Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

 The Reforming Church

2 Kings 23:1-6

In the 2nd book of Kings we see the rise of an 8 year old as King by the name of Josiah who reformed the entire nation after having listened to the book of the Law. 2 Kings 23:25 describes Josiah as, “Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. He became king amongst wickedness surrounding him and could have succumbed to it. However, hearing the word of God had a profound effect on his life and he realized there needed to be drastic changes throughout the entire political and religious institutions. We as the Mar Thoma Church take pride in being a reformed church. What does that actually mean? The reformation brought about by Josiah, is an excellent guideline as to what true reformation ought to look like. First of all Josiah was living a righteous life from the very start. It says of Josiah, “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” Second of all when Shaphan read from the Book of the Law, he was greatly sorrowed and tore his robes. He recognized that the nation of Israel was not living up to God’s expectations or obeying God’s commandments. This realization is what led him to bring about reformation. We have to be very cognizant of what we call reformation. All too often we may get caught up in the identity of being a reformed church and think all changes we make are in the spirit of reformation. We must seriously evaluate changes we make to recognize the reason for our changes. Changes to match current social norms or changes because people feel things are stagnant do not fit into the Biblical definition of reformation. The Biblical pattern of reformation is fairly consistent. In the beginning, spirituality, the tenets of faith, and religious practices are established by God. Over time, human beings twist and reinterpret what God established to fit their cultural norms and their manmade philosophical biases. People, who like Josiah, who have a desire to do God’s will, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, recognize that people have deformed what God has formed, and now there is a need for reformation. Let us pray to God to grant us the grace and wisdom to correctly reform not only our churches, but our personal lives as well.
 
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for the Spirit of reformation you gave our leaders. We pray that you give us divine wisdom and the direction of the Holy Spirit to continuously live a life of reforming any deformations in our own lives, in our churches, and our communities at large. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
 
Vivin Varghese
The Mar Thoma Church, Staten Island

Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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