Perverse, Punished, Panicked, or Pure “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves. Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins (ruling bodies - courts) and flog you ... You will be hated by everyone because of My name ... Therefore, ... Don’t fear (be anxious concerning, panic over) those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear (dread disappointing) Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell ....” (Matthew 10:16-28 HCSB portions, explanations mine). Here I am, in Matthews Gospel, and the King is commissioning His ambassadors. These guys and gals (yes, He had many female followers) had left all their plans for their lives and followed Him. And this is that point at which Christ is about to offer Himself to Israel as King. It is important that the word get out so the people can make an informed choice. Were in the moment here in Matthews presentation of Who Christ is. And isnt that what Hes saying, arent I given the choice, Accept/Reject?; Go/Stay?; Love or seek (even get) revenge? So, Hes sending them out with the good news, the gospel, the King is here; come see, come serve. Im following Him, and immediately Im struck with another question, Am I in Christs camp because of the physical perks or the spiritual protection that pulls me in? And, friends, Im humiliated by the truth, Sometimes, in me, its not clearly defined; usually I fail the inspection! Many times I follow, only to flee. Under the right conditions, I scream Crucify, Crucify! rather than, with Thomas, concede, Come, lets go die with Him. (John 11:6). What a predicament! I havent even begun, and already Im floundering like a beached whale! And theres the continued conviction aspect of His offer, Will you be perverse, punished, panicked or pure? Because thats the gist of following Christ; its the question that I must continually face, What will you do, Kelley, with Christ, today? Its not, in the progressive sense of my response, one and done, is it? Every day, the question haunts me, even as His comfort consoles me, continually showing me how needy I really am. I send you out as sheep among wolves, not there will be wolves in sheeps clothing, as true as that is also. But here, in this passage, Christ is telling His disciples, Expect to die! Not, You may die or You better be careful or you will die but Hold on, be shrewd, use your wits, AND be ready; cause you WILL die! And Christ, in this passage, is preparing me for this. Im to EXPECT laws to be passed restricting my witnessing, but the commission is still Go/share; be/say! And Im not to organize violent protests against that fact, burn buildings and loot stores because of it, either! No, Im to buck up and bear to stand up and endure, and friends, that goes against this ole country boys condition; I tend to strongly resist being publicly humiliated (without retaliation), personally assaulted (with no resistance), insulted and abused (without returning in like kind). But there it is, the question Hes asking, (Even) in Me, will you be perverse, punished, panicked or pure? And heres another, You will be hated by everyone because of My name! Not, You may be ... or You could be ... and certainly not You should be... but You WILL be hated by (who?) everyone (why?) because of (what?) My name (where?) in you (your life, your person, your being)! And how did He respond; how am I to imitate Him? He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,... (Isaiah 53:7). And friends, this too, goes against the grain! (Folks, Im failing big time in all this, to my shame.) And now, the finale, Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And then this play on words, His real life drama makes sense. This, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, isnt my home! As good as America is, was or may one day be, she pales in comparison to my real home, heaven! I dont have to be afraid of Fridays frustration because of Sundays resurrection. My anxious fear and panicked anxiety isnt, necessarily, about men and what they can, will or even might do to me. No, my righteous dread becomes (by His Spirit, in me) one of the possibility of being a disappointment to the One Who loves me beyond reason, yes, even without a reason! And I grow into, as He matures me as His ambassador, He makes me pure, its Him I serve, and its Hell (a real place, by the way) which really should (ought to and does) motivate and panic me. Lets think about that! (These are devotions from a different perspective, one who doesnt have all the answers, is struggling through the maze of life, but knows that he knows Jesus and looks to Him for salvation.)
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:51:23 +0000
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