Critics and scoffers have been trying to silence the message of the empty tomb for years. They have tried to deny it, rationalize it away and even categorize it as just a nice story. None will so nearly succeed in suppressing the truth as Christ’s own followers . . . when we are distracted. Like a machine gunner in the heat of battle who turns his back on the approaching enemy to shoot at a passing goose, a believer distracted from the resurrection of Jesus Christ is ineffective at best and deadly at worst.
Choose Your Battles Wisely
One of the telltale signs of distracted Christians is the nature of their conflict. In 2018, the world-famous Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel, closed its doors to the public to protest $185 million dollars’-worth of municipal taxes for its properties. For three days, thousands of Christians and Catholics were unable to enter the church. No footsteps of tourists were heard echoing through its hallowed halls. Most importantly, no prayers or worship were offered there. The church’s decision to close sent a shockwave around the world.
Now, $185 million is a hefty sum of money. You’d probably be in shock, too, if you found such a bill in your mailbox. Taxes on religious-owned properties had been nonexistent in Jerusalem up to this point. (Places of worship are still exempt from taxation, but the city’s new tax plan will apply taxes to church-owned properties.)
The Jerusalem Municipality implemented the tax in an effort to curtail abuses by those who rented out the property purchased from the church. The church, on the other hand, felt the government was singling it out and attempting to marginalize its influence in the city.
As a result, the church fought back by closing its doors.
Forgetting the Main Thing
Although we understand the position taken by the church, unfortunately for those three days, it was unable to carry out its main goal, which was providing a place of prayer and worship to God.
In response to the conflict, one of the Jerusalem council members commented, “We see this as a very cynical move from the church. . . . Jerusalem is the only city in the Middle East where there is true freedom of religion and true freedom of worship, and they choose instead of protesting the millions of people, the Christians getting slaughtered around the Middle East, instead of worrying about that, they are worrying about something affecting only their pockets.”
The government of Jerusalem finally backed down. City officials suspended taxes planned for church properties and the church reopened — but not without cost. Fallout from the church’s response to the misunderstanding was a damaged relationship with the city and mixed signals to the world about its purpose.
Our Battles Reveal Our Values
The point of this story is not to take one side or the other but to remind believers how the issues we often fight about affect the way others perceive our mission. Conflict reveals what we value most. Someone once said, “Be sure your feet are planted in the right place before you decide to stand firm.”
When others question our motives, we want our emphasis to reflect a vision of the bigger picture: to bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ. After all, He is the Reason the Church exists in the first place. It was His death that paid for our sins. It was His Resurrection — Easter — that secured our eternal home in Heaven. How our conflicts would be reduced and our relationships improved if only we lived as if this were true!
A Matter of Perspective
The sun is 109 times larger than Earth. But hold a quarter in front of your eye, and it will block the sun, even appearing larger in scale. The wrong perspective can easily distort reality. It is the same with the truths concerning God and the gospel and the day-to-day challenges of life. Everything in life is but a quarter when compared to the sun of God’s eternal character and the gospel message. May this Easter be the first day of a lifetime of valuing those things which matter most, because He lives — and that really matters.
Article by Cam Edwards
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