Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

It was a beautiful Sunday morning.  The sunshine reflecting through the stained glass windows of our old brick church added to the peace and serenity the hymns had induced. The musical portion of the service had just finished. Leaving the piano bench, I slipped into the comfortably padded pew beside my husband and settled in to hear the words God had inspired our pastor to speak. 

A wonderful, gentle man of God, he had gotten no further than to read his text and say a prayer when a commotion in the center aisle caught my attention. A latecomer, immaculately dressed in glistening white, fumbled his way past those seated at the opposite end of my pew and plopped down right beside me. Close. Too close. Uncomfortably close. As I turned to extend a welcoming, yet hesitant smile to the newcomer, my eyes widened in shock and horror at what I saw. Dressed as an angel of light, the devil had come to church! (II Corinthians 11:14)

I really don’t know why I was so shocked to see him there. Perhaps it was the lack of other parishioners noticing his intrusion. Perhaps it was his elevated comfort level in a place he was heavily outnumbered. Or maybe it was simply the fact I had no idea, not even an inkling, that the evil one was an avid church attendee. In retrospect, I surmise his attendance record exceeds my own extensive one. His behavior indicates otherwise.

Wiggling down to a comfortable position, he settled in for the endurance. I sighed. It was going to be a long service. He had no intention of listening to the God-given words of wisdom coming from the lectern. He had no intention of letting me listen either. No. He’d come with a plan. A purpose. A goal. Sow discord and discontent. Plant seeds of disgust, disappointment, discouragement. He’d come to destroy the body of Christ. (John 10:10; II Corinthians 11:3)

It took him less than a minute to get started. Intermittently pointing around the church, he rained down questions meant to distract and disrupt. Nothing was exempt from his diatribe. Style choices. Unfounded gossip. Alleged marital discord. Obvious absence of disgruntled members. I did my best to ignore him, attempting to focus on the message I came to hear. When the service finally came to a close and the pastor announced the final hymn, I sprang from my seat, relieved as never before to hear a benediction. 

Perhaps my sense of relief was similar in strength to that of Aaron and Hur when the sun set on the battle with Amalek. It had been a long day. Oh, it had started well. Before the sun rose they had accompanied Moses, carrying the staff of God, up to the top of the hill. They had watched as Joshua led the Israelite army into battle. As the sun broke over the hill and a day began to break, fighting ensued. 

By ordinance of Almighty God, the One who fights for His people, it happened that when Moses lifted up his hands holding the staff, Israel would prevail. Only if the staff stayed raised. It was an arduous duty. Moses did the best he could. But he grew tired. His arms fell asleep. It became impossible for him to keep them raised continually. It began to look like Israel would succumb because of Moses’ humanity.  

Aaron and Hur weren’t about to let that happen. They hadn’t narrowly escaped Egyptian captivity only to be plundered and slaughtered before ever seeing the promised land! They hadn’t wakened before dawn, trudged up a hill, and stood watching a harrowing battle just to see their people ransacked and devastated. They weren’t going to stand by and let evil triumph! Looking around, they found a rock. A big one. Big enough to hold a grown man comfortably. Rolling it in place behind Moses, they urged him to sit and rest. Then, taking up stations on either side of him, they held up his hands when he didn’t have the strength to go on. (Exodus 17:8-16)

What if they hadn’t? What if Aaron and Hur had been gossiping about the men below? What if they’d been critiquing their fighting methods? What if they had been arguing over the proper way to fight a war, whose son would marry which daughter, or who acquired the most treasures from Egypt? What if they blamed Moses when his hands became heavy and things went awry? What would have happened to God’s people then if they hadn’t come alongside to aid, support, and strengthen?

What would happen to God’s people now if you did? What if you came alongside the struggling soul with encouragement? What if you reached out in gentleness to concern one caught in the web of sin? What if you became a burden-bearer? What if the only words flowing from your lips were full of compassion, kindness, humility, and patience? What if forgiveness was a first response, not a last resort? What if the community of believers, the people who so loudly profess to know and love Jesus Christ, acted just like Jesus? How would the landscape change if we took good, excellent, perfect care of one another? (I Thessalonians 5:11; Galatians 6:1-2; Colossians 3:12-14; James 4:10-11: I Peter 4:8-9)

I don’t know for certain what would have happened if Aaron and Hur hadn’t come alongside Moses with non-judgmental support. Most of my imaginations end with bone-chilling results. The Exodus account doesn’t seem to disagree. Without Moses’ lifted hands holding up the staff of God, Israel would have lost that battle. On the heels of their glorious deliverance from bondage and miraculous Red Sea crossing, it would have been a tremendous, gut-wrenching loss. 

Our loss will be no less. The evil one is busily, endlessly working to spread discord, division, and discontent among believers. He is spreading rumors and lies, gossip and slander in an effort to cull the flock. He is breeding envy and jealousy, hatred and pride, attempting to create schisms in our ranks. Sometimes it feels like it is working. Churches split. Friends become enemies. Neighbors quit speaking. Families fall apart. It almost seems hopeless. Except it isn’t. 

   The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Roman Christians, exhorts them to live a lifestyle designed to thwart the advances of the evil one. Let your love be true. Hate evil. Cling to good. Be devoted to your fellow believers in brotherly love. Show one another utmost respect and great esteem. Fervently serve God. Rejoice. Persevere. Give. Pray hard. Bless and forgive those who come against you. Share both in celebrations and sorrows. Live peaceably in one accord, never being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21)

At a time when the world is coming against us on every front and evil seems to have set up camp on our very doorsteps, wouldn’t we be blessed to have a community of believers to come alongside and support us, care for us, encourage us when things get too heavy to handle? Wouldn’t it be a blessing, an honor, to be one of those believers who supported, cared for, and encouraged another? Wouldn’t it be amazing to stop the evil one in his tracks?

 So why don’t you? Why don’t you go be that blessing? Go be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people hard-pressed by the evil one to give up, give in, give over. Give them your prayers, certainly, but give them something else too. Be present. Listen. Help. Hold their hands. Be gentle with their hearts. Be full of Jesus. Be a warrior used by God to crush the efforts of the evil one to bring division, dissension, and destruction to God’s people. Beat the devil at his own game. Go out and take good care of the body of Christ. (Philippians 2:3-4, 4:5; I Peter 4:8-9; II Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 10:23-24; II Timothy 2:20-21; Romans 16:20; John 13:34-35)