O” Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” 1 The strangeness of a message of Good News that is Catching Flies with Vinegar.
A Pastor Gathered All The Children
A Pastor gathered all the children around him to give a brief lesson before dismissing them for the children’s church. He started by saying, “I’m going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is.” The children nodded eagerly. “This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)…” No hands went up. “And it is grey (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)…” The children were looking at each other, but still no hands raised. “And it jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it’s excited (pause)…” Finally, one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. ”Well,” said the boy, “I KNOW the answer is supposed to be Jesus … but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!
Scripture also is too often not what we understand it to be.
We All Have Our Crosses To Bear
I have often heard it said, “We all have our crosses to bear”. As though the crosses were some trauma or difficulty that God sends to add extra burden to our lives. It is not unusual for us to share our Crosses. How hard God has made life for us. Even when not mentioned.
I can’t help but think that there is something wrong with our spiritual state when we do this. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am submitted to God the Father and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” 2 said Jesus. He came to ease our burdens not enhance them.
If life is truly burdensome for us, then it seems to me that we have to reexamine just whose burden it is we are carrying. Surely if our load is too heavy it is certainly not a burden of the Lord’s making. If that were the case then we have so badly reinterpreted our text about taking up our cross. So much so, as to completely play into the hands of the devil himself. He must love it when we Christians are so ignorant of the Scriptures that the work of scripture twisting is made easy.
If taking up our cross is not about carrying burdens, what is it?
Good News Like Catching Flies With Vinegar
Taking up your cross is teaching that the message of salvation is never going to be met well. Rather it would be a vile odor to those who are perishing. Everybody needs the Good News but it is like Catching Flies with Vinegar rather than honey. This raises the question:
“How do we make that which is by nature offensive, non-offensive without compromising it?”
This is interesting since it seems to me that many are trying to do just that – they are trying to water down or soft-peddle the gospel so that it is non-offensive.
Can it be done?
The answer is a definite “NO.”
It is not possible to make something that is by nature offensive to the vast majority of non-believers, non-offensive without compromising it. The Gospel is offensive. It cannot be made more palatable without leaving a false Gospel in its stead.
The Offensive Nature Of The Gospel
What do I mean by the offensive nature of the gospel?
Consider this: what could be more offensive than to say to someone you are a sinner? The Bible declares this, yet sometimes we prefer to say, “We have all made mistakes.”
Now, I know that some of us have used this term by way of trying to bring an old term into a modern world without intending to soft-peddle the gospel. But consider the implication. A mistake is something unintentional and meant without malice. But sin is an act of deliberate rebellion.
So let’s bring the word sin into the modern world. You have deliberately and maliciously rebelled against God. How offensive is that?
Being A Martial Artist
I am not saying that we shouldn’t look for better ways to present the gospel. Being a martial artist I have my own particular “hook” that I try to use to open the door to the gospel. I ‘am’ saying that we cannot and must not be afraid of the gospel. It is good news but it is like Catching Flies with Vinegar.
Sometimes I’m sorely tempted to compromise the Gospel. As are all of us who are seeking to share Christ. Part of my outreach when I teach Judo, is to try to present a relevant passage of scripture at the end of the lesson as part of the Mokso or meditation for the night. Often have thought of sanitizing that passage to make it more palatable to a wider audience. I have to be regularly reminded that, as a student of conflict and courage I have to be driven to share the message boldly. Without reservation. Knowing that it is the Holy Spirit that works a change in a person’s heart. Giving them the faith to understand and embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The encouragement is this, we should not feel compelled to change the Gospel to make it less offensive.
Samurai
One of the teachings that the Nabeshima samurai clan shared is this:
“If you have a message, even if you know that it contains your own death warrant, and you are ordered to deliver it with your own hand, you should not flinch from this duty, but gladly perform it and place the message in no one’s hand but he to whom it is intended.”
One of the clan’s 4 daily vows says:
- “I will be of use to the Master”.
- “OUR” Master has given us the very commission mentioned.
- We are to deliver a message which may, at times demand the life of the deliverer.
- We must deliver this message truly and without flinching, regardless of the outcome.
If Samurai no believers get why shouldn’t we?
This is our duty as “retainers” of the Master Jesus.
Nailed To A Plus Sign
A young man was making poor grades in school, particularly in math. His parents tried various things, none of which seemed to produce the desired improvement. Finally, they decided to enrol him in a private school. At the end of the first grading period, the young man came home and proudly presented his report card to his parents. What a shock! All his grades had improved significantly. Most noticeably, he received his first-ever “A” in math. Overjoyed they question him. Wanting to determine what it was that had finally produced the improvement they had sought.
“Was it the non-traditional teaching methods in the private school?” No.
“Then was it the strict discipline?” No.
“Was it the smaller class sizes and more individual attention?” No.
“Well, what WAS it then that caused such a big turnaround?” they asked.
“Well,” the son replied, “when I walked into that school on the first day and the first thing I saw was that man nailed to that plus sign, I KNEW I’d better take math seriously here.”
Nail Your Colours To The Mast
One of my mentors used to always say to us young Christians, “If you are going to go on with your Christian walk you have to nail your colours to the mast”. The world around us must never be left in doubt where your allegiances lay.
Do you belong to Christ or are you ashamed of him?
I used to be frightened of sharing what I believed. By people who used to insist that I had no right to inflict my beliefs on them. Often so intimidated I would hesitate to say what I had done for the weekend. Particularly if it involved some religious activity.
Then one day it dawned on me.. “Hang on, every time these people open their mouths they are inflicting their beliefs on me. Why am I not just as entitled to tell people the fun I had on Sunday at church? Maybe I heard a great sermon? Perhaps I met some great people at a Christian event or a verse of scripture. Is that not just as legitimate to talk about as the non-believers weekend?”
If that guy can be nailed to the plus sign for me, I am compelled to do so just as much as the young man did in his maths.
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill told the British people that he had nothing to offer them but “blood, sweat, toil, and tears” in their fight against their enemies. We must take our faith just as seriously. Jesus spoke of the necessity of total commitment. We need to live our faith. Pray for those who are persecuted. Killed, all over the world, for doing their duty to the Master. Delivering the message without fear.
May their sacrifices urge us to greater courage in our faith, and the fulfilment of our duties to Christ. It is good news but it is like Catching Flies with Vinegar.
Fairdinkum
======================================================================
- Mt 16:24
- Mt 11:29-30
Leave a Reply