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The Time Has Come #13 -- Who Belongs??
Belated Merry Christmas, Everyone!! It's actually been a good week, overall. My parents are back in their home, first of all. Not everything is perfect yet, but at least they have running water again. The next thing is to get the heating oil refilled. They have a space heater in the bathroom, and something in the dining room; but aside from that, well... They keep extra sweatshirts on. Meanwhile, the other people are still there. They've actually been back in the house for a bit already, and walking to nearby(ish) places to use the restroom.* At the same time, there's a low-income place in Henniker, where I grew up, that has an apartment available. BUT... my mother has always been resistant to change that isn't her idea. (I mean, most of us probably relate; but she's just IMPOSSIBLE.)
Pray for wisdom going forward.
Andrea had Matt HOME FOR CHRISTMAS for the 1st time in 3 years!!! Well, he was technically home last year, just for the day, but as he wasn't self-feeding, and able to stay more than a few hours, it just doesn't count the same. So Praise God!! The fact that Matt has recovered to this degree AT ALL is nothing short of miraculous!! We are, however, still believing for his full recovery. Which, at this point, doesn't so much include his vision, but it does involve him becoming self-ambulatory again.
I was also able to catch up with Jeremy a few nights ago. We were on the phone nearly 2 1/2 hrs.. It was good to talk about more details of his trip to the Philippines, and now the process of getting the Fiancée Visa, AFTER he's saved up the money. So yeah, it's going to take a couple of years. Pray that he can do it relatively quickly and that the Philippines will still be a viable source of immigration by the time they're ready to do it. (I trust that it will. God wouldn't have brought them this far if it weren't going to be okay.) There's just a lot of red-tape, especially for Sharon.
Meanwhile, Mike is still awaiting the first of the year before trying to visit again. We haven't been together in person since the end of October/beginning of November. It feels soooo much longer... but with video chats, we stay strong. Pray for 2026 to be better for all of us.
When I was glancing over my notes this afternoon, in determining a theme for this Message Intro., something came to mind that I had seen on FB this morning. It was an image that spoke to the point that Jesus didn't sit with sinners and taxpayers in order to appear inclusive or tolerant... He called them to transformation. (See full text in image below) The main problem I had with this was that Jesus WAS being inclusive. Just maybe not the way we tend to think about it in this day and age. He was showing them that, in spite of their low social status, they still deserved to be included in Salvation, simply for being human. At the same time, part of my comment to my friend was that, "While love is inclusive and invites people in, tolerance says, 'you do you, but stay over there'." The two are NOT the same.*
In our message today, we will look at someone to whom Jesus extended an invitation and was rejected.*
Turn with me, if you will, to Mark 10 --
Mark 10:17-31
New International Version
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
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Pastor Matt's opening question on that Sunday morning, September 21st, was this -- Who is the Kingdom for?? The answer, of course, is that it's for everyone. It's for the marginalized, ALONG WITH the rest.
As we will see in this passage, the rich are invited; but not always receptive. The difficult truth, at least for some, is that God needs to be the priority in our lives. Above family, above relationships, even above our own will and desires. Each according to the specific need. And I just mean that it's possible that we may not need to turn away from these parts of our lives in order to obey God. Not that any of them come before Him; but that our families, relationships, and personal desires may already be somewhat closely aligned to God.
Whatever the case, our "takeaway" for this message is this --
Jesus frees us from our idols so that we can live freely in His Kingdom.
In proceeding to explore our story above, Pastor Matt outlined 3 movements made in this scenario...
This was a one-on-one encounter. (Although there were others present, it was the man who approached Jesus alone) This made it clear, both to Jesus and to us, that there were no ulterior motives or traps to be found here. We even see that the man bowed down to show Jesus respect.* (vs 17)
Jesus looked and loved him. This led him to add to the conversation just one more thing... (vs 21) Pastor Matt called this His "Columbo moment".* LOL
The man's face fell, and he walked away sad.
From this, there are 2 conclusions we can make --
Jesus loved him too much to leave him where he was. (Thus, the invitation to follow)
Jesus loved him too much to force him to stay with Him. In this way, we see that Jesus trusted the Father to know best.
Of course, the other aspect of this story comes from the Disciples. Beginning in verse 23, Jesus addresses them and the conversation ensues.
We see here that the Disciples were in SHOCK!! If ANYONE should get into Heaven, it should be this man!! Shouldn't it??
Jesus uses the hyperbolic image of the "eye of a needle" in reference to how hard it was/is for some rich people to enter the Kingdom of God. (See also Isaiah 60:6)* As Pastor Matt brought out, Jesus did this to emphasize His point. The man's wealth was an idol that he allowed to stop him from following Jesus.
Verse 26 reiterates Pastor Matt's opening question, "Who can get in??" "Who is the Kingdom for??" "Who Belongs??". Jesus answers in verse 27 saying, "With man, it is impossible; but not with God. With God, all things are possible." Amen!! This clearly indicates to us that ONLY God can Save. We absolutely CANNOT do it on our own. (If we could, Jesus wouldn't have needed to come.)
In verse 28, Peter speaks up, (of course ) -- "We gave up everything to follow You." As Pastor Matt pointed out, there could be a few possibilities of approach on this, as each had to give up various things.
Jesus response, in verses 29-31 reiterate the earlier idea of putting God above all else in our lives. Family, riches, relationships, etc... are all less important than the Kingdom of God which holds the promise of greater things to replace them, as needed. While human families tend to have problems and split; the Family of Christ provides abundant life, fellowship, Spiritual Growth, etc... Jesus is shifting their perspectives of True Wealth.*
The truth is that money vies for our attention of our hearts whether we're rich or poor. It's one of the major obstacles that can keep us out of God's will. We like to tell ourselves stories of our own wealth and that of others. God aims at our hearts out of His love for us. As with the Rich Young Ruler, He loves us too much to have us stay where we are. At the same time, He's not going to force Himself into our lives, either.
As we've said before, the key longings of our lives are not the problem. Significance, influence ("Do I matter??")*, peace (Shalom) "I'm okay", belonging ("Am I loved??")... "Why do they love me??" or "Why DON'T they love me??" 🙋♀️*
None of these are bad, in and of themselves. They are proven as core necessities of life. The point lies in how we choose to find and fulfill them.
Idols are generally what we grasp at in order to gain these things. This is timeless and culturally true across the board. The truth is, the more defensive we feel about any of these things, the more we need to pay attention. This indicates a "red flag" in that area of our lives.
At this time, Pastor Matt shared briefly about a trip he and Heidi had taken to the Boston Museum of Art. One painting that stood out to her was a still life with flowers. (See image below) What she noticed were that the flowers in the background had subtle imperfections to them. The artist, rather than portray a perfect picture, chose to include just a bit of ruin. A trace of rot in the midst of beauty. Just as life truly is.
Much like in the painting, life proves that our idols can lure us in and bring decay, disease, and death. Deceiving us in their initial sense of beauty. While we try to negotiate our list of "goodness"*, Jesus offers freedom.
"The time has come..."
-- God Bless!!
Footnotes:
The closest restrooms are a good 5-10 minute walk in either direction. To the west, there is an Irving Gas Station (open 24/7). To the east, is the City Library, with limited availability.
I forgot what I was going to say... Oh.. I guess it was the fact that the terms "inclusive" and "condoning" are not mutually exclusive.
The fact that both the Rich Young Ruler and the man who insisted on burying his father before following Jesus (See Matt. 8:22 or Luke 9:60) serve as argument against Predestination. Both were invited, both refused. It's not the individual who is Predestined, but the Church as a whole.
In light of other passages that support the fact that Jesus accepted worship, I did a brief search to see if this was among them; but it isn't.
For those who may not be familiar with the Pop Culture reference, "Columbo" was an American TV show that originally aired from 1968-78. It had later revivals from 1989-2003. It featured Peter Falk as a Police Detective whose catch phrase was, "Just one more thing..." as he then revealed the truth of the case.
The essence of the connection between Isaiah 60:6 and Jesus' words above is that Salvation is more about the grace of God than about human efforts or financial transactions. To be clear, it's not a "sin" to be rich. There are plenty of Scriptures to support this. the point lies in your dedication to God no matter what your finances look like.
Two things come to mind here. One, it's not that there are not divisions within the Church; but the fact that, in Christ, we are One Family. Two, I watched "It's A Wonderful Life" again last night. For any who may not be familiar, you SHOULD BE!! The main character, George Bailey, has a crisis that leads him to wish he had never been born. With the guidance of his Guardian Angel, Clarence, he is shown how important his life really is to those around him. The core message is that if you have good friends, you are wealthy no matter how much money you have.
Once again, the question of "Do I matter??" is answered by the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life". And it is a resounding, "YES!!".
Unfortunately, the emoji selections here are not as thorough as on FB or Messenger. (They don't have an American woman with dark hair) Anyway, the woman with the raised hand is me. I was made fun of and/or bullied every. single. year. of school. K-12. From Kindergarten to 5th grade, I had one friend who stuck by me. In 6th, 7th, and 8th, I was pretty much on my own. In HS, I was part of what you might call the "Outcast Crowd". I didn't fit anywhere else. I had 4 friends, out of which I am still in touch with only 2. (Andrea, being one) I was picked last in Gym Class every. single. time. Yeah, hi. This is me.
As to the idea of Christianity being a "list of goodness", this would be a good time for Catholics and other Legalistic Church members to pay attention. (I realize that the point in Pastor Matt's message is that goodness cannot Save us in the first place; but the idea is equally valid in understanding our Salvation after the fact as well.
I almost forgot to mention 2 things -- the passage during the announcement/welcome bit was from Psalm 46:10, saying the same as my cover image on this page... "Be still and know... " It was brought out that the word "know" here is relational, not just mental assent. The other thing is to remind you to check out the "Diving in with Matt and Joe" podcast for further content depth.
Music -- Never any rights, I promise!!
TBH, the other issue I had with this was that a thing is not a "sin" if it does not negatively affect our relationship with God. There are, however, limits on this. I'll be doing an article on it at some point.
