Good Morning Friends,
Most people wish to serve God, but unfortunately in an advisory capacity. Too few are committed to actively be a disciple and disciple others. Most are confused about God’s will in this act of following Jesus. Today’s Gospel scripture would however suggest that the person who is ready to serve is the person who is near the heart of God and is best positioned to make sense of life. If it all must be about our lives and no one else’s, the experience of life will likely be disappointing. In today’s scripture from the Old Testament, God was watching and sees the rebellious actions of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. This place did not start out to a hell hole but slid into being a society of depraved criminals over time. Then God issued His judgment for them to turn their actions back to a place of a heart aligned with God’s love for them. It is a painful picture. It was a case of jilted love from the inside out…that is to be contrasted with the challenge of faithful service in the face of adversity that Matthew describes. Thankfully, God is still watching and calling His people today to share a solution, but I wonder about the limits of tolerance and if we are listening and responding to the way of God’s love. So, Do We Know What It Means To Be A Disciple and Servant Filled With
Righteousness, Mercy And Love?
Scripture: Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
Genesis 18:16-33 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Matthew 8:18-22 (NRSV)
Message: In a way, a cross is laid out for every Christian to pick up. The salvation is free, but discipleship could very well cost a person their life. But better that than to lose one’s soul. The whole dynamic of a committed relationship gets right at the heart of today’s passages. And on the one hand if we have no strings from our heart tied to others, there are none to be broken, for the pain of lost love cuts deeper and hurts longer and leaves bigger scars than anything else. But on the other hand, to have never loved at all is sadder still. It is better to love and find joy in the daily graces of God. It is better to believe and disciple. It is even better to find God’s appointment in the reality of disappointment. That is the story of Israel and for Lot the disappointment of Sodom and Gomorrah. And is a guide for us as well. God’s love is pervasive but for our own good and the plan of salvation has limits. For when we have tasted the fruits of forgiveness in Jesus Christ, and have been accepted into the family of God, when we claim to be children of God but do not show that in the way we live, we dishonor God. We had better be clear, very clear about what is at stake. God is passionate. God is powerful. God’s judgement will not sleep forever. Friends, the situation was and is serious enough that the Son of God, was willing to leave heaven and all His security and honor and splendor and become a human being and take on His shoulders our sins. Yes, the passion of Jesus was painful beyond our imagination. The stakes are greater than we imagine. We need to wake up and not avoid the warnings about being lukewarm about God. Even today we are to repent and receive forgiveness and follow Jesus in service. For here we are to realize that in having all our creature comforts satisfied we can miss out on a close relationship with God through acts of service. Friends, Jesus was a homeless poor person who wants us to have our eyes wide open as we seek to follow him. Jesus is being brutally honest here. It is not always easy being a follower of Jesus. But it is worth it.
And So, today we have Abraham interceding for Sodom and pleading for mercy for the wicked believing in his heart that the nature of God was and is to do right by the innocent. But the somber reality is that no one is really innocent. Those who live in corrosive environments and become accustomed to the ways of an evil society may eventually become evil too. And God’s love in Christ in us becomes the only answer. Here we discover that there is dignity for a person who dares to converse with God even if and perhaps because they realize their human unworthiness. The words ‘bad’ and ‘good’ are misleading labels. None is righteous except for the love of God. So, it should not surprise us that the best of people in the Bible are the most merciful. And so, in this reality imagine this mercy, that God loves us and in response we are to be merciful. We are to realize that we can call on God for help and emotionally and spiritually acknowledge that those desperate cries for help are some of the most honest of prayers. The epiphany is that doing more stuff to make Jesus love us is pointless. If we are not in Christ, we are missing out on the most important thing in the entire world. So do not beat yourself up because of your inability to measure up to what you think Christianity is all about. You cannot please an angry God for God is not angry and you will never measure up. So, do not be discouraged. There is not a long list of rules and regulations that we need to follow in order to be on God’s good side. God loves us, so stop all the self-loathing. If God made you alive with Christ, you are dead in your sins. The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love. See that no one enslaves you with the foolish deception that you can earn your way to heaven. Learn to love yourself and others. Intercede for others by showing them the way to a better life.
Pray we never get comfortable in our sin. Pray we repent of our sin of selfishness. Pray we become more like Jesus in our relationships. Pray we submit to the will of God and put to doing glorious things even if it means some suffering. Pray we lay aside our agenda and are unconcerned with whether we have everything or nothing. Pray we are at the Creator’s disposal and yield to God’s pleasure. Pray we hear the cries of the poor and of the children. Pray our lives witness a covenant of love made on earth and ratified in heaven that we belong to God and that the greatest power in the universe also belongs to us. Pray we are not cowed into silence when we see sin of self-abuse accepted as normal and a culture of death confused with what is moral. Pray when God knocks at our door, we are found to be upright, hospitable to strangers, and worthy of salvation. Pray we seek righteousness, love, and mercy as disciples of Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 