Tuesday, August 7, 2012

'those' people


One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is?
Luke 5:17, 21

Detractors will always show up where God’s harvest field is ready…but Gods power will show up even greater.

What if Jesus had given in to the pressure and standards of the religious elite of his day?  Think of all the people recorded in the Bible (and today) that would never have been touched, healed, delivered or given hope.  You and I would never have been offered a taste of grace because Jesus mission of why he came would never have been filled. 

There will always be well meaning friends and even coworkers within the religious establishments of our day that will try to convince us to stay within the norm, warn us to be careful or not understand our choices or decisions.  

Where is it written we must be careful of Jesus calling to “go into all the world and make disciples?”  Where is it written we will never have to give up our lives for the sake of the gospel?  Where is it written we will not be misunderstood or abandoned by others because of our choice to be a follower of Jesus Christ?  
Yes, I agree some persecution we hear about today is brought on because of foolish actions.  At the same time true persecution will always be on the heels of total abandonment of self in order for Gods work, his Kingdom (not ours) to be advanced.

Our standard and foundation must always align with what Jesus taught.  That in itself will be at odds with not only the world view but that of the established religious communities view.  Do we really want to live and be as Jesus set the example for us?   

I grew up with ‘be a fisherman for Jesus’ but with the warning  ‘don’t go into certain establishments because you wouldn’t want people to think poorly of Jesus.’  Do fishermen wait for the fish to jump out of the water or do they go where the fish live?  Didn’t Jesus go into homes and the marketplace to eat and drink with the those people of his day who were searching and disenfranchised with lifeless religion? 

Today, don’t  those people  also deserve to hear, and more importantly, see the grace of God?  And would those people actually feel welcomed in our religious establishments today?  According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life only 39% of Americans attend a church service once a week yet 92% believe in God or a universal spirit. [i]  Those people are clearly not coming into the church building.  They are not interested in a building; there is no power in a building.  They are interested in someone walking grace with them, not condoning or condemning them. When we, the body of Christ, move out of the building and show them Jesus rather than just telling them Jesus, grace begins to grow. 

What Jesus was accused of as blasphemy was the very avenue for forgiveness and healing to occur.  His actions caused those around and usually those outside the religious elite to be gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” Luke 5:26

Jesus not only spoke grace he lived it.  He requires no less from us as his followers.

I have not yet arrived but am trying with his help to walk in grace every day.  Some days I stumble a lot.  What about you, want to walk grace together?

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