Mostly Dead

Have you ever watched the movie The Princess Bride? In the movie there is a scene where the hero Wesley appears to be dead and the comment is made that in fact "he’s only mostly dead". An explanation is given - “mostly dead” means “slightly alive”. I was thinking that as a whole this is a pretty good description of where most churches and believers have found themselves. We call ourselves a Christian nation yet when I look around at our culture I realize we are as far from Christian as we can get - from advertisements to news to movies to how we dress, and on and on.

I believe the Church has lost much of its effectiveness because we have become so tangled in religion that we have forgotten that it is about a relationship, not rules. With all of our judgmental attitudes toward sin, or should I say toward sinner, it is no wonder so many people want nothing to do with church or Christians. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying rules are not important or that sin is not sin. I’m saying that right behavior and obedience to the commands of the Bible can only sprout from a true and living relationship with God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.

If we are not careful to cultivate our relationship with God we will find ourselves "fully dead" and have no impact on our world. In the book of Revelation the letter to the church in Ephesus says this: “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: 2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. 7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God. - Revelation 2:1-3 (NLT)

As the letter begins it sounds good. The church at Ephesus is commended for their hard work, endurance and lack of tolerance for evil. Good so far, right… but then in verse 4 we see the kicker, “You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” Wow, what a scathing comment! For a more personal example imagine coming home after a long day at work and having your wife of husband say: “Honey, you don’t love me like you used to!” That is what God is saying in this verse. No matter how well you get the religion stuff right, if you don’t love Him and your fellow man then you are missing the bigger picture.

Now let me say this - we should not confuse love with tolerance of sin. The two are not the same, nor are they in opposition to each other. Jesus could not stand sin but he loved people and wanted to see their lives change. He took them where they were and loved them into relationship. Matthew 22:36-40 says: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

So with all that said, how do we transform ourselves from “MOSTLY DEAD” to FULLY ALIVE? Simple - by cultivating our relationship with God, and loving Him with all our heart, soul and strength. When we do that all the rules and commands of the Bible become second nature. Those around us see the transformation and want to be ALIVE like we are.