A Jerusalem

10.09.13

Nehemiah 2.12 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. (ESV)

I read once that the difference between fundamentalist Evangelicals and the mainline Protestant churches in America is the difference between the Old and the New Testaments. It was said in the article that fundamentalist Evangelicals tend to apply their faith through the filter of the Old Testament by emulating the actions and prayers of the saints of old. And these folk tend to be more legalistic in their approach to Christianity than non-fundamentalists.

The same article said that those who make up the mainline churches tend to live in the New Testament, specifically the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and their approach is to emulate the actions and sayings of Jesus. These folk tend to be more socially compassionate in their approach to the Christian faith. I can see some validity to what I read.

This morning as I read about Nehemiah and his discussions with God in prayer, I saw (perhaps) beyond the arguments of who we are by what we say we believe, and how we practice our faith. (I know it’s an Old Testament quote, so if the shoe fits…)

Nehemiah said: “And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.” Nehemiah did what God put into his heart: he went to the city of his ancestry and began the process of rebuilding it. In Nehemiah’s mind, Jerusalem was the City of God; the place where God chose to have His dealings with mankind through the nation of Israel. Nehemiah, despite the exile and all that had happened to him and his countrymen, never gave up on what he believed God was doing in the world through the Jewish people. And that is what motivated this cupbearer to the Persian king (Cf. Nehemiah 1.11).

And so I asked myself: Paul, what has God put into your heart to do for the Kingdom? Which begs another question: Paul, what do you see as a burning need in the world today, in your nation, in your state, in your county, in your city, in your family, in your church, in your relationships, or on the job? Anything? Anything at all?

And then I asked me: Do you pray about these things? And: has God put into your heart anything to do about these things? And: do you act?

The differences between us as believers and denominations grow very small when we compare them to what God has put into our hearts to do about our own Jerusalems (the things we find ourselves passionate about – or even angry about – our burning needs).

Do we have a Jerusalem? Is it possible that we are so passionate about something we’d actually get off our lazy western butts and do something about it? For my brothers and sisters in Christian practice other than mine and for me as well: Lord, help us see what we need to see and to do as we need to do. Put it into our hearts to do as You bid us and to do it with the passion of Nehemiah – not plastering it all over, but with godly zeal to do what we know is right… Amen.