Good Morning Friends,
Today’s scripture from Corinthians are the words of Paul and not Jesus. Sure, they are inspired, but after 2000 years, the grounds for his advice have not materialized…at least not in the way we might at first think. Paul is being completely honest in his belief, for at the heart of the advice is the ethics of bringing a child into a world of tribulation and for him the difficulty of involving a woman in the perils and hazards of his missionary journeys. As for the timing of Jesus’ second coming Paul was unfortunately mistaken. So too, it is unlikely that Jesus will return before our death, but we can always pray that Jesus will return in our experience of death. So, perhaps we need to think about this passage in a more personal way instead of having the backdrop be a global event. You see, Jesus is calling you and me right now and we need to be responsive right now in all the little things of life for the appointed time in the scope of our earthly life is coming to an end sooner than what we might be thinking. Maybe we do not have a Roman army breathing down our back but there are going to be challenges that we are going to have to face in many ways alone.
For sure there might be reasons to avoid marriage in challenging times but perhaps what is more important than that is maintaining our ability to love while still involved in ministry mission, even as we ask ourselves, What Is The Condition Of Our Heart?
Scripture: Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you do not sin, and if a virgin marries, she does not sin. Yet those who marry will experience distress in this life, and I would spare you that. I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
1 Corinthians 7:25-31 (NRSV)
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Luke 6:20-26 (NRSV)
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
Romans 13:11-12 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, we can go kicking and screaming into God’s service… we can be whining and complaining, or we can go willingly and immediately with enthusiasm and joy. The Bible is filled with examples of people who did not want to answer the call of God. We can say yes, or we can make excuses. I think Paul wanted to make sure we do not have any reasons to say no to the call. The example was a John the Baptist…a Peter…someone like Jesus, not a Jonah. So, today’s question is not about qualification for ministry but a question about priorities and the desires of our hearts, for we are all called to this work. And we as laity may think we are engaged and involved in mission, but few are all in. Success here hinges on the heart. Having a heart that is open to the things of God means that you also have a heart that is open to the people God wants to reach. Eugene Peterson put it this way in The Message Bible:
I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple—in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.
Friends, the saints were all involved in a great ministry and while we are here on this earth we need to be engaged too. We need to discover new ways of helping others together as a body of believers. So, let us check our hearts today and realize that Jesus called us, to be a part of His great ministry of Salvation. For some of us it might mean jumping out of the boat and leaving the fishing to someone else. And the thing is that Jesus has called you and me personally. Jesus has called us to the same salvation as the disciples, so we had better get to the work at hand. Jesus tells us to look to some rather unusual places to find his blessing while also providing us with a list of warnings in today’s scripture from Luke’s writings we call the Beatitudes. Now you may think you are blessed and perhaps you are but think more deeply about whether Christ is at the center of that joy for you. If not, there is a problem for you and I are Salt and Light.
And So, whether we think this experience of life is a miracle or not is insignificant. What is significant is whether we are touched by God. So, friends, know that the happiness we seek out of life is a matter of the heart. If it were not for the message of mercy and pity in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, it would be so much harder to be a human being. So how is your heart this morning? How many of us would give the response today that we are blessed? Maybe all of us because “blessed” seems like a pretty “churchy” thing to say, right? But if we gave it some thought, what would you look to see if we were really blessed? Maybe you would quickly take inventory of what’s going on in your life. You might think about your health and wealth and living conditions and friends. But what if all those things were taken away, would you still consider yourself blessed? This morning, Jesus teaches us where to find his blessing. And like many of Jesus teachings, he turns things upside down. While the world tells us to look in one direction to find the Lord’s blessing, the Lord completely turns us around and point us in the opposite direction. The way is of repentance and forgiveness and peace and joy and love found in the message of the Beatitudes and the sermon on the mount.
Pray we wake up to the work of Jesus. Pray we keep it simple. Pray we have prayers that heal our hearts. Pray that Jesus is in our relationships. Pray our prayers are heartfelt.
Pray we move beyond head knowledge and let Christ reach our hearts. Pray we have a vision of faith that changes our behavior for the better. Pray we look up, we look out, we look in, and we look around for Christ. Pray we break free from the past. Pray we have confidence in Christ. Pray we become new creatures in Christ. Pray we choose the things of God. Pray we realize that the purpose of Jesus’ promises and warnings in the beatitudes is always to lead us back to the one place where real and lasting blessings come from…the cross of Christ and the richness of his love, the satisfaction of his forgiveness and his confidence in life eternal. Pray we can say we are blessed because Christ’s love has touched our hearts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 