I heard a televangelist say,
“To get into Heaven, it doesn’t matter what you do. All that matters is that
God loves you.”
That’s beautiful.
Wrong.
But beautiful.
We tend to superimpose our
modern cultural views of “love” on God, but you have to remember that when it
comes to love and relationships, God is old-fashioned.
In the old days of courtship,
an unmarried couple would meet in a designated area belonging to the family and
under elders’ supervision: the outside of the tent, the parlor of the home, the
courtyard. In the old-fashioned system, love got you into the
house, but only marriage would get you into the bedroom.
Heaven is eternal, intimate
cohabitation with God Himself. Jesus
described our place in Heaven as a personal mansion-sized room where we are at
home with the Lord (John 14: 2).
The world is the Lord’s
footstool (Matthew 5:35). The church is
the house of God (1 Timothy 3: 15). But
Heaven--- Heaven is the bedroom.
As a human institution
operating in a fallen world, the church is made up of people who SAY that they love God, but “love” doesn’t mean the
same thing to everyone who uses it.
The love God wants with His church
is the old-fashioned love between husband and wife. (2 Corinthians 11: 2; Ephesians
5: 25; Revelations 19: 7-9; Revelations 22: 10)
That old-fashioned marriage love is exclusive,
submissive, better-or-worse, sickness-or-healing, prosperity-or-poverty, and explicitly
committed.
You can hang out in God’s
presence and enjoy His company and “love” Him without being committed in the
old-fashioned sense. But it won’t get you into the bedroom of Heaven.
God’s just old-fashioned like
that.
I know we’re not
old-fashioned anymore, but think about what you expect in a modern marriage.
Does the way the other person treats YOU matter?
If your spouse ignored your
every request for time and attention, would it affect your relationship?
O My people, what have I done
to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. (Micah 6: 3)
If your spouse regularly violated
your marriage vows, and then came home saying they had no regrets because it
would all work out for good anyway---- would it affect your relationship?
Surely, as a wife
treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with
Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 3: 20)
If the wearer of your
marriage ring praised you in public but demanded that you give them money every
time they did so, would that wear on your heart? Would it affect the prospects of your
marriage?
Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah
prophesy about you, saying:‘These people draw near to
Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from
Me.And
in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matthew
15: 7-9)
If your spouse treated you like this while you spent your money
building a new and bigger house, would you not reconsider whether or not this
spouse was the other name you wanted to put on the deed?
I was crushed by their
adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the
harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they
committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am
the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.” (Ezekiel
6: 9, 10)
Modern or old-fashioned, our
actions affect the nature and direction of the relationship.
God loves us. He loves us all no matter what, but
what we do affects the kind of relationship God will have with us.
Ya’ll know Galatians 6:
7? “Do not be deceived, God is not
mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. “
That verse isn’t about money. It’s about whether we choose faithfulness in
spirit or spiritual adultery through the flesh.
For he who sows to his flesh
will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the
Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6: 8)
In other words, God loves us,
but unlike humans, love doesn’t make God stupid. God is not mocked.
Our actions/works cannot get us into Heaven. All that matters
is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. But in the context of that relationship, what
we do matters A LOT.
Jesus answered and said to
him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep
My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which
you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John 14: 23, 24)
Our choices demonstrate whether our love and commitment is sincere in the old-fashioned sense or just some modern thing we profess so we can live in the new house not made with man’s hands.
God has
old-fashioned expectations for our “love.”
So be as good to God as you’d want your spouse to be to you.
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer,
community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural
leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is
pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director
of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development
for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
#Awordtothewise
You can help support Rev.
Graves’ work by visiting his personal
blog and clicking the DONATE button
on the right-hand sidebar.
Support by check or money
order may be mailed to
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064
No comments:
Post a Comment