“It’s Not About Us” All of the lectionary readings for this week, 2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30, Galatians 6:1-16, & Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, all point us to the difficult, yet profound truth that, “IT’S NOT ABOUT US”! In 2 Kings, Naaman received healing from the Lord, but only after he had humbled himself in the eyes of God and obeyed the word of the prophet Elisha. Naaman was a great man, a valiant soldier, and a highly regarded individual. You might say that he was quite full of himself. He was a great hero who was used to getting respect, so when this prophet instructed him to go and wash in the insignificant and filthy Jordan River, he felt it beneath him and he became angry. Once he had set aside his pride and took a step of faith, he received the healing he had for so long desired. Faith is the step between the promise & assurance. In Psalm 30, David lifts up praise to God for that assurance as he reminds us that “it’s not about us”, at the dedication of the temple. He offers a song of praise recalling God’s goodness and mercy even in the midst of very difficult days, with the knowledge that God’s promises are already on the way… “weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning”. Paul in writing to the church at Galatia reminds us that it’s not about us and it’s all about Jesus, as he writes to a church that was struggling with, among other things, self-promotion and self-absorption. There were many in that church who were looking down on newer converts to the faith and many who were struggling with the controversy of faith vs. the law. Paul reminds them, and us, in this letter to cast aside our own selfish desires and the pride that often ensnares and entraps us, as he writes, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself”, (v.3) & “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (v.14). Finally in Luke 10, Jesus sends out the seventy-two to share the “Good News” wherever they go, and to remind those that they meet that, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.” When they returned to Jesus they rejoiced and boasted that “even the demons submit to us…” Jesus reminded them, and us, of just where that power comes from. We are not to boast about all that we are doing, but what God is doing through us and that our “…names are written in heaven.” In each of these scriptures we discover a God who provides healing, comfort, strength, power, and joy to those who would set aside their own agendas, their own will to do the will of the Father. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us as he went to the cross? Is there something that you might need to set aside today that is preventing you from seeing the fulfillment of the promise of God in your life? Is there a step of faith that you might need to take in order to receive that full assurance, the blessed assurance of Jesus? My prayer for all of us is that we might let go of the things that ensnare us and hold us back from an unencumbered and uninhibited relationship with Jesus Christ, as we remember that, “IT’S NOT ABOUT US”! - Pastor Wayne
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 08:50:30 +0000
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