I hate gnats. For a while I lived in Statesboro which is well into the gnat zone. They aren’t like they are in Macon where you get a few sometimes – down there they travel in clouds and as they pass your head they try to crawl through your tear ducts, in your nose and fly into your ears. There isn’t much that can stop them (other than moving to nice gnat-free areas of the country). Thus, I hate gnats.
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. (Mat 23:24)
Today Churchianity looks at externals and has all their rules to make you appear to be a good little Christian. Don’t doubt that there is a hierarchy of rules that would make any Pharisee proud. It is more important to not drink, smoke, or be rude than many other things – thus we allow the gnats to obfuscate the real problems.
God has been dealing with me about superficiality since we have been preparing LifeQuest Church. We have taken part of a building that hasn’t been used for several years and made it look pretty good. There is all new ceiling tiles, new paint, and other things to help fulfill some modern Church expectations. Granted, everything we have done has been necessary and God has blessed us in doing so, but just as trying to make sure we act right and look like presentable little Christians on Sunday morning……but something is wrong. When the rains come some of our pretty little ceiling tiles start showing big nasty water stains. Everything looks good, but our building has some hidden faults that are exposed under the right circumstances.
Churchianity wants to make sure we look like good little Christians and tries to pretend that there aren’t any faults – that everything is ok under our perfect veneers. Jesus wants to fix the hidden faults and let it show through to the outside. Jesus cares that we are caught up in sexual sin whether it be sexual relationships outside of marriage, lust, pornography, homosexuality and wants to free us from desires that enslave us. Jesus cares about our addictions – our dependences – nicotine, alcohol, drugs, activities, relationships and he wants to free us from those that ensnare us.
Maybe we should be Jesus rather than a pharisee on Sunday Morning (and other times too) and care less about the outside – those annoying little gnat issues that block us from seeing the camels – the issues that Jesus is really trying to fix. We become distracted by how people look, act, dress, smell and how they act rather than seeing beyond – seeing the person inside that is coming to us looking for a relationship with the Living God of The Universe – looking to us that say we know him and can introduce them to him – looking to us that sometimes decide that the person looking is unworthy in our eyes to be introduced to that God.
maybe I shouldn’t be as bothered by the gnats………..