See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey…
-Matthew 21:5
Just a few decades ago people were seemingly content with their “fifteen minutes of fame.” That’s no longer the case. We live in an age of people who are famous for nothing more than being famous. We live in a time of self-promoting social media influencers, like Mr. Beast, with their own agendas and channels. As the infamous quote goes, “Never before has a generation so diligently recorded themselves accomplishing so little.” We live in what future generations might appropriately deem the “narcissistic spotlight era.”
The biblical concept of not conforming to the pattern of the world didn’t spontaneously emerge when Paul wrote it in Romans 12:2. The divine warning of not being tempted by and consumed with the transient and temporal didn’t first arise when Paul wrote “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” It wasn’t new information or revelation when the incarnate LORD said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Instead, it dates all the way back to Eden when God commanded Adam, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
In establishing the boundary, God wasn’t attempting to stifle humanity’s intellectual or spiritual development. Instead, God established the boundary-of-blessing for our benefit. Our Creator established a boundary where, in our physical representative Adam, all of humanity could either willingly elect to trust and obey God regarding what is good, and live, or, in Adam, elect to make that determination for ourselves and die.
If you’re unfamiliar with how things went down, Genesis 3:1-4 depicts the crafty serpent luring the woman into the first recorded gossip session disguised as a harmless conversation. In 3:5 the serpent calls God’s fidelity and motives into question, stating, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then we read, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.”
Scripture doesn’t state how much time had transpired between when God created Eve from Adam’s side at the end of Genesis 2, and the opening of Genesis 3. What we do know is that the man, Adam, humanity’s representative, failed. He failed in his commission to serve and protect his treasured bride. He stood by idle as the wiley serpent lured her deeper and deeper into temptation, rebellion, and sin. He failed in preserving the boundary God had established, and the result, just as God foretold, was death, i.e. separation from God, our Creator, the divine wellspring of life.
The good news isn’t merely that none of this was a shock or surprise to God, but that despite our willful disobedience, folly, and rebellion, God would HIMSELF provide redemption, reconciliation, and atonement as the Eternal Son, Jesus Christ, the holy and spotless Lamb of God. The Good News is this: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
We undoubtedly live in the “narcissistic spotlight era.” Christians aren’t immune to this pattern of temptation. It has infiltrated many church cultures, where the spotlight is no longer on King Jesus, His mission, or our commission, but instead on us. Churches that pride themselves on their celebrity pastor, a reformed heritage, their denominational distinctives, their numerical growth, or the number of satellite campuses are no better than the one proudly displaying a rainbow flag with a transsexual pastor leading the congregation in “The Sparkle Creed.”
Just like Eve, we’ve been lured by that vulpine viper into destructive discussions as grievous gossips blathering on about social justice, educational reform, doctrinal camps, modes of baptism, and the role of women in the church. Like Eve, we’re now determining for ourselves what looks good, what seems wise, and what is most desirable for us right now.
But unlike Adam, King Jesus isn’t standing idly by. Scripture reveals He is the zealous Bridegroom who sacrificed Himself at the Cross for His Bride’s benefit. Christ is our eternal high priest who is ever interceding for us before the Father in heaven as our anchor behind the veil. The LORD hasn’t left us as widows and orphans, but instead has given us clarity regarding our mission, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
He has sent The Holy Spirit to dwell both in us and among us, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.” And He has commissioned us with His imperative command, “Therefore, having been brought through, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Gathering together doesn’t make us His Church. The demons gather too.
Unity doesn’t make us His Church. Demons are united under the leadership of Satan.
Devotion doesn’t make us His Church. Satan is relentlessly devoted despite knowing how it all ends.
Charity doesn’t make us His Church. Judas wanted to sell Mary's perfume to feed the poor.
Obedience doesn’t make us His Church. Satan and the demons obey Jesus when told to flee.
Belief doesn’t make us His Church. The demons believe and tremble.
Worship doesn’t make us His Church. Israel worshiped plenty while still serving idols.
Being missional doesn’t make us His Church. The Pharisees would cross over land and sea to produce a single convert.
Proclaiming the Gospel doesn’t make us His Church. The demons adamantly exclaimed, “You are the Holy One of God!”
King Jesus said in John 15:14, “You are My friends if you accomplish my mission.” Being Jesus' friend goes well beyond merely obeying His commands. Even the demons do that. What they lack, and what is sorely lacking in many churches today, is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Like the world, we’re so consumed with the spotlight… pastors want the preaching spotlight… performers want the worship spotlight… elders and deacons want the power spotlight… members want the recognition and appreciation spotlight… We're all so distracted and consumed by the spotlight that we’ve completely ignored the Holy Spirit’s desire and mission to testify about Christ in and through His Bride. Many churches and Christians today have completely abandoned our privileged commission to leverage everything to disciple all the nations.
Just days before the Cross, Jesus sent His disciples looking for a specific donkey in a specific location to ride into Jerusalem. “The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.” We don’t know much else about the donkey. We don’t know what happened to the donkey after it served its purpose. There are no churches, doctrines, or church movements named after the donkey. That donkey simply did the job it was created to do and then vanished into glorious anonymity.
King Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The Bride of Christ doesn’t seek the spotlight for herself. She’s not a grumbling doubter or gossip. Her members aren’t a bunch of narcissistic spotlight seekers. Her desire is to honor Him as a living testimony, i.e. witnesses of His goodness and glory. Our task, individually and corporately, is to do the good works that God prepared in advance for us to walk in as our new way of life.
The question is: Does it still need to be about you, or are you more than satisfied to simply have been chosen by the King?
DONKEYS WANTED
Is that you?
Blessings,
Kevin M. Kelley
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