Revelation 3:1 “I know your deeds; You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

This is certainly a scary thing to hear from Christ! Later on He says that there were a few people in the church who were genuinely His children, (verse 4) but the church as a whole was dead, despite having the reputation of being alive. This shows the danger of rely­ing on human evaluation. It really doesn’t matter much what people say about us, because we are dependent on our Lord. This passage isn’t very clear about what they were or weren’t doing, and I’m sure that is deliberate. We have the expression “going through the motions,” and that’s all too apt. There are sadly many churches that are just going through the motions, culturally Christian but with no real relationship with Christ. This is in distinct contrast to the next church addressed, Philadelphia. They are told, “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Revelation 3:8) Sardis, addressed here, probably had a much better reputation than Philadelphia, but again, it’s not human reputa­tion that matters. Our eternal destiny depends on God, not man, so that’s where our focus needs to be.

I’ve never been that much of a “man pleaser,” but that may have come from conceit! I’ve never had long-lasting trouble with self-image, because my parents raised me with an awareness of their love and God’s love. I have had times of social awkwardness, as I think every adolescent goes through, and I’ve never been a sports star, but I developed a fairly thick skin toward what people said about me. The things that developed from that weren’t much fun at the time, but I’m grateful for them now. I have always felt that I had something to contribute, regardless of the situation, even if my contribution turned out to not be worth much. The thing is, it is God who decides my worth, and He thought I was worth dying for! It is nice when people think well of me, but it ultimately isn’t very important, except to the degree that I represent Christ to them. I certainly don’t want to drag His name in the mud! I am to focus on being obedient to Him, and let people think of me whatever they will.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me never coast on my reputation, whether good or bad, but always keep pressing in for more of You, since my standard is Jesus Christ my Lord. Thank You. Praise God!