We are notorious compromisers. On the one hand it enables us to get along in relative harmony, but it can also lead us astray. Jesus chastises five churches in Revelation 2 and 3 for compromising what it means to be the people of God:
- orthodox, but without love
- doing good deeds, but permitting idolatry and immorality
- busy, but not fulfilling their mission
- culturally relevant and wealthy, but useless in proclaiming and demonstrating life with Jesus as king.
Smyrna and Philadelphia were uncompromising but suffered for their faithfulness. Like the churches of Revelation, we live in a world clamouring for our attention and resources, promising us a better life if we conform and fit in. And like them, Jesus calls us to “come and follow…that you might have life, and have it to the full.” Whose voice are you listening to and what do you do if you realize you are listening to the wrong one? To the church in Sardis, he commanded five things to reorient their ways back to the voice of the one worthy of worship.
