For God So Loved.....

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son. God loves the world. I don't think that we really get it. If we really knew what the world means to God we would not be doing the things that we do in the American church. We have made an honest and dedicated effort to separate ourselves from what is really going on around us. We have built our sanitary sanctuaries and have maintained them to our delight while the rest of our country is being destroyed by sin and iniquity. I really think that we like our safe havens that keep us tidy and secure. I have enjoyed them myself. I can relax there. It costs me very little. I can attend a couple of hours on Sunday, pay my dues and then go home and watch the ball game.

For God so loved the World. That has been heavy on my heart lately. When I was attending church and doing the religious thing I didn't really give the world much thought. I was too busy with stuff. Yeah, I was a member of the inward hearts club. I was oblivious to the pain and suffering in the world.

Jesus didn't live that way when He was on the earth. He spent time with people. He also enlisted his disciples on short notice and sent them packing right away. Jesus saw the harvest as something we go out into. Jesus never once instructed His disciples to build a Sunday morning theater with box seats and peanut galleries for the viewing audience.

None of this was God's intention. God has an extravagant love for the human race. He sees the ravages of sin on all that He loved and created and His heart is to heal and restore the lost and hurting. Our view of God's mission for us is skewed by the comfort of organized religion. I know the difference. My spiritual senses have been dulled over the years by organized church whether it be denominational or non-denominational. Even home groups can be institutionalized and religious.

When we become like Jesus our heart begins to care about what He cares about. That is the clearest indicator of where we are in the maturing process. I am slowly but surely coming around. I decided to abandon all forms of organized religion about 18 months ago. It's kind of scary because it kind of leaves you out there hanging. You start to search your heart and self-examine again. The substitutes have been removed. No more relgious activity to hang my hat on. I have some brothers in the Lord that are on this journey as well. The Lord is starting to dig down deep. He now has my attention. No more substitutes. No more man made religion and more of Him. He is gentle. He draws. He doesn't push. It's un-mistakenly Him.

For God So Loved