Loitering At The Well

Genesis 29:7, 8 And he [Jacob] said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.  And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep.

Why do we go to church?  Are we going to quench a thirst for the things of God or simply to loiter around the premises?  Does God favor the congregation which spends its time loitering around a covered and unused well? 

Many churches today are full of loitering Christians.  Christians bring themselves to a common place, which has become common-place, to sit in traditional settings and partake of everything that has nothing to do with its purpose.  These men did the same; waited for someone else to arrive and remove the cover.  Could they have removed the cover?  If they had wanted they could have.  Jacob later removed it alone and without help.  What prevented these languishing men?  Perhaps they waited to see a beautiful woman?  Jacob removed the cover when Rachel arrived.  These men may have decided to make excuses and rearrange their schedules so they could be present when she arrived every day.  How many Christians are coming into the House of God to see what they can see?  Perhaps there were others present that prevented these men from removing the cover because they wanted an excuse to strut and demonstrate their prowess in front of a beautiful woman?  Who knows what had become of this well, except it was certain it had become unused. 

How many gather today in God’s house to spend their time in gossip, preening, strutting, and preventing the Lord’s work.  The sheep must be watered so they can eat!  What good does it do for the preacher to preach when the altar is always closed?  Who can gain any good from the well of God’s Word when the cover is in place and kept closed over the altar in our churches?  We have a gathering of people interested in everything about church except God and getting our lives right with Him.  When people go to the altar in humility, thanks, and praise we can be sure the cover is lifted.  When we stay glued to our seats and loiter about the premises we loudly proclaim our intent to God; “some other day Lord”, if indeed God is our Lord.  The preacher can run around the well, jump up and down on the well, do cartwheels over it, and explain its use, but it will be of no use until the cover is removed.  As he preaches the water bubbles, moves, and rises up from the depths to slam into the cover with force.  Some of the water may seep through the cover to wet stone lying about.  But, before the water can lift the lid people harden their hearts and hold the lid secure by sitting stoically and sternly in their seats.  Perhaps they whisper to their neighbor or spouse how the message is meant for so-and-so and busy-body, never attempting to approach the well themselves. 

How can we equate the well with the altar?  It is where we drink in public.  Certainly, we can drink in our homes, cars, and just about anywhere else.  But, it’s like sneaking off and returning when everyone else is gone away.  In such a case we are much like the woman at the well with only the company of Jesus.  But, after she had gotten her drink, she went and made it public.  She brought everyone back with her to the well of life.  How many of us find humility, thanks, and praise after a message and never return to the well with others? 

People say they’ll visit the altar when someone special visits.  Just like these men wait, “till they”, roll the stone away.  They say they’ll go to the altar when so-and-so goes and not a minute sooner.  When a visiting preacher comes they might go forward just to let their pastor know it is anyone but him that gets them in the mood.  They might want to make an impression on that well renowned preacher and show him they mean business.  But, when will they show God they mean business?  When preachers and pastors preach they are giving us God’s Word and when we visit the altar we are giving God our word in humility, thanks, and praise. 

The altar has become taboo in many churches.  Even in churches with good pastors and visiting preachers the well may stay covered.  There might be a slipping of the cover from time to time to satisfy one or two, but the cover stays tightly in place for the whole congregation. 

Hebrews 13:9, 10 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

We do not go to the altar because of religion.  We don’t go because we are religious.  We go, “that the heart be established with grace”.  “Grace, grace, God’s grace.”  Grace waits at the altar.  We have an altar; a bottomless well of grace.  Yet, we go into church carried about with divers and strange doctrines.  Oh, not the doctrines of a denomination, but the divers and strange doctrines of our own making.  Everyone has their own mind and can justify every action if they choose to ignore God’s direction, guidance, and wisdom.  We can sacrifice, scrimp, and limit our lives for any reason but to satisfy God and when we do we will fail.  When a church fails to use its altar we can be sure the church is listening to its own heart and mind and refusing God.  A church without an altar is a church without Christ.

A wise preacher once said that when Jesus no longer meets with the church we should find another church.  When he said “church”, he meant the people of the church.  We can see Jesus’ presence at the altar in any church that’s well used and the cover nowhere to be found.  Can this be said of the church we attend? 

Has your church become a loitering place; a gathering of waiters waiting for someone else?

Many are looking out the corner of their eye for the first one to step forward.  They don’t look in anticipation but in scorn.  People have been laughed at for going to the altar.  People are mocked for approaching God after God speaks to their heart.  Has our altar become a place of scorn in the eyes of those loitering about? 

It is a hard thing to always walk past the mockers, scorners, and gossipers; to remove the cover every time we want a drink.  Especially when, as soon as we have finished, the cover is firmly placed back over the well until the next time we visit.  It is even more terrible when the person feels they are inconveniencing the church by visiting the altar.  Is the roast going to burn while we wait for someone to finish talking with God?  Are we going to starve?

Every church should be built around an open well.  It should be built on Christ, around the well of the Holy Ghost, and under the authority of God the Father.  Are any of these missing from our church?  The well is our heart.  But, the altar is where we go to give our hearts to Jesus.  Baptism shows our public profession, the altar shows our inward condition.  We can take the pulse of a church at its altar. 

Do we suppose the altar is only for the needy?  Show me one who is not in need and I’ll show you one who needs more than any other.  The thankful are in need of giving thanks.  The humble are in need of being humble.  The praising are in need of giving praise.  We attend church to worship and most often forget that worship begins and ends with us.  Most of us look to see who came to worship and then talk about them.

A withering church has a well-preserved altar.

A thriving church has a well-used altar.

How’s your altar?