As we approach Reformation Day, I can’t help but think of how it all began!
On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the door of Whittenburg Church in Germany that set the Reformation in Europe in motion, resulting in the split of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.
By the 16th century the Church in Europe was neither holy nor apostolic. Several reformers for a few hundred years had preached against the spiritual ignorance of the masses, the moral corruption of the clergy and the theological deviation from the apostolic teachings within the Medieval Church. Luther had no intention of dividing the One Catholic Church. He only wanted to restore and renew the Church from within.
As he stood trial at the Diet of Worms in 1521 for his theological conviction, his conscience held captive to the Word of God, Luther was declared a heretic and pronounced an outlaw! Henceforth anyone could assassinate him and would have done the State and the Church a great favor. The Protestant Reformation was under way and all the Pope’s horses and all the Pope’s men couldn’t put Catholicism together again!
Technically there were two kinds of Christianity after that – the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Church. But within Protestantism, the Reformers were not able to come to an agreement with how Christ is present in the Holy Communion. They all agreed that Jesus is present in the Bread and the Wine but is Christ Spiritually Present; Physically/Sacramentally Present; or Symbolically Present? Serious disagreement broke out among the Protestant leaders and the One Historic and Biblical Reformation split into many denominations, never to be recovered!
The Reformation is now over 500 years’ old but the Protestant Church has continued to suffer fragmentation, change and spiritual decline for the past half a century. In God’s mercy he has brought revivals from time to time to renew and restore the Church, his Bride. If not for God’s divine intervention and constant renewal, the Church would have disappeared! Thanks be to God for his Headship and his constant work of renewal and revival in the lives of people, nations and the Church.
In all genuine revivals, the holiness of God and the sinfulness of mankind is most evident. Christians who are renewed in their love for Christ, have a deep longing for further intimacy with God and begin to palpitate with his heartbeat for the lost. They also see ‘the least, the lost and the lowest’ in society through God’s lens. The Great Commission and the Great Command once again become central to the life of the Church.
May our hearts continue to long for a deep intimacy with Jesus, even as we allow his pulse to dictate for us the concerns in this world.
May the words of this ancient hymn be our humble prayer for awakened and renewed hearts, for Christ and his kingdom:
O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer;
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
O to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinners to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.
O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing;
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.
O to be like Thee! While I am pleading
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love.
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit for a life which Thou wouldst approve.
Your fellow pilgrim with the same
longings,
