Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
You Have Heard It Said...
Jesus began much of his dialogue in the Sermon on the Mount with the phrase “You have heard it said…” and yes, indeed, we have heard many things said. We are bombarded with messages urging us to “live on the Coke side of life”, “just do it”, and that there is “change we can believe in”. In the religious realm we are encouraged to live “a purpose driven life” praying like Jabez while elevating our worship. The barrage of inconsistent messages we receive each day far too often leaves us living out unremarkable lives in a world that is in desperate need of remarkable people.
Jesus knew that what people had heard was not necessarily wrong; after all, who ever thought that murder or committing adultery was good. He, however, was not content with the status quo, he was calling for people of extraordinary commitment in their love for God and those around them. He didn’t just want people who don’t murder, he wanted people who don’t harbor anger in their hearts; he didn’t want people who only love the loveable but those who will love the unlovable ones. He doesn’t want me to simply pray for the displaced who are suffering the affects of war, but to pray also for the immigration officials who stop me at roadblocks for hours waiting for a bribe.
James wrote that “Religion that is acceptable is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”(1:27) Isaiah and the prophets ring out in similar fashion, “true fasting is to break the chains of injustice, to set the oppressed free, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and to provide the wanderer (IDP/refugee) with shelter.”(chpt 58) Paul, in his second letter to the church in Corinth, challenged them to give from their plenty to supply the needs of those who were less fortunate. His manner of writing on the subject suggests that it may have been a slightly touchy issue and yet he urged them to give from what they had(chpt 8) . I have often seen this demonstrated here in Congo where someone gives in the fashion of the widow of Mark 12 by offering their only chicken or a stock of bananas as a gift to their guest.
Kingdom work is difficult and requires sacrifice. Perhaps we have heard it said that as a Christian we will be joyful, at peace, more than conquerors and rewarded by our King. And yes, these things are true, but dear friends let us not look for our reward at the beginning of the journey but at the end where faith gives way to sight and the greatest reward is the glory of our King. Peter wrote, “you greatly rejoice even in the face of trials because you know that your faith is more important than gold and will be proved true and lead to praise of King Jesus when he is revealed.”(1:6-7)
The truth is that I would very much like to quit my work and pretend that this world does not have places like Congo where people are suffering. I have no desire to see people starving or naked. I would like to shut it all out. I would like to absorb myself in some other project or place that is not quite so difficult. I would like to give up. But, I am reminded that my King is a king who lives among the untouchable, unwanted, unnoticed, forgotten, downtrodden, abused ones. He is the “Man of Sorrows”, familiar with suffering , and he knows the names of all the abducted children, all the raped women, all the starving men sleeping in makeshift huts. The King is here and I will rejoice because though I may face the trials of today by His side, the day is coming (OH YES! IT IS COMING) when he will make all things new and believe me I will have a BIG smile on my face on that day.
You and I have heard it said….but will we hear what HE says?
Jesus knew that what people had heard was not necessarily wrong; after all, who ever thought that murder or committing adultery was good. He, however, was not content with the status quo, he was calling for people of extraordinary commitment in their love for God and those around them. He didn’t just want people who don’t murder, he wanted people who don’t harbor anger in their hearts; he didn’t want people who only love the loveable but those who will love the unlovable ones. He doesn’t want me to simply pray for the displaced who are suffering the affects of war, but to pray also for the immigration officials who stop me at roadblocks for hours waiting for a bribe.
James wrote that “Religion that is acceptable is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”(1:27) Isaiah and the prophets ring out in similar fashion, “true fasting is to break the chains of injustice, to set the oppressed free, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and to provide the wanderer (IDP/refugee) with shelter.”(chpt 58) Paul, in his second letter to the church in Corinth, challenged them to give from their plenty to supply the needs of those who were less fortunate. His manner of writing on the subject suggests that it may have been a slightly touchy issue and yet he urged them to give from what they had(chpt 8) . I have often seen this demonstrated here in Congo where someone gives in the fashion of the widow of Mark 12 by offering their only chicken or a stock of bananas as a gift to their guest.
Kingdom work is difficult and requires sacrifice. Perhaps we have heard it said that as a Christian we will be joyful, at peace, more than conquerors and rewarded by our King. And yes, these things are true, but dear friends let us not look for our reward at the beginning of the journey but at the end where faith gives way to sight and the greatest reward is the glory of our King. Peter wrote, “you greatly rejoice even in the face of trials because you know that your faith is more important than gold and will be proved true and lead to praise of King Jesus when he is revealed.”(1:6-7)
The truth is that I would very much like to quit my work and pretend that this world does not have places like Congo where people are suffering. I have no desire to see people starving or naked. I would like to shut it all out. I would like to absorb myself in some other project or place that is not quite so difficult. I would like to give up. But, I am reminded that my King is a king who lives among the untouchable, unwanted, unnoticed, forgotten, downtrodden, abused ones. He is the “Man of Sorrows”, familiar with suffering , and he knows the names of all the abducted children, all the raped women, all the starving men sleeping in makeshift huts. The King is here and I will rejoice because though I may face the trials of today by His side, the day is coming (OH YES! IT IS COMING) when he will make all things new and believe me I will have a BIG smile on my face on that day.
You and I have heard it said….but will we hear what HE says?
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