Virus in the Church

There is today within the church of our Lord, a deadly virus.  This terrible tragedy is attacking the would-be remnant and defenseless flock of Jesus.  The illness is not one however merely a physical one but a mental and spiritual one.  The soul destroying disease we speak of is the preoccupation the individual has with his own temporary wellbeing. The average Christian today is considerably more concerned with his own happiness and comfort than he is about his relationship to Christ.

Now most of those we speak would defend themselves vehemently proving their commitment and devotion with examples of deed or statement.  However those precious lambs described in the beatitudes of Christ which make up the true flock, would prefer to quietly seek out a private place where they can bring the matter not before themselves or other men.  They take up their case with Jesus perhaps even daily, pouring their hearts out to Him on their knees.  For sure they have their Bibles open before them and listen ever more intently to hear their Savior´s verdict and reassurance.

Jesus spoke often in His teachings of how we should be and where to direct our thoughts and devotions.  Never do we find Jesus telling us to ask for a wonderful and pleasant life here on earth.  In fact, He encouraged us to make every effort on our part to bring ourselves in tune with Him and receive our reward when and how He saw fit to give us.  We were intended to have our eyes set on that future place when all things are restored to their correct righteous standing with God.

When we see the new heaven and the new earth, all things will be made clean and be no longer a distraction or a trap for our souls.   In that blessed day when Jesus returns to us to set up His kingdom, the correct center of all will be on God alone. This is to be our highest hope and our deepest longing.  To be near Him will mean that it will be easier and far more delightful to worship and adore Him.

In John 12:25 Jesus states clearly that if we would leave alone the importance of our life here on earth and turn our backs on that to follow and serve Him, then we are actually assuring our part with Him in His future reign.

He goes on to encourage those who would, to serve Him and follow the example He set.  Our lives should resemble His in that we are so single-mindedly focused on God that we sacrifice any worldly affection and possession.  A most precious treasure is found in the following texts of John 12 where Jesus calls out to glorify God and a voice booms out of heaven confirming His glory as thunder from the heavens.

As we look around at ourselves and the general trend of modern religion, this kind of teaching seems strange and incongruent. Today we are content to be called Christians as long as it does not interfere too much with our comfort or pleasure seeking.  We would rather be happy than righteous.  We look to our goals, our lives, our ways.  If there is one who shouts loud the name of the Lord, he does so because God has been good to him and gave him much pleasure and delight here in this life.

It is a fact that Jesus does reward those who truly follow Him, but our focus is dangerously misplaced if we do so for the reward.  This is where the disease is so deadly.  When our motive for following God and seeking Him is to enable ourselves to obtain more, we should mean more of Him, not the rewards.  To seek Jesus because of price or reward is actually to serve our own greedy, self-centered souls.  We want to draw near to Jesus, because He can give us this or that.  On top of everything we will be the happy receivers for all eternity.

This I am afraid is a very lethal virus infecting the church of God and would deceive even the elite, if that were possible.  I pray that the sincere seeker of Christ would guard himself and search the great heart of Jesus, whether or not there is reason for concern from this deadly disease.

Scott W