Some I loved the people I worked with. Some I didn’t love so much. Not that I didn’t pray for them or wish the best for them, but I had a difficult time with choices they’d make and the way they treated others. Often times I was left speechless and quiet in these situations. Another reality is that in both types of situations I have later found that some imitated a friendship and kindness when they were not in fact a friend in heart (but rather feigning) and ones who I lost hope in now have come to light as the ones who truly stood by me and with me. Not only am I recollecting relationships in the work place, but even housemates, schoolmates, and people who served me at my most visited restaurants, cafes, or stores.
Now, who would I claim knowing? The ones I loved and bonded with or the ones that I had a difficult time getting to know, relating to, and trusting into my own heart and life? Without a doubt, I’d say “you I have known” to the ones I loved and that loved me. And, though I have great joy over those I truly knew, I feel in a way a loss and grief in my heart to the ones holding the reverse memory in my life. It is these I pray for more often. “The enemy” as we would call them in this world, but moreover, the lost who never entered into love-because often it wasnt a personal thing, but a corporate attitude with everyone else around them that didn’t relate in anger or like action.
Aside from time Ive ”known” people, things we trekked through together, my mind and heart relate to someone and remember them as a friend depending on love or lack of love. It all comes down to love.
My mind is clicking together the reality of the Father and His will and us running this race in partnership with Him as I ponder this today. Alongside the following of this faith and the numerous things its entails us to put our hands to, when we die and stand before the Father-can He truly say, “You I have known?”.
Reference Matthew 7:21-23—
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Wouldn’t “in your name perform many miracles” entail a large portion of the Charismatic and Pentecostal church in America today? If you included them in this category I wouldn’t blame you. Ministers behind the pulpits of their mega churches take advantage of the people’s greed and care nothing for the poor or the lost who are left in their wake. Others hold debt cancellation services, raise thousands, and then use the money to purchase a new home or fund their ministerial ambitions. There are probably more individuals today who call themselves born again than there ever has been at any point in our history as a nation. Yet the quality of the Christian life is lacking. Financial scandals and sexual immorality are the two items that the American church is associated with in the minds of many; for like a used car salesman, collectively, we’ve earned that poor reputation. Words of knowledge, healing services, prophecies, dreams and other such items are the matters that concern us; while little trifles like having integrity in our financial dealings, or being faithful to ones spouse, are secondary. How many people would show up to the service if I told them they were going to receive a thousand fold monetary harvest from the Lord? Now compare that standing room only crowd to the few who would show up when the sermon topic is being a servant or fellowshipping in the sufferings of Christ. A materialistic church, who’s real god is pleasure, doesn’t want to hear that message. Truly, if I were the devil himself, I wouldn’t waste my time with a church like that. Why should he? It’s doing his work for him.
Youre absolutely right about the crisis in the church. Though, I have been lucky over the last 4ish years to not come across that in the closer spheres of my church family, I am very aware. I think the bullet to shoot in the middle of these types of situations is the James 4:4 reality in the difference between those living as a friend of the world vs those living as true friends of God despite in a church body (or denomination) or not.