St Francis, Where Art Thou?

October 4^th is the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi. Since I am not Roman Catholic, there are many saints – capital “S” saints - days that I do not celebrate. Even so, Francis is a good day to celebrate.


Francis was an interesting person. He renounced his wealth, affluence and worldly possessions. He is reported to have run out of the church naked after leaving his clothes behind because they came from his well-to-do father’s money. Later, he started his own religious order for which he is best known today. He is reputed to have said, “Preach the gospel and if necessary use words.” This would have been a strange saying for someone who started an order that included preaching. He created the first Christmas crèche or Nativity scene. This happened long before political correctness made it offensive to some to display the birth of the Christ child in public. He is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. It is because of his being the patron saint of animals that the Blessing of Animals service is conducted on Francis’ feast day.


The Church – big “C” – is missing an exciting opportunity for evangelism by ignoring this day. So many people love their pets – some more than people! I know what a loss our two silly puppies would be to our family. Why? It is because they are part of the family. They normally mind better than the kids. They have no laundry to be done for them. They keep their bedrooms clean. Their food costs are a lot less. In many respects, they are better behaved than the kids. The truth is that we love our pets.


In addition, they are part of God’s creation. After God created all the animals the Bible says, “And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25) All creatures are worthy of having the blessing of God. There was a movie entitled “All Dogs Go to Heaven.” I do not think this untrue. In fact, dog spelled backwards is God! I was asked once if there were animals in heaven. After a thoughtful pause, I replied, “There must be or where else would the four horses of the apocalypse come from?” (Revelation 19:11) I’m not sure snakes make it though. They were cursed at the Fall. (Genesis 3;24) Blessing animals seems logical and thoroughly biblical.


I had always envisioned the Blessing of the Animals service to be a big deal. It is a wonderful safe way to attract people to the church. People may not come for themselves but many may come to receive a blessing for Fido or Rover. Imagine inviting the whole K-9 unit from the local police force. Advertising their presence would lend an air of a community outreach event to the proceedings. Allow the local pet rescue organization to set up shop with some of their adoptable pets. They could be introduced to a whole cadre of prospective pet owners. This is the kind of community outreach that can reap benefits.


Of course, the will have to be a sermon during the course of the “service.” This would be true to the order that St. Francis started. Ruminate on these themes for the sermon. If you focusing on adopting a pet you can point to the love, care and concern it takes from the potential new owner. Then, point the people to these same themes in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and our adoption into God’s family and our becoming children of God. Another perspective would be to remind pet owners of their love and devotion their pets have for them and the love and devotion they have towards their pets. Then you can remind them that God feels the same way about them and sent Jesus Christ to prove it. Both subjects allow the gospel to be preached without beating people over their head with the Bible. One of the drawbacks at any service where animals and kids are present is to keep to short and to the point. Use this as an opportunity to invite people to join you for a regular Sunday service. After all, if you treat their pets right, you will certainly treat them right too! Then they can hear a more complete gospel massage.


My fear is that as we let “out of the box” chances slip away we limit our prospects for reaching those outside the church. And we do so at our peril as a church. How hard is it to invite your neighbors to something as innocuous as this? They will hopefully see the benefits for their beloved pets. How could blessing them hurt? Yet it is a wide open door. Allow them to see that the walls of the church are structurally sound to withstand their visit. Invitations to events like this take the edge off of approaching friends about coming to church. Congregations need to think more evangelistically and come up with creative ways to help depopulate the kingdom of hell. Blessing the animals in memory of St. Francis is not the only way. Think of all the sermon fodder you can obtain from St. Valentine’s Day. This is in remembrance of man who gave his life – he was beheaded - for his commitment to Jesus Christ. Or think about St. Patrick. Celebrate his day with more than just green beer or corned beef and cabbage! Patrick was sold into slavery in Ireland as a child. He escaped and decided to return to Ireland to bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Both of these feasts have lost their original meaning and thus their potential impact on an unbelieving world. As we attempt to draw people back to their true meaning, they will hopefully see the depth of commitment to Jesus Christ that those being commemorated demonstrated. Maybe we will be able to impress on them that this “Jesus thing” is something real, something active, something life changing. Who knows? It may even encourage our life and witness to Jesus Christ as we hear and celebrate those who are part of that great cloud of witness that goes before us. Thank you Francis for your witness and testimony and the opportunity you allow us to have to tell others about Jesus Christ.

Who’s in the Audience?

I was reminded the other day of a precious promise from the Bible. I was listening to the discussion on the Christian radio station about knowing that God was always with us. When I hear things like that I am always drawn to the Collect for Purity which is read at almost every Anglican Communion (Mass, Eucharist) on Sunday’s. It states in part, “For to you all hearts are open, all desires known and from you no secrets are hid.” While I know Jesus knows all and sees all, I think part of this statement is true because Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24). Jesus' close proximity to those who know him, love him and serve him brings comfort, strength and assurance. Jesus’ departing words at his Ascension were, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) The can be no denying this fact. We are always in an audience of one.

 

That promise stuck with me most of that day. I was pleased to know that I was never alone. I drew immense comfort from this. That is until I realized that with this promise, this blessed assurance, there comes a responsibility. This is the opposite side of the same coin. If Jesus is present with me all the time, every time, wherever I am, that means I am never alone. There is never a time when I can get away with something because Jesus won’t see me. Just because other people are not with me does not mean I am free from the responsibility of being, acting, striving to be Christ-like. This became a profound reality for me very quickly.

 

At my other employment I have to deal with difficult people on a regular basis. I am used to it. In fact I am so used to it that I am becoming jaded and somewhat irreverent when they are not around. I really did not realize how far I had backslidden until I remembered that Jesus was with me all the time. As one of those difficult people left my office the other day, I said under my breath, almost inaudible to even me, something not very flattering about that person. I guess I have done that a lot lately without even being aware of it. This time I became acutely aware of it because Jesus reminded me he was there. I realized that even though no one else had heard what I said, Jesus did! Immediately I got image in my mind of Jesus covering his ears, closing his eyes, disappointed in my actions. He looked like two of those monkeys: see no evil and speak no evil both at the same time. I was instantly convicted. He reminded me of the many passages of Scripture that speak to what I had just done. I was certainly not proud of myself. We are always in the audience of one.

 

Here are two of the passages he brought to my attention. Proverbs 29:20 states: “Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them.” This verse can bring a smile to your face when you think there is more hope for a fool than for you. I know it did for me. I had no idea what that person was going through other than the imposition they were placing on me. Instead of seeking to offer comfort, understanding or support, I basically cursed them when they left. Jesus’ rebuke of my verbal assault was justified. It did not make me feel good either! Being a fair weather Christian is easy. It is not hard to pretend in public, to put on the good, pious Christian mask. But as Paul encouraged the church at Colossae, “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work.” (Colossians 1:10) Life is not just lived in public but before an audience of one. And, make no mistake about it; my actions did not bear good fruit. It was not a good work and any fruit coming from it was rotten, tainted and worthless. I should know better. If I did not then, I do now.

The one thing about Jesus rebuking you is that he does not leave off with a reprimand. He offers you a solution, a positive way forward, something to change about yourself to make your life more in line with his will and purpose. So, he prompted me to another verse of Scripture. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  (Matthew 5:44) Some people make it so hard to love them. And these difficult people are not really persecuting me. They just aggravate, disturb and inconvenience me. I know those are not the same things. But I think from Jesus’ point of view these are distinctions without a difference. We can try to rationalize that they are not really our enemies. They do not want to see any real harm come to us. They certainly do not want to end our lives – at least I think not. As such, we really do not have to pray for them, much less love them, right? Jesus sets the bar so high, impossibly high. If we find people aggravating, disturbing and inconvenient, then we should love and pray for them. Our job, our duty, our goal is to present Jesus Christ in a favorable light whenever possible. We should attempt to do this most especially when no one is looking, except Jesus himself.

 

I know there are times when I will not live up to the expectations of Jesus Christ. But I also know there is never a time when I should not try! Jesus’ teachings are difficult and hard to adhere to. If they were easy, everyone would do them and we would have no need for a Savior. Even in my meager attempts, I know that I could – I should – try to do better. If only because I am always in an audience of one – the ONE!

“Can’t Touch That” (Simple Math)

I guess God has presented a theme for me as I begin the New Year. I have several devotionals that I read (almost) daily. One has me reading the opening of St. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. This is a powerful indictment of society overruling the precepts of God for their own enjoyment and amusement. There is a lengthy list of things that God considers “sin” and yet people keep on participating in them. When I put that alongside a pull quote from another devotional I can see dimly. Patrick Morley wrote: "The American gospel has evolved into a gospel of addition without subtraction. Many believe we can add Christ to our lives but not subtract sin. We change our belief without changing our character. A changed life is one that added Christ and has subtracted sin - that attracts a world weary of empty words. Jesus is the answer. Our obedience is the proof."

This makes me wonder and it is so convicting as well. It got my little pea brain to ruminate. What subtractions have I made to accommodate the presence of Jesus Christ in my life? How much have I compromised the commands and promises of the gospel message to make room for my “beloved” sins? There are some – probably too many – that I have rationalized that, if God is the loving God he claims to be, he would allow me to have, to participate in, because they make me happy. But are they good for me? In this life, they may actually be neutral: they neither harm not benefit me. Yet, if they are contrary to the decrees of God, there is no way on God’s green earth they could benefit me!

On television lately, they have been airing many advertisements about the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The children on those ads tug at my heart strings and cause me to at least pray for them and thank God that I have been blessed with healthy children. Many of them did not do anything to cause these horrid diseases they are suffering from. They haven’t lived long enough to cause sustained damage to their own bodies. They are way too young to ignore the Surgeon General’s warning on the side of certain products. In these times of mental calisthenics, I wonder how I would handle some kind of devastating news about my health. How would I react to my doctor admonishing me to stop doing some habit or I will die. Or, suppose he told me that, if I wanted to live, I would have to eat liver three nights a week. Now, it may seem I’m making light of a serious situation but I’m not. I really hate liver, even to the point of gagging the last time I tried it. This is how much I dislike – because my grandmother always told me don’t hate anything – liver! Yet, I think I would acquire a taste for this life giving meal if it was my only choice. Or, suppose the doctor told me that my eyesight was failing and I would have to stop reading books altogether? I can’t tell you how quick I would pull out the old cassette player and my New Testament tapes and wear them out until the new cd’s arrived. What I am saying is that life threatening issues will have to be dealt with. Yet too many people ignore the Surgeon General’s warnings and God’s too.

Now, take this calamity to the Church. As Morley so correctly mentions, we may be good at addition but we are not so good at subtraction. God wants both. While I don’t want to mention the peril unbelievers may suffer for their ignorance, I am acutely aware of the risk many in the church are subject to. We do not take seriously God’s admonitions against, well everything. Our feel good mentality will not allow us to speak about people’s transgression. How many people hear the word “sin” mentioned in church on an average Sunday? I dare say that Joel Osteen doesn’t even know how to say the word. If we don’t talk about it, if we ignore it, it must not exist, right?

Why do we allow this to happen? Here is where the second pull quote becomes relevant. It is from CS Lewis. “We are like ignorant children who go on making mud pies in a slum because we can’t imagine God’s offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. We settle for so little.” Some deny that God’s ways are best for us. Others choose to ignore what God says. Either way, we do so at our peril. And the church is complicit in this situation. We focus on addition. The question is always, “Have you found Christ?” We never ask, “Have you repented of those willful things in your life God speaks against?” We have tried to have one without the other and then cannot understand why the church is ineffective and docile. This is becoming harder as the church itself allows its leaders to do and say all kinds of ridiculous things. Here is a very brief sample. The so-called bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC said: “if someone were to discover a tomb with Jesus remains in it the entire enterprise would not come crashing down.” (Marianne Budde) Or this jewel from the former archbishop of South Africa Desmond Tutu: “If God disagrees with me about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior, I’m prepared to spend eternity without Him, because Satan would be the preferable alternative.” As I recollect God has not given us ten suggestions. I have not read in God’s Word God saying, “I think maybe” or, “if you want to.” If he did he would not be God.

It is at this point that I find GK Chesterton’s comments so insightful: "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." I think I have heard the Great Physician lately calling to me, “STOP! THAT WILL KILL YOU!” I feel him nudging me and encouraging me to follow the warning labels all around. I was never good at math. I never cared what “X” equaled. But this is simple math. And I love simple: KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid! I have the addition. Praise God for that. I need the subtraction. I need to take away the stuff in my life that hinders my relationship with God. I need to get out of the slums and get to the seashore. Only God can do that through simple math and our reading and following the warning labels. Make 2014 the year of simple math. God will show you how.

Who’s Rules Anyway?

I must confess that I was inspired by the election of Pope Francis. His words and actions seem to embody Jesus Christ and his humility is refreshing from a former “prince” of the church. Even though I am not Roman Catholic, and have no intention of ever crossing the Tiber to become one, I think Francis will be a blessing to all Christians worldwide, including Anglicans.

Due to the nature of Francis’ elevation and the historic resignation of his predecessor, the politics and intrigue of the papal selection were unusually heightened. Since Benedict abdicated instead of dying, as every pope for the last 600 years has done, the pundits and propagandists had a field day for over a month. Their wagging tongues and sharp pencils generally attacked the Roman Catholic Church with their version of what ails the church and how to fix it. Most of the media focused on how out of date the church was and how it must modernize and join the rest of us in the 21^st century. The two main issues were gay marriage and the ordination of women. From their perch in the cheap seats next to Bob Uecker, without the church getting on-board with these progressive issues, it was destined to be cast on the dung heap of irrelevancy. It appears that the church did not cave into the hysterics and has chosen a man who will uphold the orthodoxy and doctrines of the church.

Watching all of this as an interested bystander was fascinating. It raised several matters which got my attention. Thus, I have entitled this article, “Who’s Rules Anyway?” There are so many implications on so many levels but I will just explore a couple.

The one I had the most trouble with was the gay marriage issue. The teaching of the church has remained constant on this subject for over 2000 years. This does not include the Old Testament which begins at creation with one man and women. What makes this juicy is that by redefining marriage as society or a small minority of that society dictates makes people believe they can improve on what God has instituted. How arrogant for the creatures to tell the creator how things ought to be! That would be like Pinocchio telling Geppetto what he should do, how he should act. It is hard to imagine how in the world people can think they can tell God how to act and what to bless.

The first argument that is always raised concerns love. If God is love they suggest, he would want me to be able to marry the person I love. We tend to think that there are no boundaries or restraints on who we love, how we love or what we can love. Even without exploring the implications of this slippery slope, it is not hard to see how far this mutation can lead us away from God. God’s love is so much higher, purer and perfect than human love (or lust). God just doesn’t love, he is love. It is not an action he engages in it is his who and what he is. God is pure unadulterated love. Who knows more about love than the One who is love? Our fallen humanity can never have a concept of God’s true love.

Same sex marriage is also a life issue. God, who is the author of life, has proscribed relationships that foster life. This is more than just about pre-creation, it’s about health.  It is hard to deny the statistical fact that gay men live, on average, 12 years less than their heterosexual counterparts. Women average about ten years less. There is also a higher chance of suicide, drug abuse, depression and other physical and mental ailments associated with same sex desire. How can society encourage a life style that is so evidently pro-death? The God who created all life, who raised Jesus Christ back to life, is anything but pro-death. He is decidedly anti-death. He is pro-life! It is hard to imagine him, under any circumstances, supporting any institution that leads to premature death. When Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly, I am fairly certain he had in mind a quantity and quality that is diametrically opposed to this. True love supports life, not destroys it.

Many supporters of same sex marriage will claim that this is a social justice issue. You will hear them whine, “If heterosexuals can, why can’t we?” At this point answering, “Because God said so,” offers little solace or help. That answer just does not sit well with them. Like little children they feel they are being denied or cheated because they do not get what they want. Good parenting requires saying “no” quite often, especially when it is in the best interest of the child. When I was young – and I must admit I still want this today – I wanted to eat candy for all of my meals. I think God allowed Reese’s Cup to be invented to tempt me beyond what I can handle! But, then as now, a steady diet of those delicious peanut butter cups would do great damage to my health. I would not be getting the proper nutrients my body required and the sugar alone would rot my teeth. Sometimes a “no” means love. Love means saying no and not indulging whims just because the child feels they are getting a raw deal. Here again, who is more just than God Almighty? He invented the principle and the practice and instituted the action.

The church inspires strong loyalties and those can be tough to overcome. During the pre-papal election coverage, I heard a lot of people spewing about “their” church. These people forget that the church is a voluntary institution and they are free to belong or not to belong. I think it really is the height of arrogance to try to tell something as big and as old as the Roman Catholic Church how she should act. In my wildest imagination, I would never think to the join the Rotary Club and try to tell them what they should be doing and why. That is the definition of the tail wagging the dog. What I would do is try to find a group whose principles and ideals I agree with and join them. Instead of constantly rowing against the rest of the boat, I would be rowing with them and making more of an impact in the process. If the Roman Catholic Church does not meet your expectations, find a church that will. (This goes for any church or denomination.) I realize this opens up a whole other can of worms about “true” churches etc. but we will save that for a later date. Freedom of association also means freedom from association.

These are just a couple of observations from the papal election. I dare say they are unique to the Roman Catholic Church or to me. There are many tails out there trying to wag the dog. The biggest dog of all is God. The distortion of reality is huge. The presumption is overwhelming. God is God because he is God. He has instituted desirable behavior for his creatures. Throughout history, we have perverted God’s pattern. We have revised Psalm 100:3. The verse states: “It is he who made us and not we ourselves.” We have made it much more palatable: "It is we who have made him and not he himself.” Both versions have implications for the way we live. The only question is, “Who’s rules anyway?”

Sympathetic Pains

I’m not a big fan of sympathetic pain. I suffer from it. If you tell me you have a tooth ache, I will feel pain in my own mouth. Stomach, head ache, any other ache, I suffer the same thing. This may make me more compassionate and caring but it can be a real pain, literally. When my wife was pregnant with our son I had real issues with her morning sickness. Maybe that is why we didn’t have any more children. At this time of year my malady becomes acute when I think back on all that Jesus went through for me on Good Friday.

I love Holy Week. I am thankful – grateful – for all that Jesus endured on my behalf. His suffering was my gain. When we read the biblical accounts of the Passions Narrative, they seem to be sanitized. They do not adequately portray what Jesus actually underwent at the hands of his tormentors. With the release of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” the actual brutality of Jesus’ suffering jumps out of the screen with such force it knocks you over, if not out. I do not know how anyone cannot suffer some form of sympathetic pain watching those scenes. It is gory and grotesque. When I viewed the film – and mind you, I could only stand to see it once – I was graciously spared from the full impact of the whipping part. I was summoned to answer the phone at the portion where Jesus was flogged. I returned at the point where Mary was wiping up the blood. Even that was too much for my fragile constitution. That movie indelibly etched the true nature of the Passion in my mind and the minds of millions of viewers. Then, each year those images are reawakened in my mind as I remember our Lord’s Passion.

The question remains, though, will the events that are portrayed in that movie have any impact on your Good Friday? For me, suffering from sympathetic pain, it does. Even writing this I am getting prickly feelings on my back just thinking about Jesus being scourged. If I take the time – which I probably will not – I could feel sensations in other areas of my body too. But these little sympathetic pains bear little resemblance to what Jesus truly suffered and endured. His pain was real. Mine is only a figment of my imagination. His blood was real. His torn flesh was real. Jesus can sympathize with the pains and our true condition we have in life because he has suffered real true pain too. These are not sympathetic pains but actual true suffering. And on the cross, when he took on all of our sins as the sacrificial Lamb of God, for the first time in his life, he knew what it meant to be cut off from intimate fellowship with God. We are used to it, he was not. For us it is normal, for him it was rude awakening. He came to return the possibility of that full relationship with God for us, and to us. It was at this point that Jesus exclaimed, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” The closeness of their relationship was ripped away from him just as brutally as the skin on his back.

 

While Jesus Christ can sympathize with us, we can never sympathize with him. Even in our most pathetic efforts to understand what he went through we come up short. The implications of what he did echo through eternity, praise God! We tend to minimize or sanitize what Jesus endured. We seldom try to fill in the details in the biblical account left out by the gospel writers. We rarely engage our imaginations to even partially enter into his suffering and pain. I was overwhelmed several years ago when I came across a medical doctor’s diagnosis of what Jesus’ body was going through during all of this. He explored all of the possible ramifications of the brutal beating, the crown of thorns, the cross bar of the execution cross, in addition to the hunger, thirst and myriad other physical ailments that were occurring. After perusing the medical record I was astounded at how Jesus even lived long enough to make it to the cross. Needless to say, for the faint-hearted like me, this was somber reading. But Jesus had a mission to complete and nothing short of the cross would accomplish the purpose for which he came.

To enter fully into Easter, we must go through Good Friday. We need to understand what Jesus accomplished on Good Friday. That is where we find its meaning, not in sympathy but in actuality. We don’t stay on Good Friday because we are resurrection people. We cannot minimize what was accomplished on that fateful day Friday 2000 years ago. With my sympathetic pain, all I can say is that I would not have survived. I am eternally grateful. I am also eternally grateful that the cross wasn’t the last word! The empty tomb is the last word. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) Or as Tony Campolo wrote about, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin!” Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Hedging Your Bets

Have you ever “hedged” a bet? Have you ever not gone “all in,” holding a little back just in case? Whatever the topic or issue, you have chosen to keep something “in reserve.” Well, I doubt you are alone. I doubt you are the only one who has ever done this. Two main areas of hedging occur in our finances and in our love relationships. In these we tend to be leery of going all in.

This realization hit last week when I heard a song on the radio from many years back. My son said he knew of the song and it was not from the oldies radio station so I felt a little better. It was from Supertramp and it was called “Give A Little bit.” Here is the verse that caught my attention: “Give a little bit; Give a little bit of your love to me; I'll give a little bit; I'll give a little bit of my life for you.” There are times in life when going all is not prudent. I’m not sure how smart you would be to invest heavily in pet rocks or eight track tapes. Those would not be wise investments and I would stay away from any financial manager who recommended such purchases. These certainly couldn’t be good for your portfolio. But we do tend to operate under this philosophy in many aspects of our lives, especially in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to hedge our bets, not go all in; just in case Jesus isn’t who he says he is or does not fulfill his promises.  We hedge because we have some uncertainties about heaven or hell. So, just in case, we hold something back so as not to look silly or foolish. It’s a way of saving face. We may even believe it helps our reputation around town and with our neighbors. We won’t be known as a religious “freak” or “zealot.” The ultimate question is, “What does Jesus Christ think about this?” Interestingly enough Jesus had a lot to say on this subject. Jesus never did anything half way and he expects the same attitude from those who claim to be his disciples. Jesus wants us – his followers – to act as he did. When confronted with the seemingly unanswerable question, or at least unanswerable without offending someone, Jesus said that the greatest commandment was this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) The key word that Jesus used to negate any hedging was “all.” When Jesus said all, he meant all and nothing less than all. If we do not give him our all as he asks we fall short – way short – of what he calls us to do and be. There are times in life when part of something is better than all of nothing. This isn’t one of those times.

If it were possible, this would put us into a quandary. Which part of the blessings of being “in Christ” would you want to forego? This reminds me of some churches that go by the moniker of “Full Gospel” churches. These churches are unique because they have it all, practice it all, and believe in it all. At the same time, this implies that not all churches are full gospel. Thus, some must be partial gospel. I must confess I have attended a couple of partial gospel churches but they would never advertise that fact. These churches would view the blessings and promises of Jesus as a smorgasbord of services and rewards that are available. You choose which ones you want to receive and those you want to do without. Picture yourself in front of Jesus saying, “I’ll have a half healing with a side of medium love and an extra-large mercy! Hold the sacrifice and obedience!” Do you see where that would leave you? Far too many people though are willing to settle for less than all Jesus Christ can and will provide. It’s a shame but it is reality.

This is further compounded by our secret agent status as Christians. We are so deep under cover that nobody would suspect that we belong to Jesus Christ (if we ever truly do at this point!). This too is an aspect of hedging our bets. And, surprise, surprise, Jesus speaks to this also. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33) This is an important issue. If we imagine it from an eternal perspective, where should someone end up who only gave Jesus 50%? Are there levels or degrees in heaven? I don’t think so. Heaven and entrance into it is certainly an all or nothing proposition.  You are either in or you are out.  The entrance requirements are simple – yet wholly complete. In fact there may even be a sign at the pearly gates saying, “NO HEDGERS ALLOWED!” What a disappointment that will be to so many people. At that point it will be too late to correct having been a practical less than 100% disciple. It will be in that moment people will realize that being a sold out follower of Jesus Christ is what it takes to get in.

Think about other relationships you may be involved in. The one that closest resembles what Jesus has in mind is the marriage relationship. Too many couples view marriage as a 50-50 deal. This comes up short by at least 50% each. The marriage relationship is based on an all in mentality with no hedging your bets. This may explain why the divorce rate is so high because people never knew the price they should or would have to pay for their marriage to be successful. Jesus sets the bar high even to the extent that looking on another woman with lust is considered adultery. (Matthew 5:28) If your spouse is not front and center in your thoughts and in your life – constantly – you have to ask yourself if you are really married. Repeated violations of this adds more credence to the hedging your bet principle.

God doesn’t want just part of us. He gave us his all in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus gave us his all when he died for us on the cross. Imagine for a moment if Jesus had said, just prior to his passion, “Well, I’ve done enough for them. I know it was only a portion of my Father’s plan, but it is good enough. Besides, there are so many who will never believe or commit wholeheartedly. Why should I give them my all?” We would be plumb out of luck! We would be disappointed and without hope. We would still be lost.

When we accept the challenge – and trust me, it is a huge, relentless challenge – to follow Jesus Christ and love him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength we have not hedged our bets or held anything back. The rewards are worth it. Go all in with Jesus and you will never regret not hedging your bet. Why? Because it’s not a bet, it is a sure thing!

Magnitude

Now that Christmas is over and the giving season is at a close (well except for birthdays, anniversaries and other special events) people are probably quickly forgetting who gave them what for Christmas. I would dare say that thank you notes have not even been written for said gifts. Every once in a while, people will be more thankful for other types of favors that they may receive. I am reminded of a story about a two veterans on a train. One has an epileptic seizure during the trip. The other promptly puts his arms around the first vet and holds him tight until the seizure passes. Another passenger remarks about the kind gesture. The second vet responds that the first man saved his life during the war. He goes on to tell about selling all he owned after his friend discovered he had this condition so he could be there for him. The passenger was impressed. The vet stated, “After what he did for me, there is not anything I would not do for him.” This veteran remembered who gave him a gift and spent the rest of his life repaying the gift.
 

There are times when the gift received is so enormous that, no matter what we do, it can never be repaid. If you look at the current US government borrowing, the debt accumulated is so large that it may never be repaid. My head hurts when they start mentioning trillions and actually how large of a number that is. The number is overwhelming and it is hard to wrap your mind around it. Forgiving that size debt would also be overwhelming. Having a debt of that magnitude wiped away is just what God is all about. This was the original intent of the Jubilee Year in the Old Testament. Every fifty years, the Israelites were to cancel all their debts and include the property to their original owners. Also, freeing all slaves was included. The justification for this is stated by God himself, “Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God.” (Leviticus 25:17) It does not matter the reason you had to incur the debt or sell the property, it was forgiven with no penalty and no adverse effect to their reputation.

 

Many people today have accrued large amounts of debt. The economy is not as brisk as it once was and people are receiving the burden of their lifestyle choices in a down economy. The stress from this circumstance adds to the situation in a negative way. Many will never climb out of this mountain of debt. If someone came along and paid that debt, wiped the slate clean and gave them a fresh start, how much gratitude should or would they be expected to show. Lottsa! I was told that is an Italian word for "a whole bunch." How indebted would they feel to the person who paid that debt for them? Again, lottsa. In fact, people would view any expression that borders on anything less as insincerity. Jesus tells a similar story in Matthew 18. It is entitled, “The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.” In this story, a king forgives a servant a vast debt because the servant begged him. Upon receiving this forgiveness, the servant goes out and demands another servant repay him a very miniscule amount in comparison. When the king hears about these shenanigans, he canceled his deal with the first servant and had him “tortured” until he repaid the whole debt. I guess there are many people today who are thankful that mortgage and credit card companies cannot do the same thing to deadbeats. There are times when I am thankful they aren’t able to do it either.
 

Each of us has accumulated an enormous debt that we can never cancel or repay. I am not speaking of the US federal debt here (although Americans for generations do have a rather large sum to repay). I am speaking of the results of our sin in God’s economy. From God’s perspective, sin is sin. He does not have misdemeanors and felonies where sin is concerned. It is all the same in his eyes. You do not get a lesser sentence for one and a larger sentence for another. Imagine a perfect white piece of paper. Draw a huge black circle and a microscopic circle on it. From God's point of view, both are the same. Both circles offend his sense of holiness. All sin deserves punishment, which as God set out, is death. This death is not physical but spiritual. It is eternal separation from God forever. There is no time off for good behavior in hell. If you are not sure what this will look like, read Luke 16, “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” This story gives an accurate picture of how eternity will be for those who go to heaven and those who don’t. It is not a pretty story and there is a way to avoid the fate of the rich man. Being saved is more than just eternal fire insurance. While that is one result of having a relationship with Jesus Christ, it is not the main motivation. As with the story of the two vets, “After all he did for me there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.”

 

The enormous debt, the enormous mercy, the enormous forgiveness I have received because of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ just “blows my mind.” Much like trying to think about the actual value of a trillion, my heads hurts at the magnitude of the gift I have received from Jesus. I am driven to my knees in thanksgiving for something I could never accomplish on my own. The problem I have with myself is that I diminish the magnitude by forgetting. I go about my business with no concern of the forgiveness I have received. I take it for granted and do not do “anything for him.” As the song says, “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.” The best analogy for this is a Kool-Aid stain in the carpet. As a parent, I have seen my share of these. There is nothing you can do to get it out. Our sins are Kool-Aid stains on our lives and hearts. They are so deep and destructive they keep us from having a right relationship with God. Thank God that the blood of Jesus removes the Kool-Aid stain of sin from our lives. I don’t know about you, but Jesus paid a whole lot to cover my misdeeds. And that is only the ones I have done or will do today. I would hate to think about adding in what the rest of my life will bring!
 

The Church (big “C”) tends to forget this aspect of our faith. Too many preachers talk about the victory we have in Jesus and how to live that out. I am afraid that living in victory is very different than living in gratitude. While we live in both, victory tends to make us arrogant and proud. Gratitude makes us humble and thankful. It is a fine line between the two and we need to portray both to the world. Yet, if we waver to one side or the other, we need to waver to the gratitude side. Why? Because “Jesus paid it all for me.” And, after what he did for me, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him. My prayer for the Church is that everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ will live this out daily and make an impact on this hurting world. After what he did for me, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.