What’s Enough?

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There’s a surefire way to get backstage at a concert: know somebody and get a backstage pass. No pass? No backstage. Don’t know anyone? No pass. When I was in the sound business, I routinely saw people plead with the security guard, trying to get backstage. They always had a story. “We were in a band together in high school; I know he wants to see me…” But the stories never worked. The only thing that worked was a pass, given to those who knew someone. I think about those desperate pleas whenever I read these sobering words of Jesus:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matthew 7:21-23)

It’s not enough to call Jesus Lord. It’s not enough to do miraculous things in Jesus’ Name, or to preach in a bold and prophetic tone of voice. The only thing that is enough Jesus said, is to “do the will of My Father in Heaven.”  Say what? Does Jesus mean only those who always do the will of God?   If not, then what does He mean by,  “…only he who does the will of God?”  Jesus gives a strong hint when He says, “I never knew you.”

The word, know, in Scripture frequently refers to a close, intimate and personal relationship. “Knowing” Jesus is more than knowing Who He is. It is more than wearing a Jesus T-shirt, or publicly claiming to be a Christian.  It has nothing to do with my doing amazing things for Jesus.  Knowing Jesus means entering into a close, personal relationship with the the Son of God. Because of Who He is, such a relationship begins with reverent humility and transparency.  In the words of the hymn, I come to Him “Just as I am, without one plea…”  Knowing Jesus includes a willingness for Jesus to know me.  Nothing about me is off limits in our relationship.

And that relationship, that knowing and being known by Jesus, is God’s will. And that – only that – is enough.

Inspect the Fruit

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Perhaps Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland don’t know Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…” (Matthew 6:19).  Maybe they don’t believe it, or somehow think it doesn’t apply to them.  But they are not the only ones who have failed to take Jesus seriously.  All their followers also ignore the seriousness of Jesus’ teaching – specifically these warnings:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  (Matthew 7:15)

Jesus knew there would always be con-artists who would take advantage of the gullible.  That’s why He said “Watch out!”   But how can we know who is legit and who is a fake?  Jesus said to look to see their fruit:

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.   (Matthew 7:16-18)

Just as apples naturally grow from apple trees, multimillion dollar mansions appear for a person who serves money and not God (Matthew 6:24).  Luxury automobiles, jets and expensive clothing naturally the one with an overblown ego.  Deceit and corruption are the natural fruit of a life more characterized by greed than charity.  Jesus says “Don’t be fooled!”  This kind of discernment does not contradict Jesus’ command, “Do not judge.” (Matthew 7:1)   We are not told to look down on these people, or presume to condemn them to Hell.  We are told to recognize that they are bad apples and watch out for them.

The most obvious “bad fruit” from these “false prophets” is that they disregard Jesus’ warning about what happens to such people:

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:19)

If they don’t believe those words of Jesus, why should you believe anything they tell you about Jesus?  Don’t be fooled!  Check the fruit!

 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:20)

Don’t Trust the Herd

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Just when I began to lose hope, I heard people have had enough of Lady Gaga.  Of course, soon enough, the thundering herd will head off over a different cliff.  There is no accounting for how powerful and unpredictable groupthink is.  Fads of pop culture are relatively harmless.  More serious is what happens when people cluster around social and political ideas without thinking.  How did Hitler get to be so powerful?  How did Rob Ford get elected?  How does extreme political correctness get imposed?  Groupthink about how to make money gave us the tech bubble and the housing crash.  People who broke away from the pack and followed their own ideas did better during those tough days.

As a rule of thumb, when everybody agrees about something, watch out!  Think to yourself, “Can all those people really be right?”  Jesus said:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  (Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus was talking about how to find life, real life.  He said, when it comes to life, the thundering herd has it wrong.  It’s not happiness or money or a better job and house.  It’s not thrills or music or fame or intoxication or even great achievement in your career.  Those paths are packed hard with countless footprints of those who thought they would find life and were disappointed.  Those gates resemble the bent and trampled doors of a city Walmart on Black Friday.  But the herd is wrong.

So how do we find the “narrow gate?”  Don’t get the wrong idea: the “narrow gate” is not for the “narrow minded.”  Narrow mindedness is another form of groupthink.  That herd is wrong, too.  The narrow gate Jesus referred to “leads to life” – abundant, full, rich and satisfying life.  And He showed us how to find it:

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.  (John 10:9)

In a Nutshell

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How many words would you need to summarize the Old Testament?  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus… Moses, the Ten Commandments, The Exodus, King David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah – the whole thing: how would you boil it down and how many words would you need?  Jesus needed 14 words. He said:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  (Matthew 7:12)

Elegant.  Golden.

Just Ask

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There is a gas station (It’s the Adams 66) in Council Grove, Kansas where the owner runs out to fill your tank, wash your windshield and polish your mirrors.   Remember that?  I’ve become so accustomed to waiting in line inside a “convenience” store while a surly dropout finishes talking on the cell phone that this guy was a shock.  As I stood there, baffled by this flash from the past, he asked, “Anything else you need?  Check your oil? Tires okay?  Just ask…”

You think that’s amazing, check this out.  The Creator of the universe has said, “Just ask…”

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

It’s not that God is a genie in a bottle or a cosmic ATM.  It’s that God invites us to engage with Him in a relationship.  He invites us to ask.  He encourages us to seek and knock.  All these actions initiate a new experience in a relationship.  It’s the relationship Adam and Eve had before they hid from God in shame.  It’s the way God intended life to be.

Maybe you are reading this and thinking, “I’m not so sure there even is a God.”  I’ve been there, hiding behind a wall of suspicion, for fear of being fooled.  That is, until one day I asked and God responded.  That was an astonishing and life changing moment for me.  God knows it’s tough for us to engage with Someone we cannot see.  He knows it feels safer for us to only trust in ourselves.  That’s whats so cool about His invitation – ask, seek, knock.  You do that, He says, and you will have the door opened to an amazing, interactive, personal relationship.

Questions?  Just ask…

Beware of the Dog

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According to Jesus, some folks act like dogs and pigs.  He said, give ’em a wide berth:

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.  (Matthew 7:6)

Maybe that doesn’t sound like Jesus to you.  What does He mean?  The first principle in figuring that out is to ask, what has He been talking about?  What is the context of what He said?  In this case, Jesus had just taught us not to condemn others (Matthew 7:1-2) but rather, to approach them to help with compassion and humility, fully aware of our own faults (Matthew 7:3-5).  If this is a continuation of that topic, then He means, realize that there are some people who are not ready or able to receive your help.  Trying to help those people may truly make it worse.

The dogs of Jesus’ day were not domesticated; they were wild and dangerous.  Pigs, too – and they were also considered unclean for the observant Jew.  We’ve all encountered people who, at least for the moment, were acting like dogs and pigs.  The best and most compassionate help, as valuable as it may otherwise be, will have no value to a person in that condition.  Don’t try to force it on him.

When Jesus refers to something sacred or holy, it is important to recognize that things we do in obedience to Him are sacred and holy.  Water to the thirsty, clothes for the needy – these are sacred acts when motivated by an appreciation for Jesus’ teachings about reality and about God.  So too, would be a genuinely compassionate and humble attempt to help someone stuck in destructive behavior.  So too, would be an attempt to explain the amazing truth about Jesus and the wonderful life that awaits those who comprehend it.  But, as sacred as they are, those acts only have value – they only really help – if they are received by the person to whom they are offered.  When that person reacts with hostility and anger, it is time to back off, for your own well being and to preserve the value and effectiveness of what has been offered.  There may be a better time.

As I write, I recall in my own life, the many times I acted as a wild dog and an irreverent pig.  Those who tried to shove “help” down my throat were angrily turned away.  I also humbly recall that God did not give up on me.

Eye Test

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Bill O’Reilly really makes me mad because he interrupts so much.  I get so frustrated with people that constantly interrupt – people like me.   The things things that bug me most in other people tend to be the things I don’t like about myself.  You too?  Perhaps that’s because our own struggles make us more sensitive to these same faults in others.  Plus, it is way more fun to correct those faults in others than to address them in ourselves, right?   It’s human nature.  That’s why Jesus said:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  (Matthew 7:3-5)

Jesus didn’t say we should pretend not to see our brother’s faults.  He told us how to prepare so we are able to help “remove the speck from our brother’s eye.”  Such help begins with an honest assessment of our own similar faults.  “Seeing clearly” includes humility and compassion, attitudes that flow from honesty about our own struggles.  Most people resent criticism from on high but respond well to someone who comes alongside with understanding and encouragement.

Do Not Scorn

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Insanity is defined by law as the inability to discern right from wrong.  But Jesus said:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  (Matthew 7:1-2)

Jesus was not commanding us to stop evaluating what it is right and wrong to do.  He was instructing us not to look down upon others with condemnation or condescension, as though we were in a position to pronounce judgment upon their souls.  Of course we are meant to use our God-given capacity to discern.  But we are not to act as though we have the knowledge and insight into another person’s background and thinking which God alone possesses.  Jesus says such judgmental attitudes set us up to be judged with the same harsh measure.

Judged by others?  Certainly!  You know how harshly clergy are judged in moral failure, especially when they have adopted a “holier than thou” attitude.   Judged by God?  Jesus does not say.  But this statement is similar to what He said about praying for forgiveness:

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.  (Matthew 6:14-15 )

Jesus taught us a radical standard of righteousness in this same sermon, and urged us to aspire to it.  But, when measured against the righteousness of God, none of us can rightfully look down on others with scorn or condemnation.  Another time, Jesus illustrated how wrong-headed such attitudes really are:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’  “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

 

Not to Worry

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Terry Bolter escaped from the Gestapo by jumping across 6 feet of space to the roof of the adjacent building and then dropping down through a skylight.  He was a British WWII pilot, downed behind Nazi lines, who eventually made it back.  His journey ( It’s a hair raising tale; I’ll include the link below) was made possible by following guides from the Belgian resistance.  Throughout this perilous escape, Terry was constantly faced with a choice: worry or trust.  Worry would have paralyzed him.  Putting aside worry and trusting his guide gave him the ability to make it through each day’s dangerous obstacles.  Jesus taught the same principle in the Sermon on the Mount: Don’t worry; Trust.  He said:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  (Matthew 6:25-34)

Worry, stressing over having enough food, clothing or money, can prevent us from entering into life – real life.  Instead of worrying, Jesus said, trust Him and follow His guidance.  Bobby McFerrin had it wrong when he sang “Don’t Worry; Be Happy,” which is a potentially dangerous exercise in wishful thinking.  Jesus said, “Don’t worry; trust God and follow Me, your guide.”  There is a big difference.

So, what did Jesus, our guide, tell us to do?  “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”  He didn’t say, “Clean up your act and do righteous things.”  He said, “Seek God’s righteousness, given to those who respond to Him as their King.”  It’s not the self-righteous who enter the kingdom of God, but rather, Jesus taught, it is the “poor in spirit,” who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:3&6).  In other words, it is those who know they cannot make it on their own, those who are ready to trust Him to guide them (“blessed are the meek” – Matthew 5:5).  Terry Bolter couldn’t rescue himself.  He was trapped in a building with the Gestapo hammering on the door.  His only hope for safety was to put aside worry and trust his guide.  That’s the situation we are in.  Jesus says, “Don’t worry; follow me, seeking God’s Kingdom and righteousness.”

Here’s the link to the rest of Terry’s story:  click here

 

 

Diving into Life

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A friend of mine had made millions in the oil business.  He told me that the best thing that ever happened to him was when he literally lost it all.  He discovered, he said, that when he made money the goal of his life, what he lived for, money held him in a very tight and demanding grip.  There was never quite enough. You and I think a few million would be plenty, but my friend said he found real wealth when he was penniless.  Here’s how Jesus said it:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.  (Matthew 6:19-21 & 24 )

This sounds preposterous; everyone knows that the goal of life is to be rich.  That is, except those who have chased that goal and, too late, find themselves unable to let go.  It’s not that money is bad.  The problem is our tendency to want more and more money as a goal in itself.  When money becomes our quest, it is an addictive substance.  And, in our quest for more, we trample the attitudes Jesus calls, “storing up treasures in heaven.”   He was talking about living by the counter-intuitive principles He taught in the Sermon on the Mount.  These are based on the truth that sets a person free, that produces a life lived in harmony with God’s design.

So why does this seem so upside-down?  Jesus said it’s an eyesight problem, a consequence of how we see life:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  (Matthew 6:22-23)

When my friend lost his fortune, Jesus opened his eyes and showed him what living was really all about.

You can check this out for yourself.  Ask Jesus to open your eyes and show you how to be generous.  That’s a dangerous prayer. Jesus will certainly respond, and put you in some challenging situations.  Real generosity is a struggle because it feels self-destructive.  It feels a lot like the first time you decided to try a diving board.  You grab onto the safety rail and think, “If I do this I’m going to hurt myself or drown!”  But it is impossible to hold that rail and dive.  You have to choose.  But when you let go and bounce off the end of the board, you discover a new and exhilarating freedom.

Jesus is waiting for us in the pool of abundant life.   He says, “Stop holding on to money for dear life.  Let go and take a flying leap into real life.  Come on in, the water is fine!”