What Really Matters
I started blogging just over a year ago. Sometimes I have an abundance of blog ideas and other times I wonder if I have anything of value to share. When I don’t have a topic that seems to be bubbling over in my thoughts, I often go back to my journals where I sometimes jot out in the margin “blog?” when the Lord reveals a particular insight in my Priority Time.Today, as I pulled out my journal and flipped back through, I found a topic dated August 3rd that I had indicated would be blog worthy. This was just five days before my father-in-law died. The same truth from Matthew 21 carries with it just a little more importance looking at it through the eyes of death. You see, in this passage Jesus had just started teaching in the temple when He said, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.”You may have glossed over Jesus’ declaration in previous readings of this passage, but this time can you grasp how radical a statement He was making? From earlier in the chapter, we know that Jesus had been traveling back to town with the disciples earlier this same morning. It would be very reasonable to assume that they came with Him to the temple to hear Him teach. Can you imagine all that they had personally sacrificed as His disciples, only to hear Jesus teach that a prostitute would be in heaven before them?I stood in line yesterday waiting to return an item of clothing. It was crowded and service was slow. One of the other customers noticed the long line as he approached and snidely said to the clerk, “Do you provide couches?” He was unkempt and rude. What if the clerk had told him he could skip the wait and go to the front of the line? I am pretty sure everyone, including myself, would have had our feathers ruffled! He certainly didn’t deserve to go first. To the temple participants, the tax collectors and prostitutes didn’t deserve priority either! How could Jesus bless these outcasts with this privilege?Before the hearers could get too disturbed, however, Jesus tells them exactly why these social outcasts have favored treatment: Because they believed! Jesus tells the audience that it was the least of these that heard the truth proclaimed by John the Baptist and believed. The others in the temple who would have been considered the “religious” of their day not only refused to believe John the Baptist, but even when they saw others respond in humility, they still refused to believe.It is somewhat easy to become religious. What takes real courage is not church attendance or keeping rules. Real courage comes from living out our faith. Are you just going through the motions? Do you assume you are pleasing God just because of how you serve or where you show up? Both of these have their proper place, but if your belief and faith are not obvious to those close to you, then consider: Where are you actually making decisions in your life that require belief in your Lord? May we not just say we believe, but like the tax collectors and prostitutes, may our actions demonstrate belief in our God. twitter | facebook