Love is patient, is kind, love is not jealous, love is not bragging, is not puffed up, is not indecent, is not self seeking, is not incensed, is not taking account of evil, is not rejoicing in injustice, yet is rejoicing together with the truth, is forgoing all, is believing all, is expecting all, is enduring all.
1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 7, Concordant New Testament
I have listened to more than a few Christians claim that they are weary of the mainstream church and a God that is judgmental and more of an overseer than a loving God. On a recent Jesus Conversations podcast, my friend Dennis and I unpacked the question I posed not so long ago. Does Jesus dislike the church? If able, I encourage anyone who has ever wondered this about Jesus to take a listen to our discussion. However, in my own heart, I am quite certain that Jesus does not dislike the church. What Jesus did disapprove of was how some authorities in the Jewish religion of His day treated His true church. Of course, we cannot have this discussion of "church" without first disclosing what we're talking about. By church, I am referring to the church of the followers of Jesus, of which Jesus is the head {Colossians 1:18}. So, does Jesus dislike those who love and follow Him? Absolutely not. Does Jesus disapprove of the way some have treated His church in the name of religion? Absolutely! Most Christians have read the scriptures of Jesus' "Woes" to the Pharisees we find in Matthew 23 and in some twisted way associate these actions by Jesus as being against the church as a whole. This could not be further from the truth, but we must first define what the church is. We who love the Lord Jesus form His church, and He is at its head. Brick and mortar buildings do not impress Him. In fact, the apostle Paul tells us that God does not dwell in buildings built by the hands of men {Acts 17:24-25}. We have grown accustomed to referring to church as "Gods house," yet this line of thinking is partly why Jesus bristled against the Pharisees of His day. Growing up in the church, I was exposed to not only a God of love, but a God who would quickly turn angry and judgmental if I ever fell short. Well, like most people, I did fall short on more than one occasion. Therefore, my expectation of God was of a God who was more disappointed in me than in loving me. Granted, these words NEVER came from God Himself, but from those who supposedly spoke on His behalf.
He who does not know love does not know God, for God is love.
1 John 4: 8 NKJV
One of the questions addressed during our podcast was what the reaction of Jesus would be were He to witness what the pastors of our modern day churches were doing. Of course, Jesus knows all to well what is going on in churches professing to be teaching His gospel. I believe that were He to stand outside one of these ornate buildings on any given Sunday that the first words out of His mouth would be, "Woe to you, pastors and worship leaders, hypocrites!". Again, I say this not because of some ill-conceived grudge against the mainstream church, but because of how they have treated the church of Christ Jesus. Is God indeed an angry God? No. In fact, if we look further into scripture, we discover the true nature of our heavenly Father. For all intents and purposes, God is love. If we somehow fall short of His expectations, God is love. If we fail to drop enough tithe into that collection plate, God is love. I love the fact that my friend Dennis introduced me to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. In these words of Paul, we find just how special the love of our heavenly Father truly is. Have we failed in our behavior? God's love is patient. In fact, Paul tells us that everything we expect the love of the Father to be, we find in 1 Corinthians 13. It is this love which God desires His children to know about. It is far different than the God I was brought up to believe in. But that's ok, because God has a way of getting His truth into each of us. Despite the fact that our mainstream churches are speaking a false doctrine, it is not beyond the Father to use His church to get His truth into the hearts of His children. That truth being His long suffering love for us. There is no greater love.
"For I hunger and you give me to eat' I thirst and you give me drink; a stranger was I and you took me in; naked and you clothed me; infirm am I and you visit me; in jail was I and you come to me.' "Then the just will be answering Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we perceive Thee hungering and nourish Thee, or thirsting and we gave Thee drink? Now when did we perceive Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or naked and clothed Thee? Now when did we perceive Thee infirm, or in jail, and we came to Thee?' "And answering, the king shall be declaring to them, 'verily, I am saying to you, In as much as you do it to one of these, the least of My brethren, you do it to Me.'
Matthew 25: 35 - 40, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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