Poor, Blind and Naked

For me, there has been something missing in the church experience my entire life. I grew up in a Holiness denomination that had somehow boiled it all down to a list of do’s and don’ts.  At least that’s how it came across to me. Yet, I felt the Spirit of the Living Christ in this church often, especially during altar calls and camp meetings. But it was a striking dichotomy to me that day to day life in this congregation felt nothing like “living”.  Later, as an adult, I attended a more main stream “Evangelical” church, where most of the emphasis was on Grace and the Bible is treated as the final and only Word from the Lord.  Then I met some people who were having incredible experiences with the Holy Spirit; operating in the prophetic, hearing from the Lord and having visions and dreams. The Lord confirmed to me over and over again that He was speaking to and through these people, yet nothing like it was being practiced at my church. I have come to believe that every church and denomination who believe Jesus is the son of God and the way to salvation has some of the truth!  Further, I believe that no church, (or Christian for that matter) has all of the truth.  We are all lacking some aspect of understanding.  Jesus is the truth.  So, on the day the church possesses 100% of the truth, the MANIFEST PRESENCE of JESUS CHRIST, HIMSELF WILL BE STANDING ON EARTH.

This isn’t intended to criticize or blame. In fact, the letters to the angels of the churches in of Revelation prove that God knew all along that we were going to get some things right and some things wrong.  It would even appear, He did it on purpose… He is the one who decided to let the tares grow with the wheat.  I honestly have no idea why… We would not have done it this way…. We also would not have left sharing the good news with the whole world in the hands of mankind!  

So what is the point? Why does this matter?  For one thing, we need to get over ourselves and stop criticizing other Christians.  For another thing, we have a lot to learn and experience by actually opening our hearts and minds to aspects of the Lord we do not yet understand.  Do you think you know all there is to know about God?  Hardly!!  There is always more Jesus to know!

Jesus is coming back for His pure and spotless bride. Look around, do you see any pure and spotless brides?  I don't... So, this must mean something happens before the end of time that calls the church up higher…(not the rapture), but the clarion call of the Lamb of God to see things from His perspective, to set ourselves apart and admit that we don’t have it figured out.  To return to our first love and actually become One with each other, as Jesus is One with the Father and submit to Jesus as the Head. 

No doubt, I have already got the dander up of several faithful servants of God.  In fact I’m sure my dear mother is none too happy with what I’ve said already in blog #2.  Because we are all striving the best we know how to seek truth and follow Jesus, we don’t want to think that we are doing anything wrong.  But, as they say, the proof is in the pudding! 

A few years ago, I was reading the letter to the church of Laodicea in Revelation Chapter 3, and I got to this part:

 ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.  

I thought, yes Lord, I’m sure this is talking to me, to the church in America.  We certainly are rich compared to the rest of the world and what’s more we think we are rich. So, I asked, “how, Lord?  Show me how we are blind and naked.”  The very next day, we had a horrible tragedy in our community.  A young man, in Jr high, was attending a youth group on a Wednesday night and went in the bathroom and cut his own throat.  Yes, you read that correctly, he was physically at a church event when he did this terrible thing.  Not only was this student a long standing member of this youth group, but he also attended a Christian after school program (led by people from other churches), AND he had been meeting with yet another Christian mentor for several years.  This young man lived through his experience. He was a cutter and not necessarily trying to take his life, but he is tormented to the point he cuts himself and this time, he chose his neck.  We were all stunned.  I’m still stunned.  How could we fail so miserably?  We think that all we need to do is get these kids involved in a good youth group and get some Christian influence in their lives.  That all they need to do is accept Christ and go to church and all will be well.  But, NO, all is not well.  The truth is, we (the church) are pretty helpless in situations like this.  We don’t know what is wrong, we don’t know how to pray and we don’t see real and meaningful change and freedom come in many lives of the people we love and try to serve. 

We think we are rich, but we are really wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.   

Please don’t misunderstand, I love the church!!  I grew up in the church and I can think of no other group of people that I would want to claim. I am proud to be a Christian! There is none like the redeemed, the ones who know we are broken and need a savior. Who else would literally feed and clothe the entire world?  I’ve never seen an apartment so quickly furnished than to send out an email to 500 or so Christians and sit back and watch them LOVE and GIVE!  The church is magnificent, literally the HOPE OF GLORY, the BELOVED BRIDE OF CHRIST!! I love her as a whole, as individual congregations and as individual people! 

But the time has come on the Kingdom calendar for the church to wake up from our slumber, to recognize that we are doing many things right, but there are still things the Lord has against us.  It’s time to lay down our critical attitudes toward each other, our competitive spirits and our need to control our “people” and our lives and instead submit and surrender to Christ as our only Head, joining together the body – one living organism that shares the same heartbeat to share the good news with a lost and dying world.  It's time to humble ourselves and pray and fast and wait before the Lord, showing our dependence on Him! It's time to believe God for more and step out in faith. I say RISE UP Church and come into your glory. You were created for such a time as this!