“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Revelation 3:1-6)
What Kind of Church Are We Getting Inside Us? Sardis: Perception vs. Reality
Revelation 3:1-6
Dr. Steven K. Parker
Jesus’ message to the church of Sardis is a harsh one. This is the first of Christ’s messages to the churches to contain no praise for the congregation mentioned. He says that they have a reputation for spiritual life but are spiritually dead. Ouch. That discrepancy between perception and reality is like a sports team with a storied history that dusts off its trophy cases regularly but hasn’t added any significant accolades to it in a long time. As a Dallas Cowboy’s fan that’s a painful analogy. Even more hurtful than that is the thought that we can become so complacent in our life of faith, resting on the laurels of past accomplishments, that we have no faith-life in us, but are something more like the walking dead. Are we living with distant memories of past spiritual victories with no recent spiritual advances? Is our hope in a commitment we made that we can scarcely remember or lived out in how we engage the world today, walking with Jesus, living by faith and not by sight? Let’s pray that God might guide us beyond the Sardis, “has-been” brand of faith, and bring perception and reality together as we celebrate His ongoing story, live into His kingdom, and anticipate His sure and certain return.