Is God watching you?

My mom used to tell me that God is watching me. As a kid, it might have made me think twice. I bet that it was more likely that my mom was watching. As an adult, I do fear that God is watching me. In church, I have heard that God is viewing our actions. I ask though, is God watching? I had a friend who did not believe that God cared about most of the things we eat and wear. If you read the Bible that is not true. God did take an interest in those he called his children. So, let’s explore if God is watching this Easter weekend.

            I know that Easter is special for the church. As a pastor, I should be jumping for joy about Easter. Sorry kiddies I am not that thrilled. I think Easter and Christmas is more about attracting new people to church. It’s like it’s a church sale like black Friday. The pastor prepares special services and creates a special message just to make sure the shoppers for religion go home with something nice. You can certainly call it pessimistic. I call it realism. Welcome to the holy Easter sale.

            I guess I look at Easter this way. So, for 50 weeks the church is irrelevant to most. Some people come at Christmas and Easter just to pay their respects to God. You can call it tradition or penitence. Pastors look on this as an opportunity to gain regular attenders. So, the floors are swept. The message is polished and the smiles are practiced. Most churches even have longer hours (more services) to draw people in. I have been in the meeting that revolved around Easter and Christmas. The rest of the year is just filler. Yet, in the meantime, God is watching both of you.

            For the two a year visitor, God is watching you. For the church that revs it up twice a year, God is watching you. How do I know that? My mom said so. Just kidding, but in the Bible, we see Jesus making observations all the time. He watched the people around him. He made observations. At times, it is said he knew what they were thinking. God knows that the passion at Easter is more about the passion for people than the passion of the Christ. If that were not true then people would attend more regularly and we would have far more passion filled Christ centered messages. In both cases God is watching the pastor and people play the Easter/Christmas game. They are book ends to the Christian year.

            Some observations about God watching. Peter wanted to get out of the boat and walk on water. Did Jesus hold out his hand to steady Peter on the waves? Did he say “be careful” or “steady Peter.” No Jesus just watched. The old woman gave money out of her poverty. Did Jesus offer her money like we give to beggars? Did he wrap his arms around her and tell her how lovely she was for giving? No, he observed her actions. He observed the actions of the church leaders watching her. Did Jesus call Peter to help him while he was arrested? Did Peter offer to help get Jesus out of trouble. No, Jesus watched Peter as Peter watched Jesus. God tends to say little because he is watching.

            Do you think Jesus watched the Disciples before he called them to follow him? Oh, yes, he did. Nathanael asked Jesus in John 1 how he knew him. Jesus replied that he had seen Nathanael before under the fig tree. Jesus knows and Jesus watches because that is what God does. For 400 years God watched Israel. God watched and waited. I find it interesting that there is about that long between the last prophet and Jesus birth. What do you think God was doing all that time? On a cruise? No, he was watching, listening, and waiting.

            Waiting for what? Listening and watching for what? I suspect it’s that the Easter message should be important every Sunday. The Christmas message should be a priority on a Wednesday 52 weeks of the year. Churchy people will scoff at me for being a Debbie downer on Easter. It’s not Easter half as much as the extra effort twice a year. Sometimes I feel that we get half the effort for the other 50 weeks. People show up to church half as much. The Pastor makes Sunday extra special half as much. There are conferences and ministry meetings to attend to on the off weeks. There are holidays and trails to hike on the off weekends. Yet, God certainly is watching.

            Here is my solution. Maybe Christians should be people watchers outside the church. Jesus never stayed in Jerusalem or the Synagogue. No, he traveled around the countryside watching people. He interacted with people in their homes and their villages. Jesus observed and spoke. Jesus watched and taught. Jesus had an opinion he shared in random conversations at a well. The people come twice a year to church directly because the church dresses up fancy twice a year. I have watched that for years.

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