Have you
ever wanted something? Well, that’s a
dumb question, of course you have. We
all want things. But have you ever
wanted something really badly, and it seemed like no one else cared about
it? It’s not that they were actively
opposing you or trying to keep you from getting it. They just really could not have cared less about it.
It’s really frustrating to be in
that situation. In some ways, we’d
rather have them be opposed to us. At
least then we might have a chance of convincing them to change their
minds. In this situation, though, it
does not matter whether they think we’re right or wrong. They might very well think we’re right. They just don’t care.
That attitude of just not caring is
one of the biggest things we need to fight as Christians. We need to fight it in ourselves, and we
need to fight it in others. It’s one of
the biggest impediments Christianity faces.
Yes, there are people who are actively opposed to Christianity, and we
need to recognize that, but I think an even bigger danger comes from people who
are not actively for or against Christianity.
They may even think that, in theory, Christianity is a good thing. They just really don’t care about it one way
or another, at least not enough to let it have any effect on their lives.
Here’s what I mean. We all know people whom we would consider
good people. They’re people who, if you
asked them, would probably say they believed in God. They might even say they believe in Jesus. But they rarely read the Bible, they rarely
pray, and they rarely come to church.
They really don’t think about God very much as they go about their
lives.
Again, it’s not that these people
are bad people. They’re people like you
and me. In fact, some of us have been
those people. They’re not actively
opposed to Christ or the church or anything.
The thing is that they’re people
who are comfortable with the way their lives are. They don’t think they’re lives are perfect, but they think
they’re okay. They really don’t want to
make any major changes in their lives.
And they know, deep down, that if they really committed their lives to
Jesus Christ, their lives would change.
Again, most of us have been those
people. In fact, I’d guess most of us
are those people now, to one degree or another. I am. I mean, yes, I’m a
pastor, and yes, I’m trying to be a good one.
I believe in God and I’ve accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. But can I say my life is totally and
completely committed to Jesus Christ? Can
I say everything I do is dedicated to serving God? No. Not honestly. I don’t know that very many people can.
So, in Jesus’ story that we read
tonight from Luke, that casts each one of us in the role of the unjust judge,
right? Jesus comes to us and asks us to
do him justice. Jesus comes to us and
asks us to follow him.
And what do we do? We go on about our business. We don’t really pay much attention. We don’t do anything about what Jesus wants.
The thing is, though, that Jesus
never goes away. Jesus does not accept
our apathy. Jesus keeps coming back to
us. He comes back to us at different
times. He comes back to us in different
ways. He comes back to us through
different situations. But he keeps
coming back. He never stops. And at all those different times, in all
those different ways, through all those different situations, Jesus keeps
saying the same thing. “Do me
justice. Follow me.”
What do we do? We keep acting like the unjust judge. We start getting annoyed. We start getting frustrated. We may even start getting angry. We wish Jesus would just go away and leave
us alone, but Jesus won’t do that. No
matter how many times we try to put him off, no matter how many times we tell
him we’re not interested, no matter how many times we just flat out refuse,
Jesus keeps coming back with that same message. “Do me justice. Follow
me.”
Until. Until, finally, our resistance is worn down. Until, finally, we decide that Jesus is
never going to go away. We realize that
we are not going to have any peace in our lives until we finally do what Jesus
asks.
That’s kind of how I became a
pastor. When Wanda and I finally made
the decision in 2006 that I’d go to seminary, that was not the first time Jesus
had put that idea in our hearts. It was
not the first time we’d ever thought about it.
We’d discussed it before, but we kept saying no, we don’t want to do
that. We’re not interested.
But Jesus just would not go
away. He kept coming back with that
same message. Finally, we decided Jesus
was not going to go away, and we’d better do what he was asking us to do.
And the thing is, we’ve never been
happier. Think about that. Jesus asked us to do something we did not
want to do. We resisted it as long and
as hard as we could. Finally, we gave
in. When we did, Jesus gave us a life
better than we’d ever had before.
Now, as I said before, that does
not mean that I can honestly say everything I do is completely and totally
dedicated to serving God. It’s
not. I’m still working on it. I will be until the day I die. I still want to take that control back. I still want to tell Jesus no. And sometimes I do. And Jesus still never goes away. Jesus keeps coming back, wearing down my
resistance until I finally say yes.
Jesus does not tell us what happens
to the unjust judge after he finally gives in to the widow. He may have just gone on with his life as if
nothing happened. And in fact, in his
view, maybe nothing did happen, other than that he got rid of a nuisance. I doubt it, though. I’ll bet it changed his life somehow. I’ll bet it made him look at things a little
differently. If nothing else, the next
time someone came up to him and demanded justice, I’ll be he acted a little
quicker than he had before.
Once we give in to Jesus, we cannot
go on with our lives as if nothing has happened. Our lives will change. We
will change, in ways that we don’t expect and cannot anticipate.
Again, that’s why we resist. We don’t want to change. We’re happy the way we are. But Jesus is not asking us to change because
he wants to make us unhappy. Jesus asks
us to change because Jesus knows how much happier than we can be. Jesus asks us to change because Jesus can
give us a peace and a joy we’ve never known before. Jesus asks us to change because Jesus knows that we don’t really
know what happiness is until we follow him.
There is a change that Jesus wants
each of us to make in our lives right now.
I cannot tell you what it is for you.
I don’t even know what it is for me.
But I know there’s something.
Unless one of us here is perfect, there’s something Jesus wants us to
change. There’s some way in which we
need to more fully dedicate our lives to Jesus.
Jesus is working in each of our
lives right now. We can resist. We can fight. But Jesus is not going away.
Jesus never gives up on any of us.
He keeps coming back with that same message, “Do me justice. Follow me.”
Jesus asks us to follow. But Jesus is not just asking us. He’s asking others, too. Jesus is asking people you and I know to
come and follow. And Jesus wants us to
encourage those people. He wants us to
bring them with us, so that we’ll all follow Jesus together.
And Jesus does not want us to just
go to those people once and then go away.
Jesus is not going away. Jesus
does not want us to go away, either.
Jesus wants us to keep asking, too.
Not in a mean way, not in an annoying way that will turn people off. But in a persistent way. In an encouraging way. In a loving way. We’re never supposed to give up, and we’re never supposed to go
away, just like Jesus never gives up and never goes away. We’re supposed to keep after people with
that message, “Come along with me.
Follow Jesus.”
It’s not easy. It’s not easy for us to follow. It’s not easy for us to ask others to
follow. It’s not easy for others to
follow, either. But when we finally
stop fighting, stop resisting, and go where Jesus wants us to go, we’ll find
more happiness and joy than we’ve ever felt in our lives. Then, the question at the end of our
scripture will be answered. The Son of
Man will find faith on earth.
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