Friday, August 12, 2016

Accepted Faith

Who is important?  Why are they important?  Are they more important than they should be?  Why should someone be important?  Do many people think they are more important than they really are?  Luke 18:15 through 19:10 considers four different people or groups of people that Jesus uses to ask and answer these questions. (Tune: Take My Life and Let it Be)
Little children come to Me, Like Zacchaeus in the tree,
Like the blind men by the way, Come and worship Me today. (repeat phrase)
Come not like the rich young man, Who came to Me with his own plan,
Come in simple faith today, I’ll not turn your faith away. (repeat phrase) 
Who was important?  Jesus!  Who is important?  Jesus!  The children knew it.  The disciples thought they weren’t important enough for Him.  The rich young ruler said Jesus was important, but didn’t believe it.  The blind men knew He was important and pressed their way to Him against much opposition.  Zacchaeus knew that He was important and let that truth change His life.
The only One who rightly deserves full recognition for importance is the King of kings.  If He is over all, then He must be the most important of all.  If He is all wise then He is more important than all sages and teachers on earth.  If He is all powerful then He is more important than the men who have atomic bombs.  If He is all truth then every philosophy and teaching that doesn’t point clearly to Him is unimportant and a fraud. 

His importance in our lives is exemplified by how important we show Him to be.  Is He all important in our decision making?  Is He all important in our finances?  Is He all important in our educational plans?  Is He all important in our family?  The children just wanted to worship Him in simplicity.  Jesus thought that was great.  The rich young ruler wanted to worship Him in word but not deed.  Jesus thought that was sorrowful.  The blind men wanted to worship His power and then found themselves enraptured with His grace.  Jesus thought that was right.  Zacchaeus wanted to just to see Him, to see if He was for real.  Then He wanted to obey Him because He found that He was.  To each person or group Jesus offered His grace.   Those who believed did not go away disappointed.  Neither will we.  We need to let His grace shine forth with His true importance in our lives each day. 


   The Friday Benediction
Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen



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