It’s a bit long. I’m not apologizing for such. If you don’t read it all, get this important summary. “Stop judging, start loving.”
The writer in Isaiah 61, prophesying about the work of Jesus said He was coming to heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, and pardon all prisoners.
If we believe Christ came to heal the broken, free captives, and pardon all prisoners, then we need to get busy talking about what folks are going through and find ways to meet them at their need. Jesus didn’t sit in an ornate building and wait for the broken to come to him. He went to where the need was located with understanding, compassion and answers. We need to exhibit the acceptance God has shown and continues to show to us. If our sinfulness didn’t break the church, neither will theirs. The only thing threatened by the captives of Satan are our man-made constructs of superiority and self-righteousness. Some, robed in piety, have so distorted the message of forgiveness and acceptance, with subtle (and not so subtle) actions and attitudes, they are no longer the tower of safety or the shining city of hope, sitting on the hill.
It is time, and high time, we cast off the shackles of elitism and extend our hand to the world lost in darkness, not with platitudes or slogans, but with willingness to get down in the dirt. It’s time to get down to where folks live, not as partakers, but as God’s shining examples. It is time to carry the light to the darkness (fire from the altar)
In Leviticus 10, two of Aaron’s sons tried to offer sacrifices with fire which did not come from the altar which God ignited and the priests were to keep burning continually (Leviticus 16.12). The Lord rejected their offering and they were consumed with fire. The Word calls it ‘strange’ fire. It meant foreign or profane.
In Samuel 3, the Word reflects on a time nearing the end of Eli’s time as God's messenger. It records his eyes had waxed dim. This was speaking about more than just his fading eyesight. It spoke in a metaphysical sense of his duties in ministering within the tabernacle. He had grown lax in his ministerial duties, in so much, the light of the tabernacle went out. These were the lamps commanded to burn continually. (Leviticus 24.2)
The fire in the tabernacle went out. Such is the significance of the cloven tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost. God relit the flame in His new tabernacle, the heart of mankind. We must keep this fire burning. Every action we commit in ministering must originate from this original flame. When we act out of piety or self righteousness, we are offering a sacrifice (actions) with strange fire (our origin).
I had a conversation with one of my nephews once concerning the front we project. He said he always felt before becoming part of the body that Christians were perfect. He could never attain such perfection. We are not perfect. We are forgiven. There is a demonstrable difference in the air about the two. Perfection presents as “I am and you can’t be”, while forgiven presents as “I am and you can be as well.”
I see many churches (not all, but many) which have arrived at perfection in their eyes and can no longer tolerate anything less in humanity. They have stopped reaching out and concentrate only on building up. It is as if one can hear them say, “let us build a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name.” They are built in the plain of Shinar (Babylon). They have turned the light away from God and shine it upon the edifices they have built on shifting sand. Great will be their fall. (Matthew 7.26-27; Revelation 18.2)
Again, it is time we cast off the chains of elitism. It is time we remember the filth and the fire. It’s time we remember our bondage. It’s time we realize sin, like righteousness, is just a garment. (Luke 15.22) It is time to tear down walls and build bridges. (Luke 14.23) It is time to put off the monologue of the Pharisee and to pray the prayer of the publican. (Luke 16.10-13)
Lord, let me see them through your eyes. Let me see them as you see them. Let me see their future and not their past. Help me to heal the broken; to offer freedom to the captives; and offer pardons to sin’s prisoners. Allow me the privilege of being the speaker of Your Words; the vessel of Your love; the seat of Your mercy; and Your shining (Halal) example. It’s time to stop judging, and to start loving.
