I remember watching “Little Rascals” when I was a kid. They were a rag-tag group of kids that were kind of their own gang; not the inner-city stuff of today, but just street kids looking for a place to belong. They had a secret club house with a sign on the door similar to the one above; “Keep Out”.
Maybe you had a secret club when you were a kid. Perhaps a special tree house, or sometimes just the bedroom; but there was a sign on the door that said, “Keep Out”, or “No Boys Allowed”, or “No Girls Allowed”. Perhaps your club had a secret phrase or password, or an innitiation ritual. You just didn’t want anyone to belong. You had to be exclusive in some way.
That was fun, and for the most part harmless as a kid, but it is a little more tragic when in adulthood.
I’ll try not to fan the flames too much, because I don’t want some secret society seeking me out, thinking I am out to do away with them. But, there are still thousands of clubs today that are exclusive in many different ways. Some still have handshakes and innitiations. For some, exclusivity is in finances, as membership comes with a pretty steep price tag. Some, perhaps all, have rules you must abide by, or contributions you must make.
It was clubs like this that came to mind when reading in Ephesians the other day. The Jewish people of the church were having a hard time letting the Gentiles into their club. “They are not like us.” They wanted these new people to do the rituals, the handshake, if you will. “Before you can be a part of this church, you have to become like us. You have to keep the rituals.”
Paul said, “Wait a minute.” Jesus came to do away with the division and the secret handshake. Jesus said finances, gender, social status, former religion, is no longer a reason for exclusion. He has come to break down the “dividing wall” and to bring the two groups together as one. “There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism…”
Are there perhaps still attitudes of exclusivity that exist in the church today that Christ removed a long time ago. Do we expect people to become good “Americans” to be a real part of the church? Do we expect appearances and customs to comply with the way we think and do things?
Honestly, for all of us, me as well, it is hard not to let those attitudes run amuck sometimes. We must refrain from looking down our noses at those we consider eccentric or different.
Jesus has broken down all the barriers. There is only one left really, those that in faith have made Him their Lord, and those who, as yet, have not.
We should be making it easier for people to get into this club, not harder. Membership (not meaning to oversimplify, but for brevity) is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaiming Him Lord of your life.
Join me in looking around here at Fairview. Let’s be on the lookout for signs that say “Keep Out” or that say, “Sinners need not Apply.” Those are certainly signs that Jesus would not want to be there.
Leaving a Legacy 