Monday, October 16, 2023
Jude warns that divisions in the church would be a constant threat to the
spiritual health of Christians because war-like conditions are brought about
when selfish ambition takes over. If you have followed Christ, and been
part of the church, you understand; despite the smiles on Sunday, there are
spiritually shell-shocked believers in every pew. And, the truth is coming to the surface, no
matter how much we learn about interpersonal relationships and personally-toxic
behavior, and no matter how many sermons are delivered on unity and kindness,
the division in humanity is growing deeper, breaking-up more homes, closing the
doors of more churches, and spewing hatred into every seam of life’s fabric.
According to Jude there are two characteristics that are present in a
human being who causes division of any kind:
1.
Selfish
ambition – people who honor their personal desires above any person or sense of
morality. They only care about themselves.
2.
Ichabod
– the Hebrew word which describes the absence of God’s Spirit.
These two telltale signs are related and always bound in the heart of the
ungodly.
Jude says the antidote, or immunization from this condition is to build
each other up in [our] most holy faith. This is the open door to patience in prayer,
the willingness to let the lesser things of personal ambition fall by the
wayside, in favor of progress in God’s Kingdom.
That, says Jude, is the only way to remain spiritually-safe, living-into
God’s love. So then, what does it mean
to live-into God’s love? Glad you
asked. I grew-up in the 1950’s-60’s. It was the heyday of Billy Graham’s crusades.
The whole emphasis on church growth was
personal salvation…the revivalist mode.
We cannot in good faith deny the need for that; it is the entry door to
God’s house and family. However, being
born-again presents the picture of a new infant. In matters of the Spirit that is good, and it
can be disastrous. It’s necessary and
wonderful to be born, but to stay an infant means a lifetime of dependency. Arrested growth is not desirable;
it is a death sentence to God’s blessing of maturing in your relationship with
Christ and others. Infants have a milk
diet, but not forever; they graduate to adult food…with good reason:
Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will
grow into a full experience of salvation….You are coming to Christ, who is the
living cornerstone of God’s temple. He
was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is
building into his spiritual temple. 1
Peter 2:2-5
The grown-up baby stones, gathered, and strategically-placed together by
the Master Builder, become stronger by the support and strength of communal
effort. A common slogan you’ll hear
these days is Together We are Stronger.
That’s true in any sense, but it is critically-vital for the church, and
God’s Kingdom. Without denying-self and personal
ambition, in favor of taking-up Calvary’s cross, the church will be as empty as
more promises from Washington, D.C.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a
blessed day!
There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons
in the Rocky Road library.
Title Image courtesy of Pixabay.com Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT©
