Instant messaging can be a strange world. Most of the time I use it to dash a message between offices. It is more urgent than e-mail but less intrusive than a phone call. However, when I signed up for the service I made my profile public. Someone might need a minister/theologian! Hey! It could happen! Matter of fact it does happen, and that is where the ‘strange world’ comes in.
I have been talking to a guy. And then I must say, I don’t know who this person is. I don’t know that what he has told me is true. He wants to talk about some personal things and I try to help, but I am on guard. I wonder what the real agenda is. There have been two conversations (IM sessions), and I think I am done. I am encouraging him to ‘do no harm.’ Love seeks the true best interests of others.
I share this as a background for our conversations about grace.
Matthew 9:12-13 (NRSV) 12 But when he (Jesus) heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
I think Jesus means that everyone is sick. No one is righteous through their own discipline.
Are we fundamentally self-interested? Maybe we do not even operate in our own best interests. We eat Twinkies and pizza. We use credit cards. We are so often reckless with relationships that are in our own best interests. We really struggle with the greatest commands. Love can be a real challenge for us.
God is the gracious physician. He loves and shows us, through Jesus how to act unselfishly. In our best moments, we are trying to follow that example. That is what makes us Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment