Between Two States

Well, I find myself in a strange place. The suitcase is packed, but I need some of the things in the suitcase to continue to live before the trip. What do I do?

I could go out an buy the things I need, or I could unpack some of the suitcase. I really don't want to do either. I have invested time and energy in placing the things in the suitcase in a way that makes sense. Things fit. If I take something out, it will mess up my system.

But I need to keep living now and I need some of those things that are tucked away, ready for the flight.

The early followers of Jesus had a similar problem. The had heard Jesus' message and taken it to heart. He was going to return, and they felt it was very soon. So why, they asked, should we invest in our life in this world. Why should we work! Why should we marry or stay married! It will all be over so soon, that we need to just prepare for heaven. Every earthly pursuit is empty and worthless.

But then the years ticked by and Jesus didn't return in the expected time frame. They would have to live in light of His coming, but they still had to live a life here on earth. They had responsibilities to fulfill. And they needed to live in a way that honored Him, reflecting His glory to the world.

They had become so heavenly minded that they were no earthly good. Their lives weren't impacting their culture because they were withdrawing from it. They had their suitcases packed already, and they weren't willing to unpack enough to live. They were so prepared for heaven that their ability to live godly lives in Christ Jesus was restrained.

Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. We must live. We can't let the election, or anything else for that matter, distract us from our primary function as Image-bearers. We need to allow the LORD to so permeate our lives that people see Him when they see us. We need to live holy lives. We can't let anything, including idleness stop us from this pursuit.

We live lives of dual focus. We are preparing for heaven while we live here on earth. We have our suitcase packed and ready to go, but we also live productive lives now.

Are you investing enough in heaven? Are you investing enough in life now? How do you figure out the balance?

Turning the Tables

Mark 12:35-44

      Symbols of success abound. With the recent release of the new iPhone, people stood in line to be the first to have the newest. You can use this new phone to make phone calls, play games, watch videos, surf the net, take pics and videos, and a hundred other things. Oh, wait, so did the last iPhone. And the one before that. Often what we get when we get the newest is poorer sooner.

      What we call “The American Dream” is a set of symbols. The house in the suburbs, the two cars, the new this and that. What is funny is that the size of houses has grown over the last 50 years, but the size of the family has shrunk. We now demand a larger space for fewer people. And since we have this larger space, we must fill it with stuff, lots of stuff, storage spaces of stuff!

      We get degrees, careers, portfolios, and gated communities to establish who we are, or at least who we want people to think we are. We spend so much time painting the exterior of our lives we don’t have time or energy to maintain our relationships and spirit. We run ourselves ragged to obtain a line on our resume’ because someday, way out there in the future we might need a line.

      You can tell from out passage today that Jesus doesn’t worry about His status with the establishment of His day. If He did, He could have changed His tune and danced right along with them. He could have gotten into line with their hypocrisy and become one of them. He would have lived a long life, received worldly accolades, and been thought of as someone successful. He could have become what liberal theologians today think He was!

      But instead of conforming, Jesus continues to speak the truth to the powers that exist. He shot holes in their neatly formed theology, theology that ignored inconvenient passages, passages that contradicted their strongly held beliefs. He pointed out that even King David, one of their heroes, recognized the supremacy of the Messiah. No son could be Lord over a man like David.

      Then Jesus points out some of their symbols of success. They loved to be seen as people of importance. The wanted to sit at the head table. They wanted the boxed seat at the stadium. They wanted the plaque naming the building after them. They wanted to be able to buy their way into controlling the political direction of the country. They were into leveraging their positions for personal gain. Does this like some of the richest people of our day and age?

      A bit of meddling of my own now, right in line with Jesus’ meddling. I hate it when people with money, especially politicians and people who want to influence our culture, speak about helping the poor, but then don’t reflect that concern with their personal finances. They amass millions for some future generation, filling their Biblical barns, but only give a small percentage of their money to actually make a difference. Millionaires who only give thousands to actually help the poor. Despicable.