Today's Scripture Reading (January 28, 2025): Numbers 18
He spoke to a group of church leaders. To be brutally honest, I am not sure why I was even there. I wasn't a pastor; in fact, at the time, I had no idea I would ever be a pastor or church leader. I was an older teenager who dreamed of being a doctor or maybe a research psychologist. That was where I thought my life was heading. And to top it off, I didn't even like this pastor who was speaking to this group of church leaders. I had been part of his church, and I felt he was too full of himself to make a real difference in the world around him. I remember being in the hospital when he came to visit me. But when he discovered that my parents weren't around, it was apparent he had no time for me. I am not even sure that he knew my name. He was destined for big things, and talking to a teenager wouldn't get him there.
But he was chosen to speak to this group of leaders, and part of his conversation was to tell us about the interview he had with the church I had once attended. I wasn't invited to that meeting, so all of this was news to me. In his address, he told us that he threatened to turn down the offer to come to the church if certain things were not addressed; all of his demands were cosmetic. The church I was attending was a downtown, historic church. The problem was that most of the people attending the church drove into the church from their comfortable homes in the suburbs.
I remember the houses that once surrounded the church, which the church had purchased and torn down to expand their parking. They all were broken-down hulks that had long ago seen their better days. And, to be honest, so had the church. Structurally, it seemed fine, at least to the teenager I was, but there was no doubt that several of the rooms needed a fresh paint job and probably some new flooring. And these were the items that had to be updated if we expected this pastor to grace us with his presence. And this was the story this pastor had chosen to share with a room full of strangers.
He was right, although I am not sure I would have made such a public declaration of his interview demands. However, while I agreed with what he was saying, I was unsure that our reasons matched. I think he felt that the changes were needed to be worthy of him and his plans for the church. For me, it was because I firmly believed that the church belongs to God, and how we care for the church building is part of our testimony about how we feel about God.
God makes it clear that the Levites were in charge of the upkeep of the sanctuary and the altar. And while the Levites might have been responsible for the work, all of Israel was responsible for bearing the upkeep cost through their tithes and offerings. The Tabernacle and Temple both went through periods when the upkeep was delayed because the people were no longer thinking about the things of God. As a result, even if the Levites were willing, the money wasn't available. However, one of the themes we see during the days of revival in Israel was that the Temple was one of the first things to benefit, as people began to care once more about the physical condition of God's house.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 19
No comments:
Post a Comment