April 26, 2011
The Call of Easter
Easter Sunday we had lots of visitors and our attendance topped out at 222 – the highest we’ve ever had in our three year history. One of the guys quipped, “I call this the semi-annual meeting of Saints and Sinners.” We may not see some of these folks again until next year, but I’m always interested in their motivation for attending on Easter. Years ago we might have thought going to church only on Easter was for showing off an Easter bonnet or maybe being guilted into attendance by Grandma. However today people are such an independent lot that they show up in jeans and a tee-shirt and Grandma has lost her power of persuasion. I think the credit for the Easter Sunday swell belongs to the Spirit. Hopefully His prompting will have some of these folks back next Lord’s Day.
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Gail;
-----You’re a good accountant; you credited the right account! “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.” (II Pet 1:3-4) Although I am not one to buy the idea of the irresistible call of God, I constantly consume the idea of God’s call. “For to this you have been called...” is an often used expression in God’s Word pointing to such attitudes as blessing instead of reviling (I Pet 3:9), suffering for doing right (I Pet 2:21), the peace of Christ in your hearts (Col 3:15), freedom (Gal 5:13), hope (Eph 1:18), sanctification by the Spirit, and belief in the truth (II Thes 2:14).
-----I don’t buy “irresistible call” because the Word acknowledges another call. The call of the lost. “For, ‘every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how are men to call upon Him in whom they have not believed?” (Rom 12:13-14). It is like the lifeboat in the fog having a bell to toll for the hearing of the victim in the water having a whistle to blow. The Spirit within those in the boat bids them to ring the bell and listen. The humility of good sense within those in the water compels them to listen and blow the whistle. The distinguishable sounds the two make draw them together until the lost is finally fished from the sea, “...and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” (John 10:4). Many hear the ding of the bell, but only those are chosen who have enough sense to recognize it and then blow their whistles.
-----How long does it take for the bell and the whistle to come together in the fog? For some, not long at all. Of these, many may climb aboard yet only sit upon the rails. Attending Easter Sundays may be all the strength they can muster for church stuff. A smoldering wick they might be, or a bruised reed, but they won’t be snuffed or broken by Him. Others may not climb aboard at the boat‘s first passing. They may come close enough to join an occasional Easter Service and sit there with whistle in hand, wondering if maybe they ought to go ahead and blow it.
-----We don’t know which are which unless we listen to them. They are ones with stories to tell. I often wish church could somehow happen differently. It is good that the gospel story is told there by those securely seated in the life boat. But we would know more about these folks showing up only occasionally if somehow there were more fellowship to draw out their voices. The Holy Spirit stirs in the activities of His people. If there is anything I covet in this life, it is more interaction with the drop-by-church-now-and-again souls.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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