Lent Day 17: Not as the World Sees, the Letter to the Church at Philadelphia

Do you consider yourself strong?

If you do, what makes you strong?

Is it your muscles, are you physically strong?

Is it your brain, are you intellectually strong?

Is it your bank account, are you economically strong?

Is it your job description, are you positionally [not a word but it does convey my point] strong?

If you are any of these, I am sorry to say but your strength is fleeting. You will be fired, or quit or retire and the job you worked so hard for or worked so long for will be gone. Your money will one day run out, either because you give it away or you spend it or it is stolen from you. Your brain will one day not be as strong as it is today, you may forget things, or you may get a neurological disease, and even if nothing negative happens sooner or later the only thing it will be good for will be beating other old people as chess. Your muscles will one day atrophy, if not in your bed than in your coffin.

Sorry to be a downer, but I am just stating facts. Facts that Jesus has been attempting to get through to us since the Sermon on the Mount, where are we storing our treasures. And it is a point that he attempts to underline in Revelation.

In the letter to the Church at Philadelphia (3:7-13) Jesus speaks words of life to a small weak church. Well, weak in the world's eyes at least. They are small and weak [in the world's eyes] yet they hold true while those that are bigger and stronger fall by the wayside. Because of this, those who are bigger and stronger will one day fall down at the church's feet.

Jesus opened a door that cannot be closed so that the weak may enter.

We talked several blogs ago about Jesus and the upside-down kingdom. Then we talked about it in terms of wealth and poverty, what looked like riches was impoverished and what looked like poverty was in reality wealth. Here we see that what looks like strength is fleeting and what looks like weakness ultimately overcomes.

The Church in Philadelphia was not the biggest or strongest or wealthiest. They didn't have the best worship or the coolest building. There pastor wasn't well known and there worship leader sang off-key. If you walked past the church you may have wondered why they were still there, why they even bothered to keep the doors open. The mega-church down the street had the cool speaker and newest technology. The church across town had a better youth ministry, and children's ministry, and nursery. The church in the next town over had the imposing building and imposing budget.

Yet Jesus saw the strength in the small, saw the perseverance in the weak. Why?

Because the church at Philadelphia didn't lose faith, they didn't give up, and hence Jesus wouldn't give up on them. The door was open and it would not close. I pray that we would find the strength of faith, the strength of belief so that in the moments when the pressure mounts, the dark clouds roll in, the winds howl and the storms come we stand firm in the knowledge that we are never alone.

Peace and Love,
Pastor K