Will It Last?

“For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18, ESV)

I used to say that I would never buy a Ford from a Chevy dealer, nor a Chevy from a Ford dealer. I figured that if a person had received good service from a car, he would get another one like it. But, as a coworker pointed out, I was assuming that people look for quality. In truth most are buying style, not quality. That statement holds true for far more than cars.

When it comes to religion, many are more interested in style than in truth.

What are we seeking when we assemble for worship -- a feeling, an emotional experience, or truth?

If you seek experiences – something you can touch, taste, or see, you can get that in lots of places. But, as the above quoted text points out, the empirically tangible is doomed from the start. The great and lasting realities are not the ones we experience with our senses. It is not the message delivered with a pyrotechnic show that lasts. Do not look for the church with music that makes your ears ring. Look for the church that teaches the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

About thirty years ago, the wife of a certain televangelist was quoted as having said, “It feels so good, I don’t care if it is true.” She died about a dozen years ago. Shall I put it plainly? I think I should. Unless she repented of it, she will have an eternity in which to regret that ungodly attitude.

Jesus was about truth, not style. He wants us to feel strongly about the truth, once we know it is truth. He does not want us to believe or to proclaim something because it feels good to us.

The true faith (like many truths) will hurt at first, but feel good, eventually and eternally. A feel-good faith will leave you empty for eternity.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6-8, ESV; see also Rom 1:18-2:8 and 2 Thess 2:1-12)