Follow the Lamb - 21 Day Study on the Book of Revelationနမူနာ

Day 17: Babylon in the Seven Churches

Scripture Reading:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

- Mark 13.30 (NRSV)

There are a lot of memes around with the words 'You had one job…’, followed by a photo of something badly done; bananas labelled ‘yellow long things’, a slice of cheese stuck on the outside of a burger, the handle of a mug on the inside of the mug. Christians have one job: to follow the Lamb, to put our faith in Christ and be actively obedient to him. Scripture tells us we can’t serve two masters (Matthew 6.24). When Bob Dylan became a Christian in 1978, his first post-conversion hit was ‘You Gotta Serve Somebody’, with the chorus ‘It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody’. We live in Babylon, in a corrupt and fallen world, unlike the coming New Jerusalem, where everyone is worshipping 24/7, and there is no evil by which to be tempted. In this world, we need to be continually asking the Holy Spirit for discernment as we make daily decisions about where we spend our money and time, what we say, with whom we associate and how. God has placed us where we are, in our corner of Babylon, for a reason. He chose not to make us like the angels, merely spiritual beings, but to give us bodies, to have us live out our lives at this specific place and time, to minister in his name. But we have dual citizenship, for we are citizens of heaven too, and our job is to start planting the Kingdom of Heaven here, in readiness for, as Tolkien says, The Return of the King.

It is easy to lose our focus. So often, we see people leave churches not because they have a faith crisis or issues with the church, but because they are increasingly distracted by the secular world. There is a footy match on, or family visiting, or it’s too cold or too hot. Coming to worship isn’t a Sunday-by-Sunday decision. It’s non-negotiable. We need to ‘power up’ by joining with fellow believers, praising God together, listening to God’s word unpacked, sharing Communion, and praying together. Not meeting together makes us prey to temptation, a distraction from God’s purpose in our lives, and means we are not putting God first. We miss out on encouragement, support, and fellowship from our sisters and brothers in Christ, and the rest of the week can be an uphill battle, a bit like not charging your phone and wondering why it’s not working.

Some things to think about:

1. Have you ever had to decide between serving God and your job/sport/social life?
2. What are some ways God calls us to get out into our community to serve him?
3. What is the aspect of going to church that excites you the most?

Prayer:

God of heaven and earth, I thank you for the honour of being your hands and feet in my community. I thank you for giving me my church family. I ask for wisdom in my use of time and resources. In Jesus’ name. Amen.