Sometimes when we fall on a passage of the Bible, we wonder why God sounds so harsh, especially on His own children. My brother, my sister, God is perfect, fair, just and demanding: ‘But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more w…ill be required’ (Luke 12:48). The question is simple: do you know what you need to do or not as a Christian and are you doing it or not? This is clear.
Today’s passage teaches us that the judgement of God will begin at the altar, which represents the very place the people of God that we are expected protection and blessings from Him. My friend, let’s not take the things of God lightly: we are individually will be held responsible for what we have or what we do as Christians. If you are blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, know that the Lord expects you to use these well to glorify Him and help others before yourself. Unfortunately, so many believers have gone to church without embodying what Church truly means. It is therefore important for us to go back in history and see how the early New Testament church looked like: they lived communally and often shared resources such as food, their personal goods and money (Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32-36). Their services consisted mainly of preaching and the singing of songs. They took offerings to support the journeys of their missionaries, and they performed baptisms. Also, the early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper each time they gathered together. Looking at that, can we say this is still true in our churches?
Today people go to church with personal ambitions and agendas, a shopping list of prayers… always stretching their hands to ask, ask and ask… This is not the church Jesus established. The church Jesus established is a place of communion, a place of sharing, a place of love. Let’s not forget that Jesus, the Head of the Church will return soon and while He is absent, the Bible says nowhere that He is blind or deaf. My friend, let’s return to our first love, the love of Christ… that will help us behave in His Church as true Christians should. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.