To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
John 2:16-17
How Jesus Loved People:
When Jesus’ disciples saw what He did, they remembered the prophecy, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (Psalm 69:9) In spite of all the problems found in Jesus’ place of worship, He still recognized God’s house as God’s house and had an enthusiasm for it.
How You Can Love Like Jesus:
Zeal for God’s House
I have such a tendency to “evaluate” God’s house sometimes. “Well, the worship leader was kind of off key, I liked the old one better.” or “I disagreed with the pastor on this point.” or “I think he exaggerated that one part.” You know what? Jesus saw problems with God’s house. But rather than avoiding the place, He engaged in the place! He taught there! He healed there! He cleaned house there!
So maybe you have a problem with church: so did Jesus, so do I, so does everybody! As long as there are people involved over at God’s house, there will be problems there. It’s not a question of whether or not you have a problem with church, it’s a question of what you are going to do about it.
Jesus loved God and loved people enough to engage in church, in spite of the problems. You and I can do the same. We can go to church without worrying about how much we’ll receive, and instead, we can go to love people! Jesus taught in God’s house, so can you — teach a Sunday school class. Jesus healed in God’s house, so can you — find someone you can pray for or help out who has physical needs. Jesus cleaned God’s house, so volunteer to vacuum the carpets after service.
Love God, and love people, enough to engage in church, in spite of the problems.
Jesus did.
You can too.