Since Sunday's sermon, a few of the verses I read but really didn't hit on have been eating at me for some reason.  Let me give them to you.

Matthew 10  -  37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
 

I have an intense sense of all three of these verses personally.  As I look around our nation and denomination, I see an insufficient amount of the description in these verses in the lifestyle of the average Christian.

Secondly, we often read the words of Christ as if they're coming from a sacred pulpit or "Heavenly Department of Philosophy".  We assign them to an esoteric corner of our mind.  This is the part of the brain that has things in it that make us smile but little value is attributed to the content.  Like a poem.  They strike at the emotions and have contextual value, but, it's just a poem.  That is NOT where God's word is to be stored. Remember - His word is the "engrafted word".

I'm a very simple thinking kind of guy. I actually believe words mean something.  That's why it's hard for me to listen to political speeches (and some preachers). It's so hard to find valuable content in the morass of rhetoric. I think that's probably why a lot of people find my sermons so different.  I refuse to philosophize and sugar coat.  I despise the "plastic" facade that some speakers have and it seems so easy to detect.  Could be that I am a victim of the gift of discernment which is a blessing but can sometimes be seen as a curse.

Back to the issue at hand.  I read this passage at the Gessells/Stevens small group last night.  We talked about it for 15 minutes or so. Then, I noticed something.  I was asking the group to give me the true meaning of the verses from a logical (albeit plain) frame of mind. They did the same thing I did.  We all had completely skipped over a very important word: WORTHY.  When I asked them the definition within the context, they were stymied.  We discussed it for 5 minutes before we came to a plausible conclusion.

The word "worthy" is used in verses 37 & 38.  It comes from the Greek word axios which, in Strong's opinion, means deserving, comparable or suitable (as if drawing praise):--due reward, meet, (un-)worthy.

We may be Christians but will we receive (draw or deserve) the praise of Jesus when we meet Him for the first time in judgment or will He be disappointed? The thing about these verses are that they demand a discussion with Jesus.  I'm all for self-examination but I think we need more one on one Jesus examination. Most of us can't wait to get our yearly reviews at work.  In fact if they are late or missed, we get furious and feel unappreciated. Maybe it's time we scheduled a yearly "review" with Christ - one on one. Have time today?

See you Sunday.

Helping you grow!

PB