Often, it’s what’s staring us in the face that we seem not to notice or appreciate until it’s gone, whether it’s snatched away suddenly or slips through our fingers incrementally until it is no more. Perhaps it’s because we’re used to it, or take it for granted, or because we feel as though we are entitled to whatever it may be to a certain extent. I wake up in the morning, come downstairs, brew some coffee, and get to work, only aware of how I’m feeling, if something is off, or if my joints are achy because it’s been raining all night. I don’t wake up and consciously appreciate it when I’m feeling fine, and nothing is clicking or popping like someone was snapping celery by hand.
While during the days of Job, there was no church or
household of faith as a support system during his time of hardship, we have the
grace of brothers and sisters in Christ, members of His body, who will come
alongside us in prayer when we need them most. At least, that’s the way it
should be.
There are a multitude of reasons we were exhorted not to
forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and allowing for the rest of the
body to be there for us when we are weak, wounded, or on the brink of despair
is one of them. A fractured body is a weakened body, and a weakened body is
easy prey for the enemy who prowls and seeks to devour.
Because most of us have gone through seasons of hardship and
can appreciate the importance of having someone to lean on, we reciprocate in
kind when another within the body is being buffeted and are quick to be a
comfort and a means of encouragement to them as well. It doesn’t matter what
body part is hurting, whether the toe you stubbed on a side table because your
kids moved it just a smidge and your muscle memory told you the way was clear
or your head because one of those occasional migraines you get decided to pay
you a visit. Pain in one area ripples throughout your body and affects it in
its entirety.
I am well aware that it’s challenging to find a church body
that preaches the Word, feeds the soul, and lives out the gospel as it should
nowadays. I’m not ignorant of this reality, but just because something is
difficult, it doesn’t make it impossible, and rather than give up, stop
looking, and resign ourselves to going at it alone, we must be diligent in
making the quest of finding people to fellowship with a priority in our lives.
You’re never going to find a perfect church full of perfect
people. If such a church existed, I’d likely be the odd man out because I am
far from perfect, as is everyone else. The problem, as I see it, is that many people
have a laundry list of expectations of what a church should offer before they
get to biblical teaching. It has to have a good children’s program, a modern
building, comfortable seats, pizza nights, stirring praise and worship, an
affable, well-groomed pastor, service under forty-five minutes, and multiple services,
so if I miss the first and the second one, the third is still an option, no
more than five minutes from my house, an overall positive vibe, and the list
goes on.
All these things must be secondary concerns, paling in comparison
to the primary concern, which is whether or not the Word is being rightly
divided, the Bible is being taught, and the focus is on Christ and the cross. Well,
yes, I found a church that preaches the whole counsel of God, but it’s small, and
the seats are uncomfortable. Then your purpose wasn’t the truth in and of
itself, but rather your comfort or the need to attach yourself to something the
world deems a success. We place more value on the things that don’t matter than
on the one thing that does because if the teaching isn’t biblical, then nothing
else that particular church might have on offer is beneficial to your spiritual
man.
When we compare and contrast the time of Job with our current
generation and see the many blessings and graces we have as opposed to them, we
come to realize that there is no excuse or justification for our lukewarm state
or our unwillingness to pursue righteousness with all the gusto of a starving
man seeing a banquet laid out before him. We have the Word, which Job did not
have; we have the body of Christ, which Job did not have; we have the freedom to
worship God in spirit and truth, which others throughout the world today do not
enjoy, yet we are indifferent to it all, focusing on the things of this earth
and the baseless promises sleazy snake oil salesmen continue to make to the
gullible when all evidence is pointing to the contrary.
When we fix our eyes upon the Lord and make Him the desire of
our heart, when His truth is established therein, our focus and energy are
spent on building up the spiritual man rather than earthly kingdoms, and the
things men covet and seek after will be as dull baubles, used and broken toys
left in a box gathering dust with no inherent value.
It is Satan’s good pleasure to draw our attention away from knowing
Jesus, denying ourselves, and picking up our crosses, and he is quick to point
to the worthless, insisting that they are the priceless treasures we seek. The
reason he keeps at it is because it works. A myriad of souls stumble in their
walk, get distracted, and go off chasing fool’s gold, believing that it will
satisfy their soul when nothing but the presence of God can.
Those who have tasted the goodness of the Lord know that nothing
compares to it. Those who have known the transformative power of His presence
in their lives understand that He is sufficient no matter their current
circumstance or lot in life. Seek Him, and you will find Him. Pursue Him, and
your pursuit will not be in vain, for if you open the door of your heart, He
will come in, and your life, beyond this life, will be forever changed.
Revelation 3:20-21, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine
with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on
My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
Posted on 22 November 2024 | 1:02 pm
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