Jim

Ok, I have a theory. Tell me what you think. We’re back on the topic of evangelism here.

I’m wondering if the hardest thing for us humans is to let go of what we’re holding on to, rather than to grab hold of Jesus. In other words, I think that the thing that more often blocks our way is not that we have trouble trusting Jesus, but that we don’t want to let go of what we’re already trusting in.

Think for example of the poor person who thinks he/she is going to make it to heaven somehow because of the good life they’ve lived. Carefully they pile up the good deeds. They go to church, give to the poor, visit people in the hospital. They read their Bible and pray. Then someone comes up to them and says,”Too bad – all your life’s work was for nothing! All you need to do is trust Christ!” Ouch

Think of the rich young ruler. Successful young man, has been strictly obeying what he understands to be God’s law. Jesus knows that this man is holding onto wealth and works, so He suggests that the man give up everything to the poor, and then follow Him. Jesus wasn’t suggesting that he would be saved by a little tax-deductible donation. He was showing the man that he was trusting in the wrong thing. This man had nothing against Jesus, but he did not want to give up his bank account to become a disciple. Perhaps even more than that, he didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t good enough for eternal life.

Wealth, works, whatever it might be, it’s hard to let go, whether you already know the Lord or not. How should this effect the way we share the Gospel? I think it may be that we should not only clearly present who Jesus is, but also gently point out the weaknesses in trusting other things. Maybe we need a little humility and understanding as well. It’s hard to let go, even if what we’re holding onto is killing us. If we look closely enough, we’ll realize we’ve all been there.

(For the story of the Rich Young Ruler, see Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18)

Last night I was watching a movie in which several people are trying to decide whether to accept or reject the truth about Jesus Christ. It occurred to me that so many people try to claim they are “unable” to make a decision for some reason.

I was thinking today of two guys I met. One was a middle aged man who thought that I should go and share the Gospel with somebody younger. He was convinced that it was simply to late for him – that he was too old. He just kept saying, “I’m over”.

Another man was a Jew. As I remember he threw up his hands and asked me if I had any idea how hard it was for a Jew to accept that God could have a Son.

With all due respect for the concerns of the above men, they cannot honestly avoid the issue quite that easily. Too old for what? Too old to make a decision? And however hard it is to accept the truth, the choice is still yours.

Now honest questions are quite another issue. If there are things you don’t understand, or things you disagree with for a logical reason or a simple lack of sufficient information, that’s a valid reason not to act. But so often we try to simply say we can’t decide . . .
I just can’t accept that (why?)
That’s ok for you but not for me (ok, but why?)
That’s too hard for me to believe

I think that we all do this at times. It goes right along with avoiding responsibility. Free choice is an amazing thing. You can take a lot away from humankind, but free choice cannot be forced out of a person. Let’s not give it up willingly by claiming an inability to choose.

“Give me liberty or give me death” In the end you can’t choose life and slavery anyway. As long as we can freely choose, we are alive. If we give up that right, we might as well be dead.

Celebrate the God-given freedom to choose! Be creative today. Make a choice to do the right thing. Put aside your excuses, and be a success!

It seems sometimes that we’re closest to reality when we are in the most pain. All our earthly lives are spent heading towards death, and yet often we act as if we’re invincible. Then every once in a while we’re faced with death or sickness, and we can no longer ignore it. And yet we try to forget it and “move on” as soon as possible. It’s a losing battle. “Time is the fire in which we burn”, as a character in Star Trek Generations puts it.

If indeed Mary somehow knew, when Jesus was born, that He was only born to die, would she be closer to reality? If we all realized that our children were really not ours, but God’s to take in His time, would we be more realistic? Doesn’t it take the joy out of Christmas to overshadow it with a brutal death on a Roman cross?

The Christian has the ability to be truly realistic without despair, because of that very story of Jesus. The reality was that this little baby was destined to be rejected and hated by the world, given an unjust trial, tortured and killed. A man of sorrows, and aquainted with grief, as Isaiah put it. How could Mary smile beside the manger knowing that?

And yet, as CS Lewis put it in his book The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, there is a “deeper magic”. In spite of all the pain and horror that makes up “real life”, there is for those who trust Christ an eternal hope. There is a resurrection – a new eternal dawn after the cross. It’s an Easter cliche, and yet it is a principle that winds a silver thread throughout life. No matter how often our hopes are dashed and our hearts are broken, there is a certainty that God can and will make things right. Though tears may flow until we leave this earth, somewhere in our hearts there can still be a foundation of joy, knowing that God will someday wipe those tears away.

As we face a new year, let’s face our joys and sorrows alike with faith in the All Mighty God of Love, who is with us in our laughter and tears just the same!