Do you remember the story of Jesus turning water into wine? Just about everybody does. But, do you remember the story of Jesus turning the church back into the church? You can read about it in John 2:13-22. It is an intriguing story and at the heart of it is one angry Messiah.

Jesus had come into the Temple at Passover and noticed that the Temple had become a place of business rather than the place of spiritual formation. Sacrifices had to be made during Passover and the Temple leaders thought it might be profitable if they went into the sacrificial animal business. So they set the place up for honest and sincere seekers to buy the animal, sacrifice it, satisfy the law, all in a one stop church experience where the perceived needs of the worshipers outweighed the real need to come before God in worship and joy, brokenness and humility, and in praise and adoration.

Do you know how easy it is to turn the church into something God never intended it to be? At the heart of this radical renewal of church life probably lies honest and sincere motives; though motives are sometimes very difficult to discern. Yet, whenever the Church is made to be what it isn’t, even if it is in the name of God, it finds itself under judgment and perhaps the watchful eye of an angry Messiah.

Let the Church be the Church is our cry. To be anything other than what God desires is to set our minds on man’s interests rather than God’s. And, do you remember what Jesus said to Peter when he made this mistake? “Get behind me, Satan” (Mark 8:33).

Okay! He’s got my attention. I’m certainly listening.