July 31, 2008
I
don’t know about the rest of the world, but in North America, we live in an
“instant” world. Micro-wave popcorn, fast food restaurants, high speed
internet.
We
seem to be unwilling to spend time doing things any more. We want more of
everything and we want it now.
Politicians
don’t worry about the art of oratory any more, they worry about how to get
their message across in a sound bite. A great statesman may never make it to be
elected if he/she doesn’t look right on television or can’t encapsulate a
message in 20 seconds.
It
is like that for many people in their faith walk as well.
A
while back, I read a story about a church in Florida that promises to get you in
and out of “church” in 45 minutes maximum.
In
many congregations, if the sermon is over 20 minutes, or the service starts to
get close to an hour in length, people start to fidget and check their watches.
Many a pastor has heard from upset parishioners come Monday morning for having
the service take too long.
In
my former church we were limited to 30 minutes per sermon, period!
We
cram our faith walk into one rushed hour of our week. Then we wonder if the
Bible is true, because we don’t feel like we are in a relationship with God.
Relationships
take time. If you only spent a maximum of an hour a week with a person, how long
do you suppose it would take to develop an intimate relationship with them?
I’m speaking of true intimacy, not just a quick, casual, physical intimacy.
You
would be hard pressed to develop a relationship or to make it last.
As
we rush through our fast paced lives, we simply want a little bit of Jesus.
Enough to meet our “obligation” feel good and get rid of some guilt. A
little worship, a little offering, a little prayer, a feel good message and off
for the rest of the week.
In
the days of the early church we see a much different story
They
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders
and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were
together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and
goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the
people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
ACTS 2:43-47 NIV
Our
lives today are so different from what God had intended for us. He created us
for eternal fellowship with Him. We read of how He walked with Adam and Elijah.
Of how he spent 40 days and nights with Moses on the mountain.
How
would we react today if God wanted 40 days of our time?
God,
the creator of all things, sent His Son to die for us, so that we could spend
eternity with Him.
Will
you continue to ignore Him or cram Him into an hour a week?
Until
next time, may you be filled with the indescribable joy,
of
an intimate time with God without checking your watch.
God
bless.
Darrel
Mason