church::gym entry 15

there is this guy at the gym who gets on this climbing machine every morning. he has worked out on it every day for over a year- but he doesn’t seem to be making any progress. he doesn’t seem to be working out that hard. he’s not sweating- he carries on conversations while he rides it. he gets tired, but he doesn’t get any closer to his goal.


I was watching his do this again today and thinking about my own work out regime- I get sweaty every day and still seem to make only a little bit of progress. as I was running along on the elliptical machine I couldn’t help but think that he and I are doing something wrong- and if we just asked a coach for help we could probably do much better.


and I started thinking about the many, many religious people in the world. so many are just like my gym-buddy and i: working and working, but never get any nearer to their goal; fasting and praying and reading and serving and abstaining, but never getting any closer to God; never becoming more godly. its seems that they are in the same boat as me: something’s not right. they’re doing something wrong. they need a coach to help them see it all differently. maybe they are like me and my gym-buddy: working and working, but never seeing any results.


with God, its not how much sweat you put into it, it’s the attitude that you have;
its the position that you take.


david said it in psalm 51: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”


Samuel said in 1 Samuel 15, “does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
for rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”


in amos God says, “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
but let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”


it seems that God would rather have justice than worship services and humility rather than sacrifices.


and it seems that we get near God not necessarily by working for God, but humbling ourselves; by having a broken spirit; by making sure that no one is being exploited or mistreated.
we get nearer to God by associating with the lowly of the world.


david said, "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."


if the LORD is near the broken-hearted, then maybe we are closest to Him when we are closest to them.


I wonder if my gym-buddy and I really did learn the secrets of reaching our goals if we would actually do them. or would we just keep doing our routine and tell ourselves that it will pay off eventually?


I wonder if the religious really knew that God would much rather me take care of the sick and hungry than be a good Christian (or good catholic or good whatever) if we rally would? or would we just go back to our routine and tell ourselves that its all paying off- a little at a time?


Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice. 'For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."


maybe we have spent so much effort being religious, that we have forgotten that we are actually the sick in need of a doctor. maybe we have spent so much time telling ourselves that we are righteous that we have forgotten that we’re really the sinners that Jesus is calling to come near to Him.