Revelation 3:1-6: a reflection

1“And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things: “I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God. 3Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you. 4Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that didn’t defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.

To the church in Sardis, the risen Christ sends a sobering word: I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. This church had a name, a reputation, for being spiritually alive and thriving; but Christ, who sees the reality, declares it dead. Its reputation had outrun its reality; it looked alive to others, but inwardly its life had drained away. And so he calls it to wake up and strengthen what remains.

Notice the gap Christ exposes: between reputation and reality. Sardis had a name for being alive, and no doubt others thought well of it; but Christ, who sees not the appearance but the truth, found it dead. A reputation for spiritual vitality is not the same as spiritual vitality; a church, or a person, can have a name for being alive to God while being inwardly dead. What matters is not the reputation, but the reality that Christ sees.

That is a searching word for us. It is possible to have a reputation for being spiritually alive, to be thought well of by others, to keep up the appearance of a thriving faith, while inwardly the life has drained away, and we are, in truth, dead or dying. Christ sees not our reputation but our reality. Do not be content with a name for being alive; ask whether your life with God is real, or only a reputation. If the reality has drained from your faith while the appearance remains, hear Christ's call to Sardis: wake up, strengthen what remains, remember and return. What matters is not what others think of your faith, but whether it is truly alive before the Christ who sees the reality.

Lord, to the church in Sardis you sent a sobering word: you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead; its reputation had outrun its reality. Search me by that word. It is possible for me to have a reputation for being spiritually alive, to be thought well of by others, to keep up the appearance of a thriving faith, while inwardly the life has drained away. You see not my reputation but my reality. Keep me from being content with a name for being alive; help me ask whether my life with you is real, or only a reputation. If the reality has drained from my faith while the appearance remains, help me hear your call to Sardis: to wake up, strengthen what remains, remember and return. Let what matters to me be not what others think of my faith, but whether it is truly alive before you, who see the reality. Make my faith truly alive, not merely reputed to be.