Heaven's Cliques

There are times for peaceful words of encouragement then there are times for a harsh rebuke. . .I just read the book of Jude; so guess what time it is.....

clique - noun - "a small, exclusive group of people; coterie; set."

I don't want to give the wrong idea here. . . I think relationships are important to God. Hebrews 13:1-3 states, "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

Relationships are and will remain` very important to God. He created us to have a relationship with Him first and second to have relationships with one another. The Bible even goes on to tell us that others will know whether our Christianity is true by looking at whether or not our love for each other is genuine (John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."). *Note that it does not say they will know if we are true in our faith and that we love God by all of the volunteer work that we do.

It is easy for us to love those we know. I love my family, SOME of my friends (I will let them figure out whom is loved :0)= joking), and the people I work with. But what about those who are different than myself? What if they don't look like me; praise like me; eat ketchup on their french fries; drink Pepsi instead of Coke, or (Heaven forbid) have clothes like mine?

Ideally I should have quoted all of Chapter 13 in the book of Hebrews. In it the apostle Paul gives us as Christians specific instructions as to the relationships we hold in this life. He points out that our sacrifice of service to others is directly linked God.

I bring this up because, after a long and interesting conversation with a very dear friend she explained to me why she will not attend a church and has no desire to be linked with "crack pot, fundamentalist Christians" (no offense to me - and no, I do not take offense to this. This crackpot still loves and prays for you). She talked about every time she graced the doors of a church and how she was received (or really not received). How everyone would form their own groups and, God forbid if you weren't like them... Like if you smoke or drink or if you have made mistakes. . .then they would turn their self-righteous noses up at her.

So, I hope you are reading this.... There are a couple of things I need to point out to you. First of all, there were cliques in Jesus' time. They were called Pharisees and Sadducees. The religious "elite" of the bible times. Not different from our modern day, church cliques. Actually, one and the same. They too would not associate themselves with "less than proper" people. But let me point something out to you. Jesus called them for what they were: Thieves and Vipers. People who based their salvation by works they did. Showing up wherever the crowd was in order to pray the loudest and make a show. Being most righteous when in public or around each other.

Jesus Christ was quite a bit different with whom He associated Himself. He showed love to the thief, the prostitute, and the sinner. By proving His love true, He was able to win them over. In short, Jesus had relationships. He had an earthly father and mother. He had siblings and friends. No, sweetie, His friends were not perfect...at least not when they met Him. But when they discovered how true and real His love for them was, it made them want to change. They wanted to be more like Him.

Christ true church has no cliques... no walls... no closed doors.... It was and is open to all. Most of them did not even know each other. Yet they DID love each other. They DID NOT judge each other. 3 John 1:5-8 "Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth..."

His true church welcomes the sinner, the drug addict, the liar, the thief. . .His true church wants them to see His love so that they would desire to change their ways and live in His love. To quote a popular Brit Nicole song, "That's how the lost get found." And trust me when I tell you, Heaven's cliques do NOT exist. I hope I see you there. Cheers to a clique free Heaven!

I love you and hope you see His love in me.