“The Fellowship of the Mat still exists. You find it . . . wherever a group possesses and implements an irrational commitment to the well-being of its members. It is not an easy fellowship to be part of — people’s mats are sometimes heavy and awkward, and there’s always a roof of bitterness or conflict to be crashed through. But those who find their way to it would never live without it again.”- John Ortberg
“For whoever does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”- 1 John 4:20 (NIV)
John Ortberg concludes Chapter 3 of Everybody’s Normal . . . as he notes that a key part of the story of the paralyzed man involves the teachers of the law. Teachers who saw themselves as spiritual giants. Hence, John quips, they arrived on time and got good seats. However, they brought no friends to see Jesus. Because the teachers of the law apparently knew no one who was hurting or confused.
However, the God Jesus revealed ceaselessly preoccupies Himself with finding and redeeming and loving people. As a result, Pastor Ortberg stresses a very important implication to this. That it’s simply irresponsible to love the Father without sharing His heart for people.
Consequently, John underscores, the more spiritually mature you grow, the more you find your heart drawn to people. Thus, you desire to reach out to people. Especially people neglected by society or far from God. Writing in The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard referred to this critical point as the unity of spiritual orientation. Dallas explained:
“To understand Jesus’ teachings, we must realize that deep in our orientations of our spirit we cannot have one posture toward God and a different one toward other people. We are a whole being, and our true character pervades everything we do. We cannot, for example, love God and hate human beings.”
In conclusion, John describes loves as the ultimate expression of the law. Therefore, the author sees lovelessness as the ultimate expression of sin. For without love, Bible knowledge and church attendance alone fall far short. So, John exhorts, pick up mats and break through ceilings!
Today’s question: What most helps you to take part in the Fellowship of the Mat? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Fellowship of confession”