When you hear the word "Christian" what pops into your mind? I find it crazy how broad of a range of thoughts come to mind from this word. To some we think of Ned Flanders from the Simpsons and his great quotes such as, "Ok, boys, when you meet Jesus, be sure to call Him Mr. Christ." or "Now let us upload the holy Tweet of the Lord." or "No one comes back as anything, except for Jesus as bread, and that's it." Others might think of the guy on the corner of every event that requires a stadium with a sign that says "Turn or Burn" or of the people protesting soldiers funerals. Or we might take a completely different approach and think about christian books, christian movies, christian t.v., christian music or christian bumper stickers.
It amazes me what some people define as "christian" or what is even more amazing is what people call "not christian"
This makes me wonder, does putting the word "christian" in front of something automatically make it good? Does calling something christian make it godly? Does it make something evil if the most vocal christians are against it?
Let's think about this... In Isaiah 1:18 God says, "Come now, let us reason together..." You mean God wants us to reason, to think things through, to come to conclusions that make sense?
What is it that makes one thing secular and something else sanctified? As I think about this from a stand point of reason, it must have something to do with how it is used. For example, if I listen to a "christian" CD I am drawn to God, but when I listen to a "secular" CD I'm not. Right? So what happens if I am listening to a song by Simple Plan such as...
What happens if I'm listening to that song and find myself being drawn to God? What if, instead of being so focused on removing ourselves from the world, we were to start meeting God in the world we are in?
"Do you ever feel like breaking down?
Do you ever feel out of place?
Like somehow you just don't belong
And no one understands you
Do you ever wanna runaway?
Do you lock yourself in your room?
With the radio on turned up so loud
That no one hears you screaming"
Then I remember Jesus, who knows what it is like to feel so utterly alone. To feel rejected, mistreated, abused, hated, mocked, beaten down, spit upon, broken hearted, abandoned, betrayed, despised, etc.. Who was in that Garden the night He was arrested "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 16:36-46) He asked His closest friends to watch over Him and they slept. He pleaded with the Father, "if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Jesus understands our pain, our suffering, and our heart aches, yet He goes on knowing that it will only get worse. This is a Jesus that can relate with me. Who is my strength. Yes there are times when I am drawn to great spiritual songs that inspire me to sing praise of victory to my God but there are other times that I am drawn to great spiritual songs (though not labeled "Christian") that draw me to a God who has experienced every temptation I battle with yet was without sin. Sometimes I need the Jesus who taught in the temple and sometimes I need the Jesus who ate with the tax collectors and sinners.
While Jesus was on that cross He cried out in a Loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
Father take it all! I don't want it anymore. My sins, my lust, my filth, my pride, my arrogance, my selfishness, my anger, my pain, my brokenness, my depression, my addiction, my loneliness...and the list goes on and on. And He took it all on that cross.
God is at work all around us, we just get so caught up in our idea of spirituality that we miss what He is doing. Jesus, while praying in John 17, said this, " My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world."
Christians, Jesus paid the price, and He chose not to take us out of the world but to send us into the world so that people can see Jesus in us!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Final Words part 4
War, pain, suffering, hatred, political unrest, and natural disasters are the news of the day. It seems everywhere we look there is more bad news. IF you're like me you'd like to here some good news for a change.
Today, I want to examine three statements that Jesus made from the cross. These statements are so closely related that I wanted to share them together. These statements all come together to deliver some powerful good news for you and I.
These three statements are as follows:
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
When we look at these three statements from Jesus we at first may ask what they have to do with each other. How do these words of Jesus bring hope and good news to the pain and suffering that I face?
To understand this we must first understand what is going on in this moment on the cross.
"At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The sixth hour, noon, the brightest and hottest part of the day, the Bible tells us that darkness came over the whole land. It is believed that it is at this moment that the sins of all people where put upon Jesus. For the first time in His life Jesus felt the pain, agony, guilt and grief of sin. In this moment Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" These words, to those reading them in English, show us the depth of pain and longing that we feel in our deepest moments of sorrow.
However, to those in ancient Israel it said much more. During this time, rabbis would use a teaching method to draw the attention of the people to a passage of scripture. They would simply quote a verse. When this verse was quoted the people where drawn to the passage. Then they would teach or illustrate the passage, and then quote the end of the passage.
As we study this statement from Jesus we need to allow ourselves, like the people who were there, to be drawn to the scriptures. Look with me at the 22nd Psalm which starts with this verse, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" As we study this Psalm we will find the events of Jesus' death opened up for all people 1,000 years before Christ's death on the cross.
Jesus wanted everyone to know that God's plan of redemption for mankind was being fulfilled before their eyes. That this moment wasn't just a tragic event in human history but a moment that would forever shape human history.
As we continue looking through this Psalm we find ourselves coming face to face with verses 14 and 15 which say, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death."
Jesus was stretched out on that cross, His bones out of joint, His heart broken for the people, His strength draining away and He cries out, “I am thirsty.” Thirsty! The need for a drink. The living water experienced a thirst that goes beyond just a need for water but also a spiritual thirst, a thirst that comes from the sins of the world driving a wedge of separation between the Son and the Father.
As we continue through Psalm 22 we arrive to verse 31 that ends, "for he has done it." What is really amazing about this line is what happens if you were to translate the Hebrew to Greek and then to English. It would then translate, "It is Finished by Him." And Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”
These words are the best news for you and I. These word declare the finished work of salvation through the sacrificial atoning death of Jesus Christ. Jesus wasn't crying out for mercy. He wasn't crying out for pity. He was crying out "look at the salvation of God." Look at God's desire to sacrifice it all for our brokenness, our sinfulness, our pain, our filth.
It is finished! Thank you Jesus for taking the cross for me.
Today, I want to examine three statements that Jesus made from the cross. These statements are so closely related that I wanted to share them together. These statements all come together to deliver some powerful good news for you and I.
These three statements are as follows:
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
When we look at these three statements from Jesus we at first may ask what they have to do with each other. How do these words of Jesus bring hope and good news to the pain and suffering that I face?
To understand this we must first understand what is going on in this moment on the cross.
"At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The sixth hour, noon, the brightest and hottest part of the day, the Bible tells us that darkness came over the whole land. It is believed that it is at this moment that the sins of all people where put upon Jesus. For the first time in His life Jesus felt the pain, agony, guilt and grief of sin. In this moment Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" These words, to those reading them in English, show us the depth of pain and longing that we feel in our deepest moments of sorrow.
However, to those in ancient Israel it said much more. During this time, rabbis would use a teaching method to draw the attention of the people to a passage of scripture. They would simply quote a verse. When this verse was quoted the people where drawn to the passage. Then they would teach or illustrate the passage, and then quote the end of the passage.
As we study this statement from Jesus we need to allow ourselves, like the people who were there, to be drawn to the scriptures. Look with me at the 22nd Psalm which starts with this verse, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" As we study this Psalm we will find the events of Jesus' death opened up for all people 1,000 years before Christ's death on the cross.
Jesus wanted everyone to know that God's plan of redemption for mankind was being fulfilled before their eyes. That this moment wasn't just a tragic event in human history but a moment that would forever shape human history.
As we continue looking through this Psalm we find ourselves coming face to face with verses 14 and 15 which say, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death."
Jesus was stretched out on that cross, His bones out of joint, His heart broken for the people, His strength draining away and He cries out, “I am thirsty.” Thirsty! The need for a drink. The living water experienced a thirst that goes beyond just a need for water but also a spiritual thirst, a thirst that comes from the sins of the world driving a wedge of separation between the Son and the Father.
As we continue through Psalm 22 we arrive to verse 31 that ends, "for he has done it." What is really amazing about this line is what happens if you were to translate the Hebrew to Greek and then to English. It would then translate, "It is Finished by Him." And Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”
These words are the best news for you and I. These word declare the finished work of salvation through the sacrificial atoning death of Jesus Christ. Jesus wasn't crying out for mercy. He wasn't crying out for pity. He was crying out "look at the salvation of God." Look at God's desire to sacrifice it all for our brokenness, our sinfulness, our pain, our filth.
It is finished! Thank you Jesus for taking the cross for me.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Final Words part 3
I am often amazed by the lessons God teaches me in life. For example, God taught me a great lesson today that pulled my attention to the next words of Jesus from the cross that I want to look at. Let me explain...
So for the last few weeks at work they keep changing our bonus system. It seems that every time it gets changed it means that we get less money. Yesterday, when we received our bonus reports and learned that we are now making a quarter less per sale I was not happy. Okay, that might be an understatement. I was ticked off. While on break my supervisor asked me what was wrong. I vented my frustration and I must admit it wasn't very nice to see.
Today on my way to work I felt God press upon me the need to apologize for my poor attitude and for taking out my frustrations on my supervisors - afterall, they just have the job of bringing the bad news. After asking for their forgiveness they had the pleasure of telling a room of workers that not only were we now getting less for bonuses but some of the sales that counted toward bonuses before will no longer count.
This time I was able to remain calm, yet most the other people in the room did not. As I listened to this group of people venting their anger and frustration I thought of the scene at the cross where the people, who a short time before had welcomed Jesus into the city as a king, are now taunting and mocking Him.
In Luke 23:35-43 we read about the people mocking Jesus after He calls for a God to forgive them. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” It was so bad that even one of the guys crucified next to Jesus even joined in on mocking Him.
It is so easy to respond in these situations. It is so easy to join in with the crowd. But this story lets us see something else. 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
We see this other criminal go against the crowd and stand up for the innocent man. A man who at the end of his life realizes that Jesus came into the world to show us a better way of living. A way that doesn't kick a man while he is down. That doesn't join in the crowd in mocking, ridicule and put downs. He recognizes His need for Jesus before it is too late and Jesus responds, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Wow! Isn't it amazing that Jesus doesn't focus on all the negativity of the moment but focuses on the one man who has a need that only Jesus can meet?!
The question we need to ask is this, "Where would we be in this story?"
So for the last few weeks at work they keep changing our bonus system. It seems that every time it gets changed it means that we get less money. Yesterday, when we received our bonus reports and learned that we are now making a quarter less per sale I was not happy. Okay, that might be an understatement. I was ticked off. While on break my supervisor asked me what was wrong. I vented my frustration and I must admit it wasn't very nice to see.
Today on my way to work I felt God press upon me the need to apologize for my poor attitude and for taking out my frustrations on my supervisors - afterall, they just have the job of bringing the bad news. After asking for their forgiveness they had the pleasure of telling a room of workers that not only were we now getting less for bonuses but some of the sales that counted toward bonuses before will no longer count.
This time I was able to remain calm, yet most the other people in the room did not. As I listened to this group of people venting their anger and frustration I thought of the scene at the cross where the people, who a short time before had welcomed Jesus into the city as a king, are now taunting and mocking Him.
In Luke 23:35-43 we read about the people mocking Jesus after He calls for a God to forgive them. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” It was so bad that even one of the guys crucified next to Jesus even joined in on mocking Him.
It is so easy to respond in these situations. It is so easy to join in with the crowd. But this story lets us see something else. 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
We see this other criminal go against the crowd and stand up for the innocent man. A man who at the end of his life realizes that Jesus came into the world to show us a better way of living. A way that doesn't kick a man while he is down. That doesn't join in the crowd in mocking, ridicule and put downs. He recognizes His need for Jesus before it is too late and Jesus responds, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Wow! Isn't it amazing that Jesus doesn't focus on all the negativity of the moment but focuses on the one man who has a need that only Jesus can meet?!
The question we need to ask is this, "Where would we be in this story?"
Friday, April 15, 2011
Final Words: Part 2
I will be the first to admit that forgiveness isn't always the easiest thing to grant to those who are hurting us. Whether it is physical or emotional pain we are suffering, our natural reaction isn't to forgive the person who is inflicting torment on us. The natural reaction is to inflict pain back or curl in on ourselves and bottle up our pain or seek to run and hide.
For years I struggled with forgiving others, I held grudges, bottled my resentment, and retaliated with force. I was angry and resentful. Despite my unforgiving attitude the only one who continually suffered was me.
When I read Jesus' words in Luke 23:34 I am amazed by the depth of His forgiveness to those who put Him through so much pain. (By the way this includes you and me.) In Luke 23:34a we read, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This sounds like such a simple statement, but look deeper at what it took for Jesus to make this plea for forgiveness.
The true depth of suffering in a Roman Crucifixion is the fact that death came as a result of asphyxiation. When the person on the cross had their weight on the nails in their hands they hung in such a way that closed off their lungs so they couldn't breath. In order to take a breath they had to push up with their leg putting all the weight of their body in the nail driven through their feet.
Jesus felt such a desire to call on the Father for our forgiveness that He added to His suffering, pushing up on the nail in His feet, just to say these words, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
How often do we get angry and bent out of shape, desiring to get even with people who don't even know they hurt us? I remember a while back, I gave people the opportunity to let me know if I had hurt them so that I could apologize and ask for forgiveness. This was a humbling moment for me.
Most people didn't respond but I did have a couple people who where willing to share with me. I recall one person who had been hurt by something I said. I never even realized I had hurt her and her family. She shared how my words, that I thought of as words of direction and encouragement, had been received as words of ridicule. I didn't even realize the pain caused by my words or my actions. I need forgiveness for all the ways I hurt people and don't even know it.
I need forgiveness for all the things I know I do. (Now that is tough to admit.) Even after years of becoming more like Jesus I still mess up a lot. I need forgiveness everyday. If you are like me, the list of things you need forgiveness for is so long that if you focus on it you won't have time to hold a grudge against someone else.
As we think on Jesus' words of forgiveness we need to extend that same forgiveness to others. After all, their sins are not truly against us but against the God who created us in His image.
Luke 6:36-38 Jesus encourages us with these words, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
For years I struggled with forgiving others, I held grudges, bottled my resentment, and retaliated with force. I was angry and resentful. Despite my unforgiving attitude the only one who continually suffered was me.
When I read Jesus' words in Luke 23:34 I am amazed by the depth of His forgiveness to those who put Him through so much pain. (By the way this includes you and me.) In Luke 23:34a we read, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This sounds like such a simple statement, but look deeper at what it took for Jesus to make this plea for forgiveness.
The true depth of suffering in a Roman Crucifixion is the fact that death came as a result of asphyxiation. When the person on the cross had their weight on the nails in their hands they hung in such a way that closed off their lungs so they couldn't breath. In order to take a breath they had to push up with their leg putting all the weight of their body in the nail driven through their feet.
Jesus felt such a desire to call on the Father for our forgiveness that He added to His suffering, pushing up on the nail in His feet, just to say these words, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
How often do we get angry and bent out of shape, desiring to get even with people who don't even know they hurt us? I remember a while back, I gave people the opportunity to let me know if I had hurt them so that I could apologize and ask for forgiveness. This was a humbling moment for me.
Most people didn't respond but I did have a couple people who where willing to share with me. I recall one person who had been hurt by something I said. I never even realized I had hurt her and her family. She shared how my words, that I thought of as words of direction and encouragement, had been received as words of ridicule. I didn't even realize the pain caused by my words or my actions. I need forgiveness for all the ways I hurt people and don't even know it.
I need forgiveness for all the things I know I do. (Now that is tough to admit.) Even after years of becoming more like Jesus I still mess up a lot. I need forgiveness everyday. If you are like me, the list of things you need forgiveness for is so long that if you focus on it you won't have time to hold a grudge against someone else.
As we think on Jesus' words of forgiveness we need to extend that same forgiveness to others. After all, their sins are not truly against us but against the God who created us in His image.
Luke 6:36-38 Jesus encourages us with these words, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Final Words part 1
When we are hurting physically, emotionally or spiritually we tend to become very self focused. We tend to focus on the start of our pain and discomfort. We tend to be more abrasive, rude and selfish. We lash out and point fingers, we place blame and make accusations. Well, at least I know I can be this way. I'm not justifying it but just stating a fact about my failings.
I know on days when I have a bad headache or when my back is really hurting I am not the easiest person to be around. Knowing this about my self makes a study of Jesus' final words before His death that much tougher to look at. They challenge me to look beyond my natural reaction, that fight or flight response to the situation I find myself in and find a deeper more meaningful response that can forever shape the lives of other people for the positive.
In this study we will be looking at the seven statements that Jesus made from the cross. We will begin today looking at the words spoken by Jesus in John 19:26-27.
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Here we find Jesus after being beaten, mocked, spit upon and crucified not looking after his own self interest or filled with self loathing in His anguished state but looking to the best interest of others.
As the oldest son, Jesus was responsible for the care of His widowed mother. With His death Jesus knew that someone would have to care for Mary in His absence. This task would normally fall upon the next oldest son however Jesus could assign this task to another.
Jesus also looks deeper than the surface need of just making sure His mother was cared for. He knew that with His death there would be a whole in the hearts of both John and Mary. Mary would be devastated with the loss of her first born child. John, the disciple, who refers to himself as simply, "the disciple whom he loved" would have a huge hole in His heart with the death of his Lord.
So Jesus calls them to be there for one another. For Mary, He provided a new son to care for her. A son who was hand taught and trained to be like Jesus. For John, Jesus provide a mother to care for who would be able to tell him the stories of Jesus that he wouldn't have known before.
Jesus looked after the interest others over His own pain and His own suffering. His example here should motivate us to look beyond the situation we are in and seek to make others lives better. As I study this statement of Jesus from the cross I am challenged to live a life of encouragement to others despite the circumstances I am in though I remind everyone I am just a work in progress.
I know on days when I have a bad headache or when my back is really hurting I am not the easiest person to be around. Knowing this about my self makes a study of Jesus' final words before His death that much tougher to look at. They challenge me to look beyond my natural reaction, that fight or flight response to the situation I find myself in and find a deeper more meaningful response that can forever shape the lives of other people for the positive.
In this study we will be looking at the seven statements that Jesus made from the cross. We will begin today looking at the words spoken by Jesus in John 19:26-27.
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Here we find Jesus after being beaten, mocked, spit upon and crucified not looking after his own self interest or filled with self loathing in His anguished state but looking to the best interest of others.
As the oldest son, Jesus was responsible for the care of His widowed mother. With His death Jesus knew that someone would have to care for Mary in His absence. This task would normally fall upon the next oldest son however Jesus could assign this task to another.
Jesus also looks deeper than the surface need of just making sure His mother was cared for. He knew that with His death there would be a whole in the hearts of both John and Mary. Mary would be devastated with the loss of her first born child. John, the disciple, who refers to himself as simply, "the disciple whom he loved" would have a huge hole in His heart with the death of his Lord.
So Jesus calls them to be there for one another. For Mary, He provided a new son to care for her. A son who was hand taught and trained to be like Jesus. For John, Jesus provide a mother to care for who would be able to tell him the stories of Jesus that he wouldn't have known before.
Jesus looked after the interest others over His own pain and His own suffering. His example here should motivate us to look beyond the situation we are in and seek to make others lives better. As I study this statement of Jesus from the cross I am challenged to live a life of encouragement to others despite the circumstances I am in though I remind everyone I am just a work in progress.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Mr. Cellophane
I remember when I first saw the movie "Chicago" I was struck by the powerful performance of John C. Reilly as he played Amos Hart. In this song "Mr. Cellophane" he captured the depth and pain of the loneliness that so many of us have felt in one period of our life or another. To some of us this song could become the embodiment of our childhood where we just couldn't find the love we desired. For others this song radiates with our high school years when we felt that no one truly knew "the real me." For some it is their marriage or dating relationships where they sought after love and acceptance. For others this is the present reality. It is a life that feels empty and without purpose.
As I write this blog, I am reminded of all the people I know that have been hurt and scarred because no one was willing to take the time to notice. I think of an 8 year old boy that was addicted to drugs because that was all he really knew. I think of a teenage girl who was raped at home nearly every night and was told that this is what love is. I think of a teenage boy who lied, stole and fought because he wanted attention from his parents. I think about a single mom working two jobs and trying to raise her three children. I think of a woman who would go to the bar every night hoping to get picked-up by a man so that she could feel important for just one night. I can think of a man who is drinking himself to death because the drunkenness helps him escape the emptiness he feels inside. And these are all people I knew growing up. Some of them were friends, some were people who knew my parents, but I knew them. I can still see their faces, yet over the years I have lost contact with each of them.
Like them, I too know what it is like to be Mr. Cellophane.
Often times Christians hear about these people and we think, "if they would just get right with Jesus, they wouldn't have those problems," or "they just need God in their lives." And in a deep, powerful, and spiritual way we are right, but we are missing something!
The fact is a relationship with God Almighty through Jesus Christ is the answer. So what are we doing about it? Most Christians wouldn't be caught dead in a bar or a prison or a rehab center. Many Christians are so afraid that others will look down on them if they are seen hanging out with the town drunk. Many of us are more content to sit back and put down that poor mother's wild children than dare to step out and offer her some help.
As I was thinking about these people and so many more in the world that are struggling, hurting, weary, tired, and lonely I was drawn to Matthew 9:9-13 where we find Jesus at Matthew's house:
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
In this passage we don't find Jesus sitting outside pointing fingers at these tax collectors and "sinners" (aka. this is referring to prostitutes). No, we find Jesus inside eating with them. If we understood their culture we might understand just how important that is.
In the time and culture that Jesus lived, dining with someone was considered one of the greatest forms of intimacy. You only did this with people you cared deeply for. They would recline around the table leaning on each other as they ate. It is here that we find Jesus. In the midst of the hurting, the hated, the rejected and the lonely. And when questioned about it He replies, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
This is the kind of God I serve. One that desires to bring healing into the lives of the hurting, love to the lonely, wholeness to the broken, the great surgeon of the heart.
In Romans 10:14 it says, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
The next time we see someone and think, "they need Jesus," maybe God is telling us it is time to introduce them to the Jesus who wants to eat with them.
Revelation 3:20, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
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