Monday, November 1, 2010

Matthew 5:1-2 Are you climbing?

"When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions."
Matthew 5:1-2 (The Message)


Imagine how Jesus felt being in ministry as he walked on the earth. Just imagine for a moment... here is Jesus going from town to town preaching the "Good News" to others. He stands face to face with those who are ill, possessed, and those who consider themselves unworthy of His love and grace. Face to Face he healed them, breathed new life into them, and showered the unworthy with his grace. Just imagine being face to face with Christ.. what would that feel like?

And yet I think about this passage. I love that Jesus "saw his ministry drawing huge crowds". I love that those who were apprenticed to him and committed to him climbed with him. I love how that sounds. I love how that translates into physical actions. Jesus' disciples were committed and they climbed.

Then I thought about ministry today. I thought about the ministry that I claim and that I am a part of. Do I climb with Christ? Are there others around me who are committed to Christ and climb? I believe that sometimes I am not climbing the right path.. because I am not committed to Christ.. I am committed to other things. I am climbing a whole other mountain when I am committed to perceptions instead of reality. I am committed to something other than Christ when I am climbing the wall of pride and selfishness.

And that's when I am climbing.

Many times I feel like as Christians we climb when we want to and not when Christ wants us to join him. We climb when it is convenient. When climb when there is really nothing better to do. We are committed climbers when everything else on our To Do lists are finished and our other commitments are taken care of.

Rarely do we feel like we are face to face with Christ. Instead we are face to face with bills, full calendars, illness, divorce, hurt, and pain. Busyness has taken over our lives where we are face to face with deadlines instead of Christ. How did we get to this point?

How do we get back to being face to face with Christ?

The answer is in the scripture.

Christ took his climbing companions to a quiet place and he taught.

He didn't take his climbing companions to a Sunday School class with snacks. He didn't take his climbing companions to a committee meeting, a sporting event, a loud rally, or a chaos filled work environment. He took his climbing companions to a quiet place and he taught.

I believe that we can be committed to church, family, committees, and other important things... and yet not be committed to Christ.

I get caught up in the details sometimes.. and all Christ wants to do is take me by the hand and guide me on a climb so we can sit in a quiet place and he can teach me.

Sometimes it takes a climb to get to a quiet place. A teaching place.

There is still "good news" to be taught. There are still opportunities for healing and grace.

Today I ask you....
Are you climbing?
Are you at a place where Christ can teach you?
Are you committed?

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