The
Church: in Service to Humanity
By Stephen
Terry
Commentary
for the November 24, 2012 Sabbath School Lesson
“A
great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the
moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” Revelation
12:1, NIV
Revelation’s beautiful image of the church is easy to
love. It is the image God shares with the Apostle John on the island of Patmos.
God loves His church and clothes it with His grace. He has granted to the
church the tremendous blessing of proclaiming His grace to the world. This does
not mean that He has placed the church in control of events that will unfold in
the days ahead. He continues to rule over times and events which are dependent
on His wisdom and judgment. Nevertheless, He has chosen to make the church
participatory in final events. Like the children of Israel who wandered through
the wilderness on route to the Promised Land, we also are guided by God’s hand
as we traverse the chaos of these last days. However, just as those desert
wanderers were divided in their understanding of what course to follow, we
often have two competing paradigms for the church and its purpose. While both
paradigms may appear biblical, their results or “fruits” (Matthew 7:20) can be
very dissimilar.
Some see the church as a fortress against the corruption
and sin of the world. For some of these individuals, the walls of the fortress
can never be too high. Putting on the “whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6), they eagerly
mount the battlements, sword of the Word in hand to jab any questionable
individual who comes too near. For some this sword is the Bible, for others it
is the writings of Ellen White. In either case, those who see themselves in the
fortress paradigm use their swords to smite sin wherever they feel it is
revealed. With gusto, they thrust forward to the very depth of joints and
marrow (Hebrews 4:12). Searching the face for signs of heart ache, they try to
determine if they have made a telling and mortal blow against sin. If the
person should perish in the process, at least sin will not raise its head a
second time. (Nahum 1:9)
Knowing that the world would never tolerate such
behavior, these warriors perform much of their work behind the walls of the church.
Protected by the fortress they “spare not” (Isaiah 58:1) as they pursue sin in
all of its imaginable forms. Although Isaiah 58 is about compassion and mercy,
that message is sometimes lost in the fortress paradigm. Too many wounded have eventually
found themselves outside the castle walls with no desire to ever return. This
is not because they do not love Jesus. Rather it is because they cannot
understand His followers or see that love in their actions.
Rarely do the castle’s warriors sally from the fortress.
They are too busy cleaning up all the sin inside. Even when they cannot find
any remaining visible sin, they continue to watch one another with eagle eye
lest some sinful phrase or action might manifest itself in their ranks. On the
rare occasions when someone seeks entry to the fortress, even if it is from
another fortress, the visitor is closely examined at the gate for signs of a
sinful threat. If possible, those signs are ferreted out before entry. But if
granted entry, even then, those fortunate few will be watched, perhaps for
generations, before they are fully assimilated. Needless to say, population
growth is not a problem for these fortresses. In fact, some face issues with
population decline. This can be problematic for the fortress.
A proper fortress is expensive to maintain. It requires
capital and labor to keep the tower, battlements and gate in good working
order. If the population declines too much, the fortress cannot be maintained
and must be abandoned. Although the warriors see their primary purpose as
fighting sin, they also know there is no honor in losing the castle. Just like secular
armies, it sometimes becomes necessary to sacrifice quality for quantity. Through
periodic enrollment campaigns, they are forced to invite strangers into the
castle in order to fill vacancies in the ranks. While they are nowhere near the
standards expected by the warriors, they are nonetheless tolerated as long as
they do not flag in their responsibilities and take days off for holidays like
Christmas or Easter. Sin is relentless and can even slip in during these
occasions. On occasion these recruits fail under scrutiny and are expelled.
When that happens there is much agonizing about whether or not the recruits are
being properly vetted. Sadly, this is often the only question the warriors ask
about their own conduct concerning the failed recruit.
Most individuals probably tend to give these fortresses
a wide berth. After all, most of us don’t fancy dropping by the local police
station or court for a friendly visit. We are all too conscious of our own sins
and shortcomings to want to do that. How much more so if we can be reasonably
sure those faults will be assaulted and exploited? No, we need something different
to feel comfortable entering the church. We need a paradigm of invitation as opposed
to a paradigm of exclusion. Instead of seeing the church primarily as a
fortress, maybe we should see it as a hospital.
Many
people willingly enter a hospital. They know they have a problem and they want
it fixed or at least tended to. Sometimes those treatments can be very
difficult. Chemotherapy or surgery is not like putting on a bandage or simply
getting a few stitches to close a wound, but because we know we need it, we are
willing to undergo even the most painful treatments in hope of a cure. Even amputation
becomes acceptable when the situation warrants it. (Matthew 18:8-9) Unlike the
castle defender that is constantly seeking hidden sins, the doctor of the
hospital paradigm has a much easier time dealing with sin as those afflicted
seek him out for treatment of their illness (Matthew 4:23-24). They know that
the hospital is all about healing rather than slaying, so they come
confidently, even boldly (Hebrews 4:16), seeking treatment.
While fortresses have to be concerned with admitting an
adequate number to continue to exist, hospitals never run out of new
admittances. Hospitals tend to grow over time as more and more individuals come
seeking healing. Those who are healed often encourage their other family members
to seek healing there when they need it. Eventually, entire families come to
know the hospital and experience its healing.
A fortress is meant to protect those inside from harm, but
a hospital is meant to grant access to the most skilled healer there, the
Physician. All the other staff persons are there for one over-riding purpose,
to enable others to experience healing at the hands of the Physician. They do
not do the healing. They know that only the Physician has the understanding and
skill to provide complete healing. Humbly they defer to Him and do not interfere
with the healing process.
The Physician interacts with every patient. Some require
more from Him than others, but to each He gives everything they need for
healing. Perhaps the hardest part for these patients is waiting. Healing can
take time. Illnesses can take weeks, months, even years to heal. Medical
procedures must also be done in the proper order. A patient may ask “Why isn’t
the doctor dealing with this problem? It is so obvious. I don’t know why He
doesn’t heal it right away.”
However, the Physician may know there is an underlying
problem that must be dealt with first or the healing of the obvious one will
not last. Some patients must also first be made strong enough to be able to
handle a difficult treatment. Without being strengthened first, dealing with
the problem could kill them. Other patients may not understand that the obvious
problem is only a symptom and not the disease. Once the disease is cured the
symptom will disappear on its own. As they come to know the Physician, their
trust grows, and they begin to understand these things.
The Physician has only one goal, and that is to heal as
many people as He possibly can. He does not want any to continue to be ill. He
also wants to comfort them as much as possible during the healing process. Here
is where the other hospital workers can play a major role in the healing
process as they demonstrate compassion and understanding so that the patients
can rest comfortably. The character of the hospital staff helps all the
patients to know that they are in caring hands and that even when the Physician
is not physically present they can discern His Spirit of healing in their
actions. All look forward to that day when they can sit down at a meal together
with the Physician with all memory of disease far behind them. “And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things
are passed away.” Revelation 21:4, NIV
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Waters Ministry
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