Beware of the Howling Church Wolves.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits." MT 7:15
Wolves can be scary beasts. Who are the wolves in your life? Perhaps you sit beside one in church and it occasionally shows its face when you disagree with it? Maybe you have experienced an entire congregation of wolves. They smile and sing "This Little Light of Mine" only to have bitter tasting poisonous fruit. You can almost see it in their eyes, much like werewolves in the movies who smile but they have that look in their eyes.
I wonder where did we lose the love? Didn't Jesus make the message simple? I know for myself that I believe in a God of love, yet I too behave like a ravenous wolf at times. Sometimes my fruit isn't too ripe for consumption. Isn't the message that God loves humanity so much that God restores humanity to Godself? How did this wonderful message get so distorted? Why does the message get so distorted?
If we are not careful it is easy to bump into a wolf. Interesting, wolves function as social predators and hunt in packs organized according to a strict social hierarchy. Hmmm… This social structure allows the wolf to take prey many times its size. Hmmm...The size of the pack changes during the year. New packs are formed when a wolf leaves its birth pack and claims a territory. Wolves searching for other wolves with which to form packs can travel very long distances in suitable territories. You may not be surprised to learn that wolves howl more frequently when they have something to protect, such as a border of their territory.
I recall the young mother of two, who had encountered a man in her "bible study" who assured her that if her husband did not "accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior" that he would be consumed in the fires of hell. She was new to the Christian faith and was devastated by this news. In my opinion she had encountered her first false prophet. How can I tell? His fruit. He wore sheep’s clothing yet he was ready to "speak for God" as a ravenous wolf. Jesus taught that the law was summed-up in love of God and neighbor. In MT 24:12, Jesus teaches that false prophets have cooled the love of one’s neighbor.
I think of some of the false prophets I’ve encountered. There they were appearing gentle and meek looking like sweet sheep, yet their fruit was unhealthy and if consumed it would take one’s life. Fruit should give life and nourishment to one’s soul. What are some of those false prophecies or who are the false prophets that claim to speak for God but inwardly they are like wild, starving wolves? If the fruit is not love, there is a good chance you are dealing with a false prophet. If the fruit is fear, intimidation, and manipulation there is a good chance you are dealing with a false prophet.
When the wolves are howling all around, trust in the lamb of God.
4 Comments:
Great words, Rick.
When you ask, "where did we lose the love?", I personally keep coming back to the simple realization that my generation often needs to feel love before they do anything about it. When, in actuality, love is all about the doing and the going and the sacrificing - and the "feeling" love will come later. Or maybe not at all, but that's not our concern. Jesus called us to follow his radical way, and he'll fill in the details for us from there - even if that means we never say a word about him. Like the operative word "if" in this verse.. (which could be sermon series all to itself)
"And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. (1 Peter 3:15-16)"
But it's so much easier to be a wolf. To stay in the pack and make fun or minimize what other people are doing. To preach hell and damnation, all the while not realizing that our own ass is smokin'.
"So I Go"s comment about love triggered the thought of a song by Ken Medema, where he talks about love. A couplet from it says a lot:
I've heard it said that love's a feeling
But this is only just the start
'Cause feelings change as fast as weather
And love's a matter of the mind and will,
A matter of the head and heart...But that's another blog entry, by itself...
Talking about wolves in the church would be yet another whole blog entry for me...but it always hurts me when I encounter them. First, because they tend to do hurtful things to those around them, but secondly, because it says that (at some level) the Church (and I) have failed to communicate the love of Christ to them.
But you give some great words on how to deal with the wolves once they're around, brother. And they are around...one of my favorite Luther quotes is that wherever God plants a church, the Devil plants his own chapel next door.
this post reminds me of that republican commercial right before the election in november. it seems ironic to me. who's who in the book of wolves... being a fruit inspector isn't always easy work is it?
Fruit inspector? You wouldn't be inspecting my fruit, would you? :)
I try to keep the focus on my fruit, unless of course someone is being
bitten by a wolf. I meet alot of those folks in my ministry, people who have
been devoured by wolves and are in great pain as a result. I am amazed how
much a part of the church sits by and allows others to be severely hurt. It
reminds me of Jesus healing folks on the Sabbath, the devoutly religious
"followed the law" and allowed humanity to suffer at the hands of religion.
Thank God Jesus was willing to show a "better"way, of course he died for it
and maybe that is why we won't follow him, we don't want to die at the hands
of the religious establishment. :)
Thaks for sharing your thoughts.
Rick
Post a Comment
<< Home