Colleen Orchanian

You've Got Mail is a movie from 1998 with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan about two people who get to know each other through email. They can't wait to find a new message in their email box. I, too, sometimes find myself impatiently waiting for messages. I am expecting a response about a project or a message from a friend, so I frequently check my inbox to see if it's arrived.

Did you know that Jesus sent messages? The book of Revelation (chapters 2 and 3) records those messages received by John in a vision. There are seven messages, sent to each of the seven churches. Every church was suffering great persecution at the time. The messages encourage, correct, and sometimes chastise and warn. As I read the letters, I realized that I could have recieved many of these at some point in my spiritual journey. Let's see what they might be saying to us today.

The message to Ephesus. I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. That's good! They are discerning well and strive to know and teach the truth. Then he says, You have abandoned the love you had at first. That correction should pierce our hearts. We used to have love but don't anymore. I could have recieved this letter when I was a staunch Catholic, solid in the teachings of the Church (which is good), and ready to debate anyone at any time (not so good). I wanted to win the argument and love was not a consideration at all. Jesus would say, I'm glad that you constantly seek the truth and want all to know it, but you're not speaking with love in your heart and are driving people away rather than drawing them near. You need to grow in charity and humility.

The message to Smyrna. I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. This is an encouraging message to people who are suffering and face martyrdom. I have never been there spiritually, but many people have. They are in a time of extreme suffering and are keeping their faith through it, like the 21 Coptic Christian men who were executed for their faith on a beach in Egypt. They are promised the same thing as the good thief on the cross – Today you will be with me in Paradise.

The message to Pergamum. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith… But you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolatians. Repent then. I could have recieved this message in the days when I called myself Christian but didn't know my faith well and I was accepting all kinds of teachings that contradicted Christianity: reincarnation, new age spirituality, spiritism, altered states, spirit guides, and more. We live in the world, where Satan's throne is. We can easily get caught up in false teachings. When I was there, I didn't know my own faith, and I was searching for God in every place except the Church Jesus founded. I was easy prey for the lies abounding in the world. God called me to repent, to do the work to learn what the Church teaches and why. Without that knowledge, I could fall for anything. And I did.

The message to Thyatira. I know your works, your love and faith and service, and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. That would be great to hear! Then he goes on to say, But I have this against you. You tolerate the woman Jezebel. I gave her time to repent of her immorality but she refuses. This message could go to many people today who tolerate immorality in the church out of charity or some other misguided motivation. We want to be kind, but how kind is it to avoid fraternal correction? We have an opportunity to speak the truth and don't. Instead, we act like the behavior is okay when Jesus was clear that it is not. He forgave the woman caught in adultery and also told her to go and sin no more. Paul wrote about the need to avoid immoral behaviors. Sometimes a "live and let live" attitude contradicts God's teaching, especially if the person in question is part of the church. Their behavior and our acceptance of it becomes a scandal. That was the issue with the church in Thyatira. They were very loving but didn't stand firm with the moral teachings of the Gospel. That's the opposite of the first church, Ephesus. They were very strong on teachings and not so much on love. This challenges us to find the right balance between truth and love.

The message to Sardis. Jesus said, I know your work; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. Awake and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Repent! Jesus was always calling people to repent, and in this case, it's because they look good on the outside but inside they are filthy. We have all heard or read stories of people in every type of church and school who were child predators. They do all the right things, like attending church regularly and volunteering. They may fool some but you can't fool God. He knows our hearts. But, even in this case, God calls us to repent. I don't think this letter is to someone who genuinely seeks God while still struggling with their sin. It's more for those who don't consider God. They use the church and appearances to further their personal goals.

The letter to Philadelphia. This is the most encouraging letter. Jesus said, I know your works. I know you have but little power and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. This is the message needed when we are discouraged, struggling, and feeling the weight of living our faith boldly in a world that rejects and mocks it. We live in a post-Christian world, which means most people are not Christians. The culture is not Christian. We don't have power, but God does. So we hold fast to what we have so that our crown can not be taken away. This message gives us strength and perseverance. It is a good letter to meditate on these days when right is called wrong and evil is called good.

The letter to Laodicea. I could have gotten this letter often in my early adult years. Jesus says, I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. So because you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Those who I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. God, in His mercy, begs us to repent. He is standing at the door and knocking, waiting for us to open it, to let Him into our hearts. If you're not on fire for God, you are lukewarm. I was lukewarm for 20 years. By God's grace, he lit a fire and changed my life. He knocked on my door and I opened it. I was wretched, poor, and blind and didn't know it. When we buy into the values of the culture, we become lukewarm in our faith. And God calls us to more. He gives us the grace we need to change.

Those are the seven letters – the seven messages to the churches and to each of us. One of them might resonate with you today. If that's the case, spend time meditating on the full text of that letter and ask God to show you how it applies to you.

You've Got Mail. Are you ready to open it?

Questions for Prayer:

1. Which letter have you received in the past? What was happening in your life? What action, if any, did God call you to in that letter?

2. Which letter might God send you today, at this point in your spiritual journey? What is He pleased with? In what way is he calling you to repent?