It is clear throughout the Gospels that Jesus would much rather spend His time with the ragamuffins of society than the religious leaders of His day. Not that He loved them any less, I believe He loved them just the same as all the rest, but His love for them was more of a disciplinarian type love.
Jesus hung out with the least of these for several reasons. 1) He loved being with people who knew they were not what He created them to be. He loved being with those who needed the healing He could offer. 2) He wanted to give us a picture of what we are to do. Jesus wasn't just for that time in history He is for all of history. Our calendar even revolves around when Jesus came to earth (B.C, A.D). When Jesus showed up the world had never known anyone so loving, so forgiving, so Holy.
As I continue to read The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning I am being reminded of all of the things that Christ meant and means to us as His followers today. As of late I have been struggling with feeling as though I have fallen off of the religious bandwagon and found myself sitting in my living room on Sunday mornings relaxing and spending precious time with my family. I guess that is the trade off when one is volunteering 20 hours a week to church ministry.
Near the end of my time at my last church I was feeling that I was going to have to choose between my family or the church. One doesn't get in much family time when working 50 hours a week and volunteering 20 hours at church. I was completely overwhelmed by guilt when I was at church and away from my family and the opposite when I was with my family. I found myself giving myself guilt trips in my mind. "You should be working on those songs for Sunday," or "You should be spending time with your wife and son instead of spending your time practicing." It was a back and forth battle for my allegiance and I could not continue.
I have been enjoying the time I have been able to spend with my family these last few weeks, but I still have this nagging guilt that says, "you should be in church, whats wrong with you?" It is a terrible feeling. However, I read this today from Manning, "He (meaning Jesus) was well aware of their feelings of shame and inferiority, and because of His compassion they were, in His eyes, of extraordinarily great value. As far as He was concerned, they had nothing to fear. The kingdom was theirs." I gotta tell you, I nearly started to cry when I read these words. First of all because God thinks that I am of "extraordinarily great value" and second that I have nothing to fear, the kingdom (according to Jesus) is mine! What an awesome thought to ponder in the light of such trying times.
Jesus hung out with the least of these for several reasons. 1) He loved being with people who knew they were not what He created them to be. He loved being with those who needed the healing He could offer. 2) He wanted to give us a picture of what we are to do. Jesus wasn't just for that time in history He is for all of history. Our calendar even revolves around when Jesus came to earth (B.C, A.D). When Jesus showed up the world had never known anyone so loving, so forgiving, so Holy.
As I continue to read The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning I am being reminded of all of the things that Christ meant and means to us as His followers today. As of late I have been struggling with feeling as though I have fallen off of the religious bandwagon and found myself sitting in my living room on Sunday mornings relaxing and spending precious time with my family. I guess that is the trade off when one is volunteering 20 hours a week to church ministry.
Near the end of my time at my last church I was feeling that I was going to have to choose between my family or the church. One doesn't get in much family time when working 50 hours a week and volunteering 20 hours at church. I was completely overwhelmed by guilt when I was at church and away from my family and the opposite when I was with my family. I found myself giving myself guilt trips in my mind. "You should be working on those songs for Sunday," or "You should be spending time with your wife and son instead of spending your time practicing." It was a back and forth battle for my allegiance and I could not continue.
I have been enjoying the time I have been able to spend with my family these last few weeks, but I still have this nagging guilt that says, "you should be in church, whats wrong with you?" It is a terrible feeling. However, I read this today from Manning, "He (meaning Jesus) was well aware of their feelings of shame and inferiority, and because of His compassion they were, in His eyes, of extraordinarily great value. As far as He was concerned, they had nothing to fear. The kingdom was theirs." I gotta tell you, I nearly started to cry when I read these words. First of all because God thinks that I am of "extraordinarily great value" and second that I have nothing to fear, the kingdom (according to Jesus) is mine! What an awesome thought to ponder in the light of such trying times.
No comments:
Post a Comment