Ephesians Anonymous

"Hello. My name is Dave and I'm an Ephesian."

At the end of December, I was at the Onething Conference in downtown Kansas City, put on by IHOP. As is sometimes the case with me, it has taken about 2 months for the profundity of a word spoken by one of the guest worship leaders to really sink in. The scripture he read was taken from Revelation 2:1-5, as Christ speaks to the church of Ephesus:

"These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up under suffering for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you: that you have abandoned the love you have at first. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent, and do the things you did at first."

There is such a profound difference between saying "no" to the world and saying "yes" to the Kingdom. Discerning false doctrine, calling out phony apostles, even enduring suffering for righteousness' sake - these are not necessarily the same as saying "yes" to loving a man named Jesus. Consider the height from which we have fallen! Consider the gap between being "accurate" and burning in sincere love for one another and for our God!

What have I come to believe about God's intentions for my life? I think (like many) I've come to believe that the Lord is all about demolition. Sin must be crushed in my life. My flesh must be subdued. False doctrine must be exposed. Unbiblical teaching must be uprooted from the church. I must avoid the pitfalls of counterfeit revelation. I must be de-programmed from the world's poisonous rules and ways. I must take every thought captive and tear down every pretension that sets itself against the mind of Christ. "Jesus, come and destroy everything that hinders love in me." In other words, God is all about demolition.

But demolition is only the first step. There is a real Kingdom that needs building, and clearing the forest of my flesh only serves to make room for the building project. It doesn't actually stack any bricks.

I feel like a great part of my life thus far has been about the demolition. It's been a sort of "de-toxing." Rejecting the bondage of the world and the church. Like Ephesus, I've learned to say "no," and I'm hanging on in patient endurance. But when does construction begin? There's a Kingdom to be built in my heart! Tearing down occurs to make room for building up. It's a cycle, and I feel like the Lord has begun to finally lead me into a season where he is building something in me, not just tearing something down.

I find it fascinating that Christ goes on to offer this particular promise to the Ephesian church:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes I will grant to him to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God."

At the end of the day, when all has been tested by fire and the chaff is burned away, it's about a feast. We will eat, taste, and participate. We will say yes to an invitation into a Kingdom called "Paradise."