Day 30, March 27, 2007
Nehemiah 13:1-9
I’ve always been a little bothered by the separatism to which God calls Israel. After all, if this is the God who ‘so loves the world that He gave His only son’, then doesn’t it make sense for God and His people to be accommodating of all people’s, all nations, all customs?
The answer is “no”. Unpacking this answer requires that we journey to John 4 where Jesus enters into a conversation with a woman by a well. It’s an engaging conversation, covering a wide range of subjects, but the crux of the conversation centers around the theme of worship. The woman has asked a question about who the real worshippers are; those who
worship on Mt. Gerazim, or those who worship in Jerusalem. Jesus says that the location of worship isn’t the point. But what IS the point, is that true worshippers will worship in Spirit and in Truth. This is explosively significant, for it means that not all worship is true worship. It means that sincerity doesn’t count as much as truth counts. It means that using God words, God buildings, God radio stations, God rock bands, means nothing unless the heart behind the actions is submitted to God, and unless the worship is unfolding as a humble and obedient response to God’s revelation.
God’s invitation is open to all, but all must come on His terms. God is not so malleable that we’re able to extract His certain elements of His character that we find distasteful for some reason, and still call Him God. When we do that, he becomes ‘god’ rather that “God” – a fabrication of our own imagination, created to ease our hunger for spirituality, while absolving us of any for holy and humble response. And it’s this that makes Nehemiah angry. When we say, ‘sure – come on in – become a part of our family’ without taking seriously the values that the Father is calling us to embrace, we’re no longer fulfilling our responsibilities as a community of faith.
Holy Father, enable us to be welcoming and loving without compromising your call to holiness. Give us the grace to continue to wrestle through just what holiness means, even as we live in the midst of our responsibilities to be holy people. In Your Great Name we pray, Amen
posted by Richard Dahlstrom @ 2:41 PM
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