The Scriptures tell that us that our great God, Jehovah, dwells in unapproachable light. His light is so powerful that if a human being were to be exposed to it, they would die immediately. When Moses met with God on Mt. Sinai, he requested a view of the glory of God. God gave him his request, but in the process, He somehow dimmed his brightness and protected Moses in a crack in the rocks so that all Moses saw was the light of God moving away from Him. That little bit of light that Moses saw was enough to cause his face to shine with an unnatural, heavenly glow so that the people of Israel asked him to cover his face. What an incredible light it must be that emanates from our heavenly Father.
This is the God that we as Christians say that we worship. We claim with our mouths that this is our God. We profess in word and song that we love this God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. Yet, I as I observe many professing Christians these days, I am left questioning whether or not this is really the God of light that we are worshipping. In many churches it is difficult to get people to sit for more than an hour without them beginning to fidget, look at their watches, or even get up to leave. Jokes are made about the pastor being long winded if the sermon lasts for more than thirty minutes. If people have to stand during the worship music for more than one or two songs, they will be sure to let the pastor or someone else know how tiring it is.
I believe there is another “God of light” that many Christians are giving their all to these days. This “God of light” does not dwell in unapproachable light, but rather it dwells in our living rooms. It is contained in a box, placed in a very prominent place where everyone can see it. We call it a television.
The same people who cannot sit still through more than a one hour church service, will rush home on a Sunday afternoon and plop themselves into their favorite easy chair, recliner or sofa and proceed to watch their “god of light” for hours upon hours without moving hardly a muscle, and the only complaints are heard when they have to leave their comfort spot to run to the bathroom during the commercial breaks.
In my experience, when a person is in love they want to spend as much time as possible with the one they love. They can’t stand to be apart from that other person for very long. Even their time apart is filled with telephone calls and text messages back and forth. They have to be in constant proximity or communication with the one they love the most. By this measuring stick, I must conclude that there are few professing Christians in America these days who truly love Jesus. Don’t tell me you love Jesus with all your heart when you can only manage to give Him a small amount of your time each week. You may not have much money that I could trace to see where you are spending it, but we all have the same amount of time to spend each week. So, it becomes a much easier task to see those who love Jesus with all their hearts, as opposed to those who are bowing down to the new “god of light” in their living rooms.
For genuine revival to come to America it must begin with those who profess to love God changing from just professing their love to demonstrating their love. Genuine revival will come to the American church when we begin to separate ourselves from the world. The apostle John, who was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, spoke about love in the letter of 1st John. He states that those who love this world and the things of this world are devoid of any love of the Father. All their claims to the contrary, their time spent pursuing this world and the things of this world prove who the real god is in their hearts.
I can’t wait for the day to come when people are rushing to get to church to enter in to the presence of their Lord, in the same way they now rush to turn on their televisions when they get home. I want to encourage you to examine your life closely to see which “God of light” you are truly serving.
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