I was battling some apathy the other morning so I asked God to wake me up through meditating on a section of Scripture. The Old Testament book of Haggai immediately came to mind.
I read through the first chapter. After reading a vivid description of apathy, I read this in vv 13-14 - “Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to his people, “I am with you,” declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God.”
The people of God drifted toward apathy regarding God’s honor and purposes in the world. At that point in time, God’s honor was seen and experienced in the temple. Instead, the people drifted toward only focusing on themselves. In 1:4, Haggai shares, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in the paneled houses while this house (the temple) remains a ruin?”
In other words, he was asking "do you only care about yourselves?"
God then addressed these people through his messenger Haggai and God stirred up their apathetic spirits toward his purposes in the world.
What are some ways that the church needs to hear this word today?
In what ways, do we merely care for our own private worlds as opposed to responding to God’s invitation to participate in what he is doing in our community and the world?
Does this reminder stir you? It stirs me up.
No comments:
Post a Comment