In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks about some sheep and goats. He tells one group that because they didn't meet the needs before them, they are seperated and cast out. To the other, He says because they did meet the needs before them, they are welcomed into His eternal inheritance.
Both groups respond to Him unknowingly. The righteous sheep (those that did meet the needs) responded, "Lord, when did we see you hungry.........etc" and the unfaithful goats, (those that did not meet the needs) said "Lord, when did we see you hungry..........etc"
It is a pretty trendy thing in churches these days to "meet the needs of people". Churches all over the place are simplifying their mission statements to articulate their desire to meet the needs of the world. Loving God, loving people, serving the world. Even our church Missio Dei has employed a byline to reveal our passion for this saying "where the mission of God and the needs of the world meet."
My question is this, does Matthew 25 here address primarily the meeting of needs as a way to demonstrate righteousness? Do Jesus' words here tell us that we need to focus our attention on meeting needs? The sheeps response to Jesus declaration of their righteous acts I believe give us a clue. They met the needs seemingly not knowing that they were touching the fathers heart. They made no bragging about their actions.
It seems to me that if our focus is on meeting the needs of people, then we are wide open to becoming prideful about our actions. On the other hand, if we are primarily focused on serving God in "all things", then certainly meeting needs will be a part of our activity but all of our activity will be guided principly by serving God.
In John 20: 21 "Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Oswald Chambers said, "A missioary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people but the command of Jesus. The goal is to be true to Him-to carry out His plans."
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Simple vs Easy
A comment made on my first post here brought out something that needs to be addressed right here at the beginning. It is the question of “simple” vs.” easy.” Let me say the two are not synonymous. By looking at the classic Webster dictionary the differences become very clear.
It defines EASY as a :causing or involving little difficulty or discomfort b : requiring or indicating little effort, thought, or reflection
While SIMPLE is defined as a : the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded b : concise, clear c : free of secondary complications.
In these we can see that the two terms are not to be considered interchangeable. The life we live as followers of Jesus was never defined as easy, by Him or any other writer in scripture. In fact, just the opposite is true. We are told that the life of a follower of Jesus will be filled with difficulty and/or discomfort and that it will require struggling with our thoughts and reflections.
The words Jesus uses to reply to the question of the “Greatest Commandment” in Matthew 22 and Mark 12 and by a teacher of the law in Luke 10 is quoted from Deuteronomy 6 and is based in RELATIONSHIPS. The greatest commandment is not a sacrifice we can bring, or a duty we can perform, but is centered in the relationship we can have with God almighty and the people he places in our lives. THIS IS ANYTHING BUT EASY, BUT IT IS CONCISE, CLEAR AND FREE OF SECONDARY COMPLICATIONS.
Jesus spent much of His life and teaching endeavoring to untangle the complicated mess of religion that generations of people had created. I believe we find ourselves in a similar place in the 21 century.
It defines EASY as a :causing or involving little difficulty or discomfort b : requiring or indicating little effort, thought, or reflection
While SIMPLE is defined as a : the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded b : concise, clear c : free of secondary complications.
In these we can see that the two terms are not to be considered interchangeable. The life we live as followers of Jesus was never defined as easy, by Him or any other writer in scripture. In fact, just the opposite is true. We are told that the life of a follower of Jesus will be filled with difficulty and/or discomfort and that it will require struggling with our thoughts and reflections.
The words Jesus uses to reply to the question of the “Greatest Commandment” in Matthew 22 and Mark 12 and by a teacher of the law in Luke 10 is quoted from Deuteronomy 6 and is based in RELATIONSHIPS. The greatest commandment is not a sacrifice we can bring, or a duty we can perform, but is centered in the relationship we can have with God almighty and the people he places in our lives. THIS IS ANYTHING BUT EASY, BUT IT IS CONCISE, CLEAR AND FREE OF SECONDARY COMPLICATIONS.
Jesus spent much of His life and teaching endeavoring to untangle the complicated mess of religion that generations of people had created. I believe we find ourselves in a similar place in the 21 century.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Welcome to Finding Some Faith
As a pastor of 13 years, I find myself returning to the simplicity of the message of Jesus found in scripture. I have lived through many complicated seasons of church life and I am more convinced than ever that Jesus demonstrated a profound simplicity in His life and teachings. When asked about the "Greatest of all of the laws" in Matthew 22, He simply responded, "Love the Lord and love people". Now, what do we do to live a life of profound simplicity? This blog is dedicated to discovering how the entire life and teaching of Jesus can be traced back to this premise. Please journey with me as we discover it together.
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