I recently heard a pastor say “I’m so glad the Lord is pleased with me.” Even if I believed that to be true of me at any time, I wouldn’t say such a thing, knowing how often He must be displeased with me – my attitudes and frequent failings. I dismissed the thought until another pastor said the same thing – that the Lord is pleased with His children. I know His love is unbounded; I know He will always be faithful; I know He sees me “in His Son” but I find it hard to reconcile Scripture to the teaching that the Lord is pleased with us. He was still faithful when His covenant people wandered in the wilderness instead of entering into the Promised Land for which He had brought them out of Egypt. He still loved them but He most certainly was not pleased with them - even passing death upon all the adult males who had not entered in (except for Caleb and Joshua – the faithful spies). When the glorified Jesus dictated letters to the 7 churches in Rev 2 & 3, He had much “against them” – even threatening to ‘spew you out of My mouth’ (3:16). Are we so much better than they, that He is pleased with us?

It seems there are many false prophets in the church today who cry “all is well – God is pleased with His church”, when the reality is that the church (in Canada) is weak and sickly, impotent and worldly, and desperately in need of revival. How can God be ‘pleased’ with such a church?