So this is my first post on this particular site. I plan to maintain this one on a very regular basis, so we'll see what happens with that. I want to go ahead and tell you that the plan I have is this: I am going to totally steal an idea from a friend of mine and do daily topics. We'll see how this goes.
The topics that I have settled on for right now are as follows:
Monday- Sports
Tuesday- Pop Culture (How movies, TV shows, music, etc. speak to me)
Wednesday- Faith
Thursday- Random Goodness
Friday- Top 10(ish)
There is also a chance that I will post stuff on weekends, but that will be much less topical I'm sure. Anyway, with all of that in mind we will get started.
Stir Things Up
So tonight at 2Forty2 (that's our Wednesday night youth time) we were talking about being an example of Christ. It's a series over 1 Timothy 4:12 where Paul writes to Timothy and gives him 5 areas of his life where he should live as an example to others. The areas are speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. So tonight was night three of the series and we talked about the love aspect of being an example. Really, this is the area that is the most important for us. Without love, all the rest of it is pointless really.
So tonight as we were talking, I read a story to the group that I had read earlier that day while getting everything ready for this evening. The story was a letter that Dan Taylor wrote to his youngest son Matthew. In the letter he talked about being the 6th grade. In this grade they started learning to dance...square dance. Anyway, there was one girl in the class, Mary, who was not what you would call cool, or popular, or anything like that. She wasn't the smartest, coolest, prettiest, wittiest or most athletic. She had had polio when she was younger and that had left its mark on her. On top of all that, Mary was overweight.
One day the teachers assistant talked to Dan. She told him that the next time they did their square dancing, she wanted him to pick Mary as his partner. This was of course a great dilemma for Dan, who was a 6th grade stud. The teacher pointed out to him that this was the very kind of thing that Jesus would have done. He would have picked the ones that no one else wanted to pick. Dan was stuck. He know that the teacher was right, but he was afraid of what it could cost him. His only hope to be able to do the thing he knew he should was to be the last one in line, that way choosing Mary wouldn't cause a stir with the other 6th graders. I mean if he was the last to pick, what other choice would he have other than to pick Mary?
How often is it that we have this same kind of attitude about loving those around us, especially those that are "different" than us? I know that for myself there is that thought that if I can love them, but not have anyone really notice then I can do the right thing, but it won't really cost me anything in the process.
What stood out to me today and I was retyping the story to be easier to use, the line stood out about not wanting to cause a stir by choosing Mary. It dawned on me that this is the opposite really of what loving like Jesus should be like. If we are attempting to love as Jesus loves (this should be what we are striving for by the way), then this should be something that causes a stir. Since when should it be nice and safe and cost nothing for us to try to be like Jesus? This wasn't a new thought for me, but it was the first time that I had noticed that in the story.
In Luke 19, Jesus causes a rather large stir in Jericho as he is passing through. It is here that Jesus encounters Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of the region. Now if you didn't know this already, tax collectors were not the favorite people of the time. They were Jews who had seemingly turned their backs on their fellow Jews. They had gone to work for the Roman government and in the process became rich by being crooked at the expense of their own people. Zacchaeus was one of these guys. He was not seen as someone that deserved to be paid attention to, much less shown love. He had robbed and cheated his fellow Jews for no reason other than to get rich. Then word comes that Jesus is coming to town.
Zacchaeus of course hears this and along with most other people is very interested in seeing this new rabbi that he has undoubtedly heard a great deal about. So he heads to the route that he knows Jesus is taking, but he can't see him from street level as he is a rather short man. Now knowing how the people there felt about him, I'm sure that no one is just tripping over themselves to get out of the way and let him through so he can get a better view of things. I would imagine that this would be the time when there are a few elbows being thrown "accidentilly" Zacchaeus' face. So Zaccheaus does what he can to change that and climbs a tree in order to be able to see.
As Jesus is passing, he looks up into the tree and sees Zaccheaus up there. Being the man that he is, he has a pretty good grasp on the situation I would think. He knows what is going on. At this point he does what no one else would have thought to do. He stops, looks up into the tree and speaks to Zaccheaus by name. He calls him down and tells him that he needs to stay at his house that night. This was a custom in those times to host travelers in your home, even at a moments notice. Zaccheaus, I'm sure, had not had this chance often. So he jumps at the chance to do this. He knows who Jesus is, has heard the stories about him. This of course would be a radical concept to those in the crowd. This was an unlovable person, and this great rabbi who taught with the authority of God himself was calling on his hospitality. Talk about causing a stir.
So Jesus goes and eats and stays with Zaccheaus. And Zaccheaus is changed by this encounter. He vows to give back what he has cheated people out of plus some. But what was it that changed him? I'm sure that Jesus spent some time talking to him that night, but Zaccheaus probably knew the basic teachings since Jesus was at the height of his popularity. So that probably isn't what it was that changed Zaccheaus. No, I believe that it was the fact that Jesus showed him this radical love. Jesus in front of the crowds called Zaccheaus down and requested HIS house. This is something that Zaccheaus has not experienced before I'm sure.
It is this kind of lve that changes lives. This is the kind of example of love that we are called to be. When we claim the faith that follows Jesus, this is the kind of love we are striving to have. It is this kind of love that changes the world and stirs things up.
Peace and Love y'all.
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