#173

One Who Deserves More Than We Give

It’s a very old song (I Gave Me Life for Thee – Harvard and Bliss, 1858). Each of its four verses ends with a question, and the question is repeated. It’s like we really need to give this some serious time and consideration.

Verse one

“I gave, I gave my life for thee, what hast thou given for me?”

Verse Two

“I left, I left it all for thee, what hast thou left for me?”

Verse Three

“I’ve borne, I‘ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou born for me?”

Verse Four

“I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought for me?

I don’t think I need to rewrite these verses in modern English. I believe we get the point.

I played enough sports that I cannot even begin to count the times my coach said give it 110 %. I guess it is obvious to most of us that to exceed at anything we must push beyond the normal.

If you are that rich young ruler, don’t be satisfied with liquidating your holdings and giving to the poor. There was something else. Come follow Jesus (Matthew 19).

That woman caught in adultery was found without any accusers. But that wasn't the end. Stop sinning (John 8).

How much of us does Jesus deserve? Well, just how saved are you? Are you slightly saved? Are you saved just on Sunday? Are you saved as you dig in your pocket for the little bit you put into the plate. No such thing as being “sort of” saved.

                                            Hebrews 7:25

                    25 Therefore he is able to save completely  

                    those who come to God through him, because

                    he always lives to intercede for them.

We expect everything from Jesus while at the same time we expect Jesus to accept so little from us. We offer to him the leftovers, few leftovers at that, and expect Him to be so joyful that He jumps head over heels.

He Gave His Life, He Left Heaven, He Endured Agony, He Brought Blessings. What have we given, left, endured, or brought for Him?

#172

One Who Accepts Children

 (The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting) 

On Friday, December 14, 2012, 26 innocent people living their daily Newtown, CN routine had their lives taken away from them by an individual ( I cannot and will not say his name – he deserves no notoriety for this senseless act of violence) who infiltrated their normalcy and blew it all to pieces. All lives lost in this incident represent a tragedy, individually and collectively. The slice of this tragedy that I want to make some effort to digest has to do with the children – and I’ll have to admit that digestion gets interrupted frequently by sickness in the pit of my stomach.

One thing that helps is remembering the title of my blog, “Who is Jesus?” If at all possible I want to go back to Jesus in this tragedy. In doing so, I remember what Jesus said at a time when some children were sensing and feeling their own disenfranchisement.

Of all people His very own disciples we the ones sweeping the children under the rug. They were the ones that were hindering the children from what was very likely the children’s parents plan for them that day – go see that man Jesus. In essence Jesus barks at His disciples, “Get back there. Do not interrupt their plan.” He says (Matthew 19:14)…

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

"Do you not know, Peter, Andrew, James, John, etc, that only children come to me? The ones you are blocking are the very ones I want, and, by the way, take an example. This is the only way anyone will get to me – child likeness."

A chapter earlier these same disciples are arguing about who is greatest. Jesus again brings children to the forefront as He says (vs. 3)…

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Children and Heaven – now there is a connection. Jesus says it twice. His arms are wide open to children. The welcome mat is out for children. Don’t even ring the doorbell; the door is wide open!

There is unmistakable wailing on the part of parents who lost their children. You may be able to make sense of it, but I can’t. But what I do know is that these are the very ones that Jesus welcomes into heaven. Can’t you see it? The Son of God, while grieving and feeling for the parents, welcomes these 20 children into a place they will never have to leave. Can’t you just hear Him say, “Let these little children come to me. I've got you!"

#171

One Who Starts Where You Are

When I first started playing football, quite a while ago, the coach did not expect me to be an automatic superstar – which I never was. He did determine what I already knew and began to build on that. In other words he took me from where I was. This process is pretty common in every area of life. When it comes to a new job there is a learning curve. Brand new parents do not reach parenting expertise overnight. In each case one is taken from where they are and developed into what they need to be.

We need to remember this process in our attempts to bring our friends and neighbors into a relationship with God through Jesus. Of course Jesus is our prime example of using this process in dealing with people. “Come down out of that tree,” Zacchaeus, “I’m going home with you.” Jesus took him from where he was – a thief – to a recipient of salvation.

The woman caught in adultery was exactly that – an adulteress. “Go and sin no more.” She received mercy and it was exactly what she needed where she was.

How many of his disciples were hard working fishermen who became fishers of men? They couldn’t start out being fishers of men. They needed to grow.

If we are not careful we want to baptize super Christians without allowing time for growth and development. We think that they must be straightened out on everything, not limited to but including; eschatology, propitiation, however many acts of worship there are, what women can and cannot do, marriage-divorce-remarriage, communion at the beginning or end, etc.

I just remember the bottom line for the man born blind and healed by Jesus in John 9. “I was blind but now I see, (vs. 25).”  Isn’t that the bottom line for all of us? At one point we were totally blind, and now Jesus has made us see. Now that we can see, we can begin the process that Paul describes in Galatians 4:19.

               My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of
               childbirth until Christ is formed in you.

Spiritual formation is a process – a lifelong process. We have yet to become what we will be.

If you’ll understand who I am and where I am and help me see Jesus, I will become what I am supposed to be. If you make me begin by trying to be what I am supposed to eventually become, I will fall all over myself.

Start with people where they are.