1 Thing Matters

SERIES: Open Door Policies

As we begin Holy Week, we see Jesus bury humanity’s endless attempts at seizing power. In our world, power dynamics are almost always in play. Those who don’t have power want it, often more than anything else. Those who have power are willing to do anything to keep it. In contrast, Jesus—who possesses all power as the Son of God—willingly surrendered his power and placed himself in the hands of his enemies. Why? What he wanted more than anything else was not power, but you.

So, Jesus begins this Holy Week riding into Jerusalem on a donkey colt, knowing full well that he was riding to the cross. He would surrender himself to the punishment that our sins deserved, so that through Spirit-wrought faith we might seize the glory and heaven that only he deserves.

SERIES: Open Door Policies

If you are able to read this, you are likely fortunate enough that you don’t have to dumpster dive for your next meal. When the wastebasket in your home is full, you don’t pick through it hoping to find some valuable treasure - you take out the trash.

When it comes to much of what we value and treasure in life, is it really anything more than trash in the grand scheme of things? It is when we value it more highly than Jesus and our relationship with him. Is it time to take out the trash in your life? What needs to go so that Jesus remains your greatest treasure?

SERIES: Open Door Policies

We assume people get what they deserve. We assume that what goes around comes around. We assume God helps those who help themselves. Those assumptions are false. God does not operate on the pryinciple of merit but of grace. No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. God never turns it off. At the entrance of God’s open door is not a Father looking to condemn us, but a Father who has eagerly longed for our return. When we do, he takes us in his loving arms and assures us we are still his child. When the weight of our sin makes us fearful of God’s condemnation, he reveals his grace yet again.

SERIES: Open Door Policies

Trees don’t bear fruit overnight. They require patience and diligent care. Thankfully, our Heavenly Father provides this for us, too. Not only does he desire to see fruit in our lives, but he also patiently provides everything needed for us to bear that fruit.

SERIES: Open Door Policies

The door to God and the glory he has prepared for us stands wide open. However, he has mapped out a very specific pathway to that door. It is not an easy one. As it did with Jesus, this route takes us through opposition, suffering, and even death. While our human nature may cause us to want to take a detour around these things, Jesus’ own life shows us that no detour is allowed. His cross came before his crown. The same path lies ahead of us. However, at the end of it, through the open door, we are offered a reward far superior to anything the world can offer.

SERIES: Open Door Policies

You don’t even have to be a churchgoer to know about David & Goliath - it’s a legendary account that has cemented itself in cultures throughout the ages. But what are we to make of a slingshotting shepherd boy who takes down a giant? With God fighting our battles, should we expect to slay our own giants as well?

God doesn’t guarantee that. But he does foreshadow a greater guarantee through the victory of the giant slayer: an open door to heaven for all who believe.

SERIES: Epiphany Moments

Where in the world does one find lasting glory? Conquering nations? Championships? Awards? Any glory one finds in these is fleeting and misleading. Such achievements fade and are forgotten, only to be replaced by the next conqueror, champion, or award winner.

But there is a glory that endures. And, while it isn’t in you, you will find that it is for you, if you know where to look.

SERIES: Epiphany Moments

Throughout this season of Epiphany, Jesus has described the governing principles of his kingdom being completely opposite to the governing principles of the world. This week Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to repay evil with good. Worldly logic would say that is a recipe for being a doormat and getting walked all over.

Yet… where have we seen this tactic work before? When we were Christ’s enemies, he loved us to the point of death. He repays our daily wrongs with the daily goodness of his mercy. In doing so, he won us for himself.

Here is the epiphany we badly need to have. Following the strategy Jesus lays out—loving our enemies—is not a capitulation to evil. It is a means of conquering it.

SERIES: Epiphany Moments

Some dessert recipes are extremely complex, while others are very simple and easy to make. But no matter what the recipe looks like, no one will ever be able to taste the dessert if the recipe is never followed. Someone has to make it.

The message of Christianity is not complex. We are sinners who need a Savior, and Jesus is the Savior we need. It’s simple. But no matter how simple it is, others will not be able to experience the sweet joy of salvation unless someone tells them that message. We are that “someone.” God doesn’t just bring believers to faith to then immediately whisk them up into heaven; he also brings us to faith so that we get to bring the message of Christianity to others.

SERIES: Epiphany Moments

In 2009, Facebook added the “like” button. That same year, Twitter added the “retweet” feature. Interestingly, reported cases of depression began to rise sharply in 2010. It is easy to think that the more people like us, the more successful our lives must be. Likewise, it is easy to believe the more people like a church, the more successful that church is. So here is an important epiphany for both individuals and churches. Popularity is not proof of success.

Though there will be times when Christ’s gospel and those who proclaim it are popular, that popularity is never the goal. Nor does that popularity define success. If a church makes its central focus things like personal improvement, healing for the sick, or social justice, that church may draw a crowd. It just fails to carry out the true agenda Christ has given his Church. The gospel of forgiveness is to be the center of all our preaching and teaching. The agenda for Christ’s Church is set. It’s the same agenda that was followed by the Church’s Christ.