'I CAN'T STAND YOUR RELIGIOUS MEETINGS!" -  GOD

 

 

 Most Christians say they believe the Bible. Some say every word of it was God-breathed, others take a more liberal view, arguing that much has been lost in translation and culture across the centuries. I tend to think that if you know the author you’re not likely to go far wrong when it comes to understanding the values of the heavenly kingdom that God’s people belong to – which I suggest is what the Bible is all about in the first place.

 

I think that’s what Jesus tried to communicate one day when he was frustrated by the Pharisees; I sometimes imagine I can hear him inwardly groan as he said, ‘You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life’ – another way of saying that words alone lead to loveless, mechanical legalism.

 

Another result of feeding on dry words is that you tend to ignore the bits you don’t like, or don’t understand, or make you feel you’re being ‘got at.’ Take for example Jesus’ statement; ‘On judgment day many will tell me, “Lord, we prophesied in your name, we cast out demons in your name, we performed miracles in your name.” But I will reply, “I never knew you.”’

 

Now, I don’t claim to fully understand that one, but what’s clear is that the people he was referring to were doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons; because they didn’t really know the author.

 

This time of year another insight into the heart of the Divine spoken by the old prophet Amos springs to mind. Listen to this: ‘I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects and your pretentious slogans... I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice – oceans of it. I want fairness – rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want.’

 

The marching season; it’s all about defending the faith. Up and down the land there are religious meetings, conferences and conventions, religion projects, pretentious slogans goals, noisy ego-music; and the great God of heaven weeps; ‘When did you last sing to me?’ he says. ‘I’ve no interest in all this stuff! All I want is for your lives to be characterised by fairness and justice!’

 

The inescapable conclusion seems to be that if the prophet was accurately representing the heart of God in his detestation of religious meetings and the like, there are few who could accept such a God, so that little bit is conveniently ignored, and his true character is distorted another little bit. But what I don’t think I’ll ever understand is how men who claim to be defenders of the faith can commit their lives to something that the God they claim to love finds so totally abhorrent.

 

As for me, I just love the simplicity of God’s desire for his creation; ‘Justice – oceans of it. Fairness – rivers of it. That's what he wants. That's all he wants.’