Be Present Like a Child

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Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.  Romans 12:21(NLT)

I have a pastor-friend in Missouri whom I’ve never met.  Roger and I are Facebook friends.  He often posts a devotional thought, and a few months ago pointed out the word Jesus spoke when healing a blind person – ephatha, which means be opened.  Jesus gave sight back to this unseeing one.  Our prayer in the United Methodist Church is that marketing slogan we adopted some years back, open hearts, minds, and doors.  We long to be open “…to much more than what we currently understand; to those who may not look, act, or dress, or speak, or even think like we do.”[2]

The truth is our hearts and minds MUST be open if we ever hope to open the doors that shut us off from each other in this culture.

Our theology – what we know about God – must determine and drive the actions of our everyday lives.  We follow Jesus, not the world’s fads, customs and behaviors.  So, this is all about relationships, not just how we treat one another, but how we act and work together, so we can serve as God’s ambassadors to the world. 

Paul tells us to faithfully serve together to transform a world steeped in anger, hostility, rage, and vengeance into a place of peace.  This peace is shalom, not just a treaty signed, but a condition of the heart which is characterized by everything that makes life worth living.  It’s that place where the lamb and lion can lie down together, and everything will be just fine!

The manger was where God chose to start that whole process.

This morning – a ONE-POINT SERMON (can you believe it?).

Showing-up, being present like a child, is 100% of what God requires of a disciple

To “show up” is to be present, not just in body, but with everything you’ve got:

·      An open mind – to learn what God wants you to do.

·      An open calendar – to let God’s business have priority in your life.

·      An open wallet – to be uncaptured by the world’s materialistic ways.

·      An open life – to be transparent as a witness for the Gospel good news.

·      An open heart – to go for God when, where, how, and why He sends you.

To show up is to be what we started out with as we studied Romans 12 – becoming a living sacrifice, offering who we are in total to Christ.  We are like the Magi, covering great distance if we must, bearing precious gifts – not gold, frankincense, myrrh, or even a new Lexus…but the most precious of all, we bear the gift of our will, laid on the altar of our time, talent, and tithe.  In the words of the Gospel hymn-writer:

We surrender all!

In Romans 12: Paul called this surrender “holy”.  What makes the living sacrifice holy is that you do those things that will honor God.  You submit to His authority.  Jesus did that in the Garden of Gethsemane; He prayed:  Not my will, Father…yours!

How is your commitment level?  Are you giving God the respect He is due? 

Evil is all around us and it is so easy to get overwhelmed or discouraged by what we see in the newspapers and on the nightly news.  It’s so easy to drop out and just look after your own.  But that is not Christ’s call on our life, is it?  Christ bids us to come and die to self, so we can live for Him.  He calls us to overcome evil with good

Christian believers reject the standards and behaviors of this world’s culture in favor of following Jesus, making disciples, and transforming the world.

Conclusion

Are you tired of doing things to please the people who were instrumental in your early years?  Have you ever questioned why you do what you do? 

           Do you have a job because that’s what people do – they go off to work? 

           Do you belong to a church because that’s what the good people do? 

           Do you behave yourself in public just because that’s what decent citizens do?

Wouldn’t you rather have a vision?

Wouldn’t you rather be on a mission?   

Wouldn’t you rather have a purpose for your life that is overwhelming and drives you to the very depth of the well of joy and meaning in life? 

If that is your desire – surrender your life to the will of God.  Break out of this world’s mold of greed, materialism and selfishness. 

Overcome evil by choosing to follow the One Who IS good!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Adapted from a post by Roger Carey on Facebook: "Be Opened-Ehphatha", Morning Musings-10/4/2018