Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. -Revelation 2:4
What or who is your first love? The perfect Sunday School answer is Jesus. Of course, that is right, but is it truth in your life? Which Jesus do you love? Most of the church world loves first the Jesus of Mark 1-7. This is the Jesus of miracles and engaging stories. The mounting excitement of this Jesus drew huge crowds and got the attention of the community leaders. As you read Mark’s account, it is breathless and exciting. Great things are in store. While Jesus does have some jealous enemies, they are mostly on the periphery. We love this Jesus. Here we get everything without cost and life is glorious. But then in Mark 8, there is a shift.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
We want to experience healings and have lives of ease. But suddenly there is a cost to this new life. Many of the crowd start to desert him at this point. Jesus did not come to give us a life of stormless living. Yes, those good things are possible. But He came to help us understand that the Father is sovereign, and He will have His way. He will teach us lessons whether we want those lessons or not. He does this because He loves us. I realize this is hard to believe when you are hurting.
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”- Isaiah 41:10-13
For many in the church, we speak with our mouths that God is sovereign whenever he is doing the expected. When our favorite sports team wins, or our preferred political party is in power, then we loudly proclaim that God is in control. However, did it ever dawn on you that God is just as much in control of the situation when you are feeling loss?
Now I don’t always, and if I am completely honest, I rarely really understand the reasons behind why God does stuff. He seems to have a mind of His own and unless it directly impacts me, He does not typically ask me my opinion. From before creation to the present day and beyond; God has been running things and doing a mighty fine job. Today, though, we have preachers who tell us that we can tell God what to do. “Just claim your healing!” “Name what you want, and you can claim it.”
I once knew a couple who attended a church with this perspective and when their daughter became sick, they were not allowed to grieve or even share their pain. They had to claim the healing day after day, week after week. This couple was faithful to that call. The preacher directed them to show their faith through their donations to the church. They did that. In fact, they were willing to sell everything they owned and give it all to the church. The daughter died before the sale went through. Now get this, the church told them that they must have lacked the faith. Others told them that their daughter had some unconfessed sin which is why she did not experience the healing. This couple had built the foundation of their faith on a lie and now that foundation was shaken. The other children stepped into rebellion and walked away from the God that never heals.
God is sovereign anyways.
