To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

 

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  "It is written," he said to them, " ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’"

    The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

   "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
      "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
   "’From the lips of children and infants
      you have ordained praise’?"

    And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany , where he spent the night.

 

Jesus was not happy.  As He stepped into the Court of the Gentiles outside the Temple in Jerusalem , the scene before Him infuriated Him.  The Court was crowded, even more so than usual, because it was the week before Passover.  Huge crowds of people had gathered to worship, including the Gentiles who came from all over the known world to worship God.  Because they had traveled long distances, they needed to purchase animals for the sacrifices.  The local Jews saw this as a good money-making opportunity, in two ways.  First of all, the only money accepted within the Temple confines was Temple currency — special tokens that had to be obtained from money changers.  The money changers played on the ignorance of the people, inflating the rate of exchange and pocketing the difference.  And, of course, the sellers of animals did the same, charging outrageous prices for the sacrificial animals.  Instead of enhancing the worshipful atmosphere of the Temple , these people had turned the house of God into a "den of robbers."  By their very actions… by their attitude… in fact, by their very presence… they were hindering the worship of the people who came there seeking God.

 

In so many churches today, we find the same type of hindrance to worship… activities and attitudes that, by their very presence, distract, dissuade and deter people who come to seek God.  Take a look at your church…  If a stranger walked in, would he or she immediately sense the presence of God?  Or would that person find, instead, a "den of robbers" like Jesus found in the Temple ?  Is the atmosphere filled with the Holy Spirit’s presence in the attitudes of the people and in the activities?  Or is it not much different from the outside world, or… possibly… worse? 

 

Now, this doesn’t mean that everyone has to walk around looking like they’re sucking on a pickle!  Or that people can’t talk and fellowship during appropriate times… or that a church bookstore is a bad thing… it simply means that whatever goes on within the confines of a church building should be those things that enhance the worship experience of those attending, not hinder it.

 

If you find that, upon examination, your church is among those whose tables need to be turned over, pray about what you can do to help right the situation.  We all need to make sure that our churches reflect Jesus… rather than being a poor reflection of the world.

 

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!" Matthew 7:21-23 NIV