Romans 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.
The question concerning the importance of God’s sovereignty and holiness needs to be answered within our own hearts and minds. How did a thin view of God slip into our churches and our thoughts? How have we lost the holy reverence for the Almighty Creator? When did the Lord become an afterthought? Over the last fifteen years, there has been a noticeable loss of reverence for God, and a growing arrogance of self-importance has taken over the default setting of many people’s hearts. In that time, across North America, thousands of churches have closed, been demolished, or been repurposed. Some are now used as community centers, while others have become quaint, trendy bed-and-breakfasts in a dying town once supported by industry. Within the same fifteen years, millions of congregants have stopped going to church altogether. When asked why they no longer felt the need to spend time with God or support their fellow Christians at their assemblies, they said that their pastors had become too political. These pastors had exchanged expounding the Word of God for political ideology and social leveraging rather than the Gospel of repentance.
Other people stated that their once holy sanctuaries had become church meeting halls to discuss environmental issues, political affiliations and unjust wars throughout the world. They felt these issues in themselves are important, but not at the cost of losing sight of the great commission that Christ gave after His resurrection. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. How can we save those in an unjust war when we are not saved from a Christless eternity? As church leaders and board members allowed the distractions of constitutional rights, minority group complaints, and migrant displacement to take over the church’s agendas, it was felt there was no reason to attend church because if these things were important to the individual, there were local organizations and meeting halls that were already available for people to take part in. Rom. 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
This gospel of humanism created a vacuum in the hearts of the once faithful in Christ, resulting in the loss of volunteers and revenue for the local church. All these events gave way to the inevitable closures of churches. When the local church members, who were once the backbone of the community, began to leave, so did the support systems that all the members were involved with, begin to shut down. The local assembly that once fed the children in the neighbourhood (because it was the compassion of those church members to take part in that needed ministry) was now putting bars on the windows to protect the little that remained. The weekend working bees that were once easily organized to help the elderly and single moms clean up their yards, pick up extra food, and participate in community services had become a lamenting memory of what used to be. When God was first in their lives, sharing God’s love was the priority, but when the Gospel was put aside for political rhetoric, life lost its shine. Hag. 1:6 You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through. 7 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.”
When we minimize the view that we have of God, then our souls are not as sensitive to hearing His guiding voice. Deut. 1:43 So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country. When we prioritize the events of life over God, we will end up with a very thin view of God. This is why the Psalmist continually pointed out the importance of coming together to magnify the Lord and proclaim His goodness. Psalm 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. When we have a thin view of God, everything around us becomes opaque and insipid. Only God can bring the colour back into the lives of people’s hearts. There is a need for honest metanoia and a return to the first love that we once walked in. Rev. 2:4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works. But if not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you should repent.
If you find yourself in a place where you are lost in the overwhelming events of these precarious times, then stopping and letting the great Shepherd find you would be the wisdom of the day. If endless arguments about political affiliations and human rights have replaced your quiet times of prayer with God, then being still and knowing that you are not God and cannot fix every problem on earth would be wise. If your shoulders are carrying the weight of the world, then it might be time to exchange that weight for the yoke of the Lord Jesus. Matt. 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The Lord said that He wanted our fruit in Him to remain in this world and do the good that it was designed to do. If we let it, the God-inspired fruit of our lives will come from our relationship with the creator of all, and we will no longer have a thin view of God, but a vibrant and active life in the events of eternity. When we magnify the Lord, we make Him bigger than anything that can threaten us in this life. Christ is greater than the systems and much more superior to those who run them. We will be known by the fruit of our lives. What will be gleaned and harvested from your life?
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