I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. Revelation 4:15
My supervisor called me into the office for my annual work review. For the next half hour, we discussed various aspects of my work performance, including the strengths and weaknesses that I brought to the position. He also had a printout of the statistics as they related to my work, and as it compared to the average of the other employees in that position. With all of the details in front of us, the assessment went very smoothly, because there was nothing to debate or challenge. The company knew all about me. That is the sense of the little expression in our text ‘I know thy works’. This little expression is found in every one of the letters to the seven Assemblies in Asia in the second and third chapters of Revelation. It must be important.
Each of the Assemblies in Asia received a different assessment, based on their character and performance. The Lord Who knew their works could respond with praise, encouragement, reproof, or warning, as the circumstances dictated. And there could be no mistakes, because His knowledge of their works was perfect. The Lord also knows all about the works of our Assemblies. Think of that the next time you are at an Assembly meeting. Look around at those in fellowship, and consider what the Lord knows about us. He knows the commitment of each of us to be there, how much we give in the weekly offering, how much we prepare for the meetings, and how warm is our affection for our fellow believers. He also knows the decisions and discussions of the Assembly overseers, the collective interest of the Assembly in Gospel work, in missionary support, and in other outreach efforts. The Lord knows our knowledge of and commitment to the Word of God and the principles found therein. All this should cause us to look within ourselves and within our Assembly, to see what we can do to correct anything that is wrong. It is His Assembly, and He cares how we are doing.
Our salvation is not of our works. Those of us who are in God’s Assembly can appreciate that we are there by His grace alone. And the privilege of being there is one of the greatest honours in the world. If we allow the greatness of this privilege grip us as it should, we will have no problem in receiving our Lord’s commendation for our works in His Assembly. -Jim MacIntosh