As you all know, this last week saw a renewed attack on us, this time from zoning scribes and Pharisees, professing Christians whose hypocrisy is so evident that even they appear to be dimly aware of it.
But this exhortation is not directed at them—rather it is given to encourage you. And here is the encouragement. Guard against the temptation to wonder “when will this harassment end?” And this word is necessary because “when the conflict will end” is not up to them, it is up to us.
All who are in the battle get battle-weary. But there is a difference between the weariness of the ones who are besieged, and the ones who are laying siege. For those who are besieged, the initiative lies entirely with those who are outside the walls. Each renewed attack causes the besieged to wonder how long they can hold out, and to ask the question, “When will this all end?”
Those who are laying siege can also be weary in the conflict, but they know that they can walk away from it at any time. They can end the conflict by prevailing, or they can end it by quitting. And if quitting is dishonorable, that is something they will not do.
This is said to remind you that we are not the besieged. All this is happening because every Lord’s Day, we have established a worship of God in this community that flows into the rest of the week. By means of our worship, we gather at the portals of the citadels of unbelief, and every week we take another swing with the battering ram, which is our worship. Those defending the walls are not silent, and they do have what they think are weapons. And sometimes we are surprised at the faces we see up there. But never forget that these are weapons wielded from badly defended walls, and by panicked defenders.
So here we are again, gathered to worship God. And as we spit on our hands, preparing to pick up the battering ram, we hear a faint voice from the closest tower. It says, “You’re not zoned for that!”