“Broncos defense adjusts to shutdown Eagles”
Okay,
that’s not the shutdown everyone is talking about…
“We shut down if we feel like we don’t matter
or that your agenda is more important than ours." Chris, 38
That quote may be closer to describing the present
shutdown in the news.
Jesus used life situations of his day to
highlight God’s agenda. I wonder what He
would say right now…?
Maybe something like the story of hanging
out with Matthew’s friends?
Passing
along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.
Later
when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot
of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him
keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers.
“What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and
riffraff?”
Jesus,
overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure
out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to
invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” Matthew 9:9-13 Message Version
What a great example of the way of Jesus- addressing the
less important things (religious
exclusivity) in order to point out God’s
agenda (“I’m after mercy”).
Jesus still “shows up” in our lives by bringing
love and truth from His Word to the core of who we are (Hebrews 4:12). Whenever Jesus shows up in a situation that
isn’t working, we typically discover what we think is most important isn’t that
big of a deal (or isn’t the biggest deal).
But without His presence, it’s like common
sense drains out of us like an oil leak in our car. The warning lights come on, but we ignore
them. Shut down or fit-throwing is inevitable.
So what can we do when it feels like we don’t
matter or someone else’s agenda is more important than ours? We can learn to follow Jesus in those
times. What would that look like? Seriously, isn’t it easier to follow Jesus or to get along when things go our way?
Maybe a true sign of maturity is not shutting
down or throwing a fit when things don’t go our way?
Ah, the invitation and the challenge…
