A welcome like no other

 So he got up and returned to his father. The father looked off in the distance and saw the young man returning. He felt compassion for his son and ran out to him, enfolded him in an embrace, and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)

I was struck with a thought this morning about the father. The father never gave up on his son, though there was little sign that he had any intention of being 'made right' again. The father never gave up watching, though the road was long. The father never lost the intensity of love for his wayward son. I wondered for just a moment if God the Father was looking with such intensity of love for his Son's return to heaven's realm - if he stood, arms outstretched, heart filled with love, and took Jesus into his embrace. All that Jesus had endured, all he had experienced, not because of his own folly, but because there was absolutely no other way for US to know that same embrace unless he did!

We all experience the folly of sin because we are all sinners. Good deeds don't make us any less of a sinner. Kindness in our hearts doesn't buy us a 'passing grade' into eternity. Only the finished work of Christ - the 'non-prodigal son' could bring the freedom for all of us 'prodigals' to enjoy the open embrace of God's intense love. An embrace speaks volumes, as it suggests one being 'pressed to the chest' - the place of the heart. Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf made it possible for us to be 'accepted willingly' into the embrace of our holy and righteous God. No embrace will matter more than his - no 'welcome home' will ever be any sweeter than his. 

The prodigal had no idea what he 'gave up' when he decided to 'do things his own way'. He had no knowledge of just how bad things could get when one chose to embrace compromise after compromise in his life. Somehow, I think the father did and he knew how important it was for him to wait, watch, and be prepared with the warmest of welcomes the prodigal son could ever experience. We may never know how long God waits, watches, and keeps the welcoming embrace open for some of us, but we can trust that he does! Just sayin!

Disreputable?

Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the misfits?” Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.” (Mark 2:15-17)

Unlikely as it seems - that statement really says way more than we might initially think. We have a tendency to 'gloss over' some words that really 'set the stage' for what is about to be revealed. We cannot ever forget the 'company' Jesus kept, because not only was it a 'sticking point' for the religious leaders of the day, but it was a revelation of what was about to come - liberty, healing, hope, and restoration. Unlikely candidates for grace are oftentimes the most grateful for it! 

The sin-sick vs. the spiritually-fit - what a challenge that must have been for the 'religious leaders' who always shunned the sinful and elevated their own worth by being 'showy' about all their religious deeds and book-learning. The sin-sick needed help, but they did not find it in the religion of the leaders. In fact, they were often excluded from 'practicing' their religious customs because they were considered to be 'unclean'. Clean people don't need a bath - dirty ones do!

Cozy with the misfits - the crux of the matter is the company Jesus was keeping. He had healed a paralyzed man lowered on a mat through the roof of a house; healed the one with a disturbing spirit that kept the man in constant agony, tortured from the inside out; and opened his heart to those that were 'religious outcasts' of the day. This drew the 'negative attention' of the religious leaders who thought of these individuals as 'misfits' - not 'fit' to enter into the presence of a holy God. It is good news to know that misfits are welcomed at the table of the Lord!

Disreputable guests? Unlikely as it seems - they followed Jesus. We sometimes don't believe our life testimony speaks very loudly, but when others see something of Jesus in us, it draws them. They develop a curiosity about that which has so significantly changed our lives. Don't be afraid to reveal Jesus through your life - in actions and attitude. You never know how many 'misfit' and 'disreputable' will be drawn into his presence because you do! Just sayin!

Invited to live the message

^8-11It's true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. It's obvious, isn't it, that the law code isn't primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth, whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I've been put in charge of by this great God.

(I Timothy 1:8-11)

In the opening verse of our passage this morning, the writer is recalling the importance of tempering our words, being aware of our audience, and of being sensitive to the timing of our message.  The pastor of our church spoke about Christmas yesterday, as I am sure a good many pastors across the Christian churches did.  It is the holiday season, is it not?  There were a few things that he said that really spoke volumes.  If you'll give me a moment, I will share just a couple of them:

• Salvation is the POINT of Christmas, not just PART of Christmas. 
• The only qualification for being called of God is to be a sinner - he never called the righteous, only those in need of a savior.
• We are called to befriend sinners - not to be involved in their sin, but to be friends with sinners.  The purpose is to bring love, mercy and grace into their lives.

Okay, so that was the crux of the message in a nutshell.  I am not going to elaborate on them, because they each stand as pretty plain messages in and of themselves.  I would like to explore a little bit what it means to befriend sinners.

In our passage today, Paul lays out the importance of having a message that needs to be heard.  He describes it as moral guidance and counsel.  He goes so far as to say that they NEED to be given.  Yet, not everyone is in the place of receiving such a message.  That was the point of the pastor's statement that believers need to befriend sinners - it is the only way they may hear the message of salvation.

Moral guidance and counsel are not always spoken words.  A modeled life is actually of more importance than the words we speak.  There is nothing more disgraceful to the gospel message than a person who speaks about love, grace and mercy, but has no evidence of these in their lives.  Jesus calls us to be examples of his work in us.  In other words, we are to model to the world what he has accomplished in us by first loving us, extending his grace to us, and repeatedly bringing mercy into our lives.  

The sinner knows nothing about the love of God, but can understand the loving actions of a brother or sister who comes alongside to walk with them during a time when they receive a serious diagnosis about their health.  There is understanding that comes about the amazing grace of God when we should have been hurt by something someone did or said, but we press in deeper into the relationship despite the hurt.  The eyes of a spiritually blind man can be opened wide to understanding grace as they take in the repeated times of forgiveness for the repeated times of failure in their lives.

Sinners need saints - not to preach the message - but to live the message.  The plan God had from the beginning was for each of us to be living examples of his love - displaying to each other the wonder of a loving, holy, and caring God.  We cannot underestimate the value of being an example of moral guidance and wise counsel - actions truly do speak more than a thousand words!

You are invited today into "being" the message this holiday season.  Allow God to work out his message of salvation in your life - then begin to share that message through the actions of your heart this season.  You may be amazed at what God can do through you!