I grew up in the 60's and 70's and one of the things I most remember about those years is that they were the psychedelic years. Black lights and posters were available at every record store. It was amazing to watch the glowing colors of those posters come to life when the regular lights were turned off and the black light was turned on. The black light distorted what the eye would see under the illumination of clear, white light.
Many of the dance halls of those days also were filled with black light as people mingled and danced the night away. I used to work repairing and installing the sound systems used by the bands in the early years of the 70's. When I went to the clubs, I did not see it filled with people dancing to the music under what appeared to be a classy room under the distortion of the black lights. What I saw in the cold, harsh light of day was a room painted black, with exposed plumbing and wiring on the ceiling and paint that was stained by the leaks in the roof. Yet if I turned off the lights and turned on the black lights, the room was magically transformed. I could not see the plumbing and wiring or the water stains in the paint. My eyes would be dazzled by the brightly colored fluorescent paints of the posters and other room decorations. Yet, I had seen that room in the light of day and knew that it all was an illusion.
Just the other weekend, I went with some friends to a nearby church's festival for dinner. The grounds were full of happy people with smiles on their faces enjoying life and good food and rides and games. Yet when I really looked, I was stunned by what I saw. There beyond the last food booth selling great ethnic meals was a beer tent. Walking along the craft booths and candy sales booths I spotted the local usher's club holding a raffle. The prize was a wheelbarrow full of 40 bottles of hard liquor. Looking at the rides a little closer I was shocked to be confronted with death heads and occult symbols, skeletons and monsters. The game booths were giving away prizes that little boys wielded with delight; inflatable swords and battle axes with skulls and other occult symbols decorating them.
My eyes were opened and I remembered that I was supposed to be at a church festival, not a midway at the local fair. Yet I could see no difference between the two fairs. I asked a friend I met if they noticed anything unusual about it all, and they did not see anything wrong. I recognized people I knew, good church going people, working in the booths like everything was all right. At that point these words came to me from the Gospel of Mark:
(Mark 11:15) On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, (16) and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. (11:17) And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations' ? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" (18) The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
When I put on God's eyes, I looked on the scene and was appalled that a church was shedding the black light of the world and people were dazzled by what the black light revealed so that they were unable to see what the true, pure light of God revealed.
The thoughts that have filled my mind these past weeks include the following.
1) We as believers and as the Church are called to be light to the world. The light we are to bear is the pure light of Christ, not the black light of Satan.
(1 Th 5:5) You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. (6) So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
We are sons of the Light. Jesus is the Light. We are sons of God, not sons of Satan. Because of this we should gladly bask in the light of the Lord, not slink in the black light of Satan. We know what is right and what is wrong for all is revealed in Scripture. The Word of God is to be a lamp unto our feet so that we do not stumble around in the darkness of the black light of Satan.
Jesus told us that we are to let our lights shine for all men. He told us:
(Luke 8:16) "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. (17) For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
Why is this?
For one thing the light reveals what is hidden by the darkness. Just as when I turned on the work lights in those clubs and was able to see the dirt and grime and ugliness that was not visible in the black lights, so the church needs to shine His Holy light onto the world. The old saying says to clean your own house before looking for dirt in someone else's house, so the churches today need to make sure that they are living out the life they are calling others to live. They need to be living sermons so that others can learn from example instead of their words. I really like the phrase I once read that says "Shut up, I can't hear what you are saying." Too many times our words cover up the real message that we are giving. The actions speak louder than words only when we shut our mouths so that the message of our actions can be heard.
Secondly the light is to be a beacon to lead people out of darkness and into the light. The words of Christ recorded by Luke show this to us. (Luke 8:16) "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. (17) For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
While He walked on the earth, He was the light that showed up the deeds of darkness and He was the beacon calling others to be in His Holy light. When He left this earth to return to heaven, He gave the Church the charge to be that light. When I see a church that allows gambling with a prize of hard liquor, that sells beer on its grounds, that allows children to win prizes that carry images that should be considered unclean by the church, I see a church that is not being a light to the world.
2) We must feel compassion and love for those people in a church that behaves like it is part of the world system. It is not the fault of the sheep if the shepherd leads them astray. For how can someone hear the truth of God's Word unless there is someone to preach it to them?
(2 Tim 3:16) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (17) so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (4:1) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: (2) Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. (3) For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (4) They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Why is it that men will not put up with sound doctrine? Why do they turn from truth to myths? It is because they are taught these things as truth. There is no way a child will sit in a room and learn mathematics without a teacher to teach them. There is no way to learn any skill unless someone is there to teach us, or some book to instruct us. As Christians we are fortunate that we have preacher and teachers to teach us about Christ and we have the Bible to instruct us too. But just as there are wrong ways to teach and learn about math, there are wrong way to learn and teach about God. It is important that we do not blindly follow what is taught because there is a teacher telling us to listen and believe. We may be sheep, but we are not dumb sheep. We are sheep in need of a shepherd to lead us, but we also need to be sheep that have some wisdom to see if the shepherd is leading us over a cliff to our doom. Jesus' words are recorded in Luke 6:40 "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
There was a group back in the first century who are introduced to us in the Bible because they were wise sheep. (Acts 17:11) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Unlike the Bereans, most people do not want to work at relationships, whether with God or with other people. They want relationships to just happen. It is much easier to hear someone tell us what we want to hear instead of the truth. Truth makes us search inside ourselves and exposes our shortcomings so that we will want to grow and change and be molded by the truth. Yet is someone tells us that truth is as we see it, we can feel good about ourselves right where we are without having to change and grow. We get what appears to be the benefits of a relationship without the work that goes with it. Yet this is not the way to a healthy growing relationship. God welcomes our questions and He has provided His Word in the Bible and His wisdom through the Holy Spirit who speaks to our hearts and teaches us through preachers who are devoted to the truth in God's Word. If we blindly accept what we hear about God without asking for proof, we are like those sheep headed over the cliff to ruin and death. Yet if we stop running after the flock to question where we are headed, we will find that we are on a path that leads to life.
3) We must pray for the leaders of these churches to remind them of the responsibility given to them by our Lord to be lights to the world, not lights of the world. And we must approach them in love and the truth of God's Word so they will see their errors and have a chance to repent.
This is the one thing we can do that is good for the flock and for their shepherd. We must pray for guidance for those in leadership. Our prayers should not be about getting a short sermon especially one that does not ask for money. Our prayers should not be about getting teaching that tickles our ears and pleases our senses. Our prayers should not be that our leaders will be wise in the way of the world and of high standing in the world. Our prayers should be for the wisdom and guidance and strength of God to be maninfest in our leaders by their being open to the teachings of God's Word and the inner prompting and life of the Holy Spirit within them.
If we see a brother about to fall, will we not reach out to catch them? Will we just let them fall and then walk over them as we go on in our own lives? Of course we will try to catch them and protect them from harm. Yet we let many of our brothers and sisters follow blind leaders who are leading them through the darkness of black light, all stumbling one after the other. They do not see the cliff that their shepherd is leading them to because he cannot see it either. He is to be their eyes to help them walk without stumbling. We read in Luke 6:39 He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
Our purpose is not to judge others, but to help them. It is a fine line and can be crossed over very easily when we are blinded by our own shortcomings, our own pride, our own ambitions. But if we truly have the other person's best at heart and approach them in honesty and humility desiring only that they shall learn and grow, then we can accept these words that Paul wrote to Timothy as words written for us: (1 Tim 4:6) If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. (7) Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
It is not good for us to blindly teach the myths and old wives' tales. We are to be ministers of the truth, faithful to the spoken and written Word of God. Our love for our brothers and sisters and our love for God are to be what drives us as we approach others. We are to pick up the Word of God and live it, breathe it, know it so that we can use it as a light to shine onto the world. A light to urge others to holy living and a beacon to lead others to Christ.
