Living a Life that Matters: What are We Here For?
I don’t like shopping. When it comes to clothes, I’m generally hard to fit, which, coupled with the fact that I usually balk at paying full price on anything, means it takes a long time. The kids don’t enjoy it either, even when they get to go to the toy section, because they don’t like waiting while we try to find the exact right thing. And babysitters cost enough that we don’t like to “waste” our date nights on shopping. Sometimes we still shop, but mostly we shop online. Anyone else caught this bug? My mom loves Christmas shopping online – she said it’s like she gets two Christmases. One is when the packages come in the mail, and the other is when she gets to give them out.
Unfortunately, sometimes when you receive your package, you open it up, just to find that the product doesn’t fit, or worse, is broken. Once I received a CD that was shattered into about 1000 pieces. When that happened, I immediately e-mailed and asked for a replacement. Why? Because a broken CD wouldn’t play. It was made for one purpose: to play the content on it. It wasn’t made to be a drink coaster or a sun-catcher. It was made to play its content.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We were also made for a purpose. God made us for the purpose of carrying out his good works. If we don’t do what we were made for, why are we even around? All of the other things we do, all of the things that bring us money, fame, power, these are not what we were made for!
We were meant to live lives that matter! But to do so, we have to know what we’re here for. The Bible is really helpful in figuring this out. If you’ve read through Genesis, you know that the Israelites, the people of God, ended up enslaved in Egypt. You’ll also know about Moses, who became the deliverer. He spent time with God one-on-one, especially on Mount Sinai, where God told him this (Exodus 19:4-6) You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
A kingdom of priests, a holy, set-aside nation. The job of a priest is to mediate between humans and the Divine. Isaiah 55:5 says, “Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” In other words, as an entire kingdom of priests, Israel existed to share God with the nations. That was the very reason for God having a “chosen people.” Not to exclude other people, but, in fact, to include other people! Have you ever visited another religion’s place of worship? If you do that, just by watching the ritual that a priest performs, you can tell what that religion’s god is like. Isaiah is saying that by watching Israel, the other nations should see what Yahweh is like.
And the Apostle Peter applied this to the church, (1 Peter 2:9) saying, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
We are those priests. According to 1 Peter 1, Peter was writing to Christians scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Did you notice that Peter didn’t say “You Pastors are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…” He never limited this to clergy. All Christians. You are this royal priesthood. And people out in the world who don’t know Yahweh, who don’t yet know the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who don’t have the Holy Spirit living within them, their knowledge of the God of the universe is limited to how they see God’s priests behaving. How do we portray God?
We are supposed to offer other people a window into God’s character; so it’s vitally important for us to know what is important to God. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells us what’s most important. (Matthew 22:35-40) One of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Love is most important. 1 John 4 tells us multiple times: God is love. In 1 John 4:7-12, John writes this: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
His love is made complete in us when we love one another. Just giving and receiving love is good enough for it to be the entire goal. But we don’t love just for the multiple benefits we get from loving and from being loved; our love for one another should show the world God’s love. And how God’s love is available for them, too.
After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. They went fishing and caught an amazing catch. They ate, and then Jesus had an important conversation with Peter, who, as Jesus was being arrested, had notably denied even knowing Jesus.
In John 21 we read this: When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
The importance of this interchange can’t be overstated. When Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, he’s asking, “Are you carrying out the greatest commandment?” Because Peter was there when Jesus was asked the question as to what was most important. He knows that what is most important is loving God and loving neighbor. So Jesus asked him, “Do you love me?” Of course Peter was hurt and offended. Of course he loved Jesus. Now I’ve always seen this as Jesus reinstating Peter, giving him the chance to make publically declare his love for Jesus three times, making amends for denying Jesus three times. But I think it’s more than just that. Jesus is telling Peter: if you love me, prove it. Prove your love by feeding my sheep. Prove your love by being a priest for me. Remember, this is the same Peter who wrote these words: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
To prove our love to God by feeding his sheep requires orienting our lives completely differently than the world does. James 1:27 tells us that Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Look after orphans and widows. Take care of the least and the lost. One of the reasons we’re focusing on human trafficking this Christmas is because I believe if we keep a sharp focus, we will be able to make a huge difference. There are among us orphans who are being exploited and enslaved, children who are being bought and sold right here in central Ohio. You might already be tired of hearing this from me, but you can celebrate your birthday on your birthday, but on Christmas, we’re going to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. If we do our part, we can make a difference!
James tells us that pure and faultless religion also includes keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world. How do we do that? In the world of H1N1 scares, one thing I see a lot is masks. Have you been to the hospital lately? Lots of hospital employees are wearing masks so they won’t breathe the contaminated air. I read a pamphlet about how to avoid getting the flu; the first thing on their list was Always practice good health habits to maintain your body’s resistance to infection. To do this, they suggested: Eat a balanced diet. Drink plenty of fluids. Exercise daily. Manage stress. Get enough rest and sleep. Then they reminded us to Take these common sense steps to stop the spread of germs: Wash hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid or minimize contact with sick people (3 feet). Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Cover your mouth and nose with tissues when you cough and sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow. Stay away from others as much as possible when you are sick.
I think we as Christians can take the same sort of precautions when it comes to the world. We can’t just hole up and ignore a lost world around us; how are we supposed to be the priests of the world if we’re inaccessible? When we as Christians resort to “holy huddle” mentality, we also communicate to the world that God is exclusive, that God only accepts certain people, and that God himself is inaccessible. Is that what we want? This flies in the face of what it means to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
To keep ourselves from being polluted by the world, we must always practice good spiritual health habits. Stay grounded in the Word of God. Pray continually. Meet together with other Christians to celebrate what God is doing and to encourage and to be encouraged.
While the CDC tells us to take common sense steps to avoid the spread of germs, I would counsel you to take uncommon sense steps. You see, until Jesus came, the steps to avoid becoming unclean, polluted, if you will, were clear. Anyone who was unclean (and you could be rendered unclean by all sorts of means) had to stay away from everyone else, shouting “unclean” if someone came into close proximity. They were outcasts and pariahs. Before Jesus came to earth, the old plan was “come and see” – outsiders were invited to come and see the people of God at worship. This was how they were supposed to see God’s character; when they came into contact with God’s followers, they would see God.
But God’s new plan is this: God came to us. In the person of Jesus Christ, God came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10). Instead of avoiding the “unclean”, Jesus went to them. He was criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:16). Jesus response? It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:17).
Jesus did what was unheard of. In Luke 5:12-14, we see Jesus touching a man with leprosy healing him. In Luke 7:11-15, Jesus encountered a funeral procession, the only son of a widowed mother, and he went and touched the coffin (unclean) and restored the son to life. In Luke 8:40-56, Jesus was touched by a bleeding woman (unclean) and he spoke to her, telling her that her faith made her well. He went into the house of the synagogue leader and touched his dead daughter, bringing her back to life. In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus touched and healed ten lepers, including a hated Samaritan.
Do you get it? Jesus was characterized by being among, even touching the unclean. Yet it did not pollute him! He didn’t end up unclean. Quite the opposite: when Jesus touched, he took away the uncleanness. He took away the barrier between the unclean person and God.
As a royal priesthood, we are called to a similar ministry. We are called to minister to an unclean world. We United Methodists have as a mission statement: Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our mission isn’t just to make disciples. Our mission is to transform the world.
That said, keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world means that we evaluate everything. Everything. Does everything that we do fall into line with what God wants from us? Do we present the world with an accurate picture of God through our words and deeds? Are we living out our purpose in life?
What are we here for? We are here to be priests. To continue Jesus Christ’s mission on earth. Jesus didn’t just come for us; he also sends us. In John 20:21, we find a resurrected Jesus meeting with his disciples. After greeting them with a customary Peace be with you, he commissioned them. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. We are sent into the world, not to be polluted by the world, but to bring them healing. To bring them Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, sometimes when you receive your package, you open it up, just to find that the product doesn’t fit, or worse, is broken. Once I received a CD that was shattered into about 1000 pieces. When that happened, I immediately e-mailed and asked for a replacement. Why? Because a broken CD wouldn’t play. It was made for one purpose: to play the content on it. It wasn’t made to be a drink coaster or a sun-catcher. It was made to play its content.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We were also made for a purpose. God made us for the purpose of carrying out his good works. If we don’t do what we were made for, why are we even around? All of the other things we do, all of the things that bring us money, fame, power, these are not what we were made for!
We were meant to live lives that matter! But to do so, we have to know what we’re here for. The Bible is really helpful in figuring this out. If you’ve read through Genesis, you know that the Israelites, the people of God, ended up enslaved in Egypt. You’ll also know about Moses, who became the deliverer. He spent time with God one-on-one, especially on Mount Sinai, where God told him this (Exodus 19:4-6) You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
A kingdom of priests, a holy, set-aside nation. The job of a priest is to mediate between humans and the Divine. Isaiah 55:5 says, “Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” In other words, as an entire kingdom of priests, Israel existed to share God with the nations. That was the very reason for God having a “chosen people.” Not to exclude other people, but, in fact, to include other people! Have you ever visited another religion’s place of worship? If you do that, just by watching the ritual that a priest performs, you can tell what that religion’s god is like. Isaiah is saying that by watching Israel, the other nations should see what Yahweh is like.
And the Apostle Peter applied this to the church, (1 Peter 2:9) saying, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
We are those priests. According to 1 Peter 1, Peter was writing to Christians scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Did you notice that Peter didn’t say “You Pastors are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…” He never limited this to clergy. All Christians. You are this royal priesthood. And people out in the world who don’t know Yahweh, who don’t yet know the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who don’t have the Holy Spirit living within them, their knowledge of the God of the universe is limited to how they see God’s priests behaving. How do we portray God?
We are supposed to offer other people a window into God’s character; so it’s vitally important for us to know what is important to God. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells us what’s most important. (Matthew 22:35-40) One of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Love is most important. 1 John 4 tells us multiple times: God is love. In 1 John 4:7-12, John writes this: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
His love is made complete in us when we love one another. Just giving and receiving love is good enough for it to be the entire goal. But we don’t love just for the multiple benefits we get from loving and from being loved; our love for one another should show the world God’s love. And how God’s love is available for them, too.
After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. They went fishing and caught an amazing catch. They ate, and then Jesus had an important conversation with Peter, who, as Jesus was being arrested, had notably denied even knowing Jesus.
In John 21 we read this: When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
The importance of this interchange can’t be overstated. When Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, he’s asking, “Are you carrying out the greatest commandment?” Because Peter was there when Jesus was asked the question as to what was most important. He knows that what is most important is loving God and loving neighbor. So Jesus asked him, “Do you love me?” Of course Peter was hurt and offended. Of course he loved Jesus. Now I’ve always seen this as Jesus reinstating Peter, giving him the chance to make publically declare his love for Jesus three times, making amends for denying Jesus three times. But I think it’s more than just that. Jesus is telling Peter: if you love me, prove it. Prove your love by feeding my sheep. Prove your love by being a priest for me. Remember, this is the same Peter who wrote these words: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
To prove our love to God by feeding his sheep requires orienting our lives completely differently than the world does. James 1:27 tells us that Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Look after orphans and widows. Take care of the least and the lost. One of the reasons we’re focusing on human trafficking this Christmas is because I believe if we keep a sharp focus, we will be able to make a huge difference. There are among us orphans who are being exploited and enslaved, children who are being bought and sold right here in central Ohio. You might already be tired of hearing this from me, but you can celebrate your birthday on your birthday, but on Christmas, we’re going to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. If we do our part, we can make a difference!
James tells us that pure and faultless religion also includes keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world. How do we do that? In the world of H1N1 scares, one thing I see a lot is masks. Have you been to the hospital lately? Lots of hospital employees are wearing masks so they won’t breathe the contaminated air. I read a pamphlet about how to avoid getting the flu; the first thing on their list was Always practice good health habits to maintain your body’s resistance to infection. To do this, they suggested: Eat a balanced diet. Drink plenty of fluids. Exercise daily. Manage stress. Get enough rest and sleep. Then they reminded us to Take these common sense steps to stop the spread of germs: Wash hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid or minimize contact with sick people (3 feet). Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Cover your mouth and nose with tissues when you cough and sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow. Stay away from others as much as possible when you are sick.
I think we as Christians can take the same sort of precautions when it comes to the world. We can’t just hole up and ignore a lost world around us; how are we supposed to be the priests of the world if we’re inaccessible? When we as Christians resort to “holy huddle” mentality, we also communicate to the world that God is exclusive, that God only accepts certain people, and that God himself is inaccessible. Is that what we want? This flies in the face of what it means to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
To keep ourselves from being polluted by the world, we must always practice good spiritual health habits. Stay grounded in the Word of God. Pray continually. Meet together with other Christians to celebrate what God is doing and to encourage and to be encouraged.
While the CDC tells us to take common sense steps to avoid the spread of germs, I would counsel you to take uncommon sense steps. You see, until Jesus came, the steps to avoid becoming unclean, polluted, if you will, were clear. Anyone who was unclean (and you could be rendered unclean by all sorts of means) had to stay away from everyone else, shouting “unclean” if someone came into close proximity. They were outcasts and pariahs. Before Jesus came to earth, the old plan was “come and see” – outsiders were invited to come and see the people of God at worship. This was how they were supposed to see God’s character; when they came into contact with God’s followers, they would see God.
But God’s new plan is this: God came to us. In the person of Jesus Christ, God came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10). Instead of avoiding the “unclean”, Jesus went to them. He was criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:16). Jesus response? It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:17).
Jesus did what was unheard of. In Luke 5:12-14, we see Jesus touching a man with leprosy healing him. In Luke 7:11-15, Jesus encountered a funeral procession, the only son of a widowed mother, and he went and touched the coffin (unclean) and restored the son to life. In Luke 8:40-56, Jesus was touched by a bleeding woman (unclean) and he spoke to her, telling her that her faith made her well. He went into the house of the synagogue leader and touched his dead daughter, bringing her back to life. In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus touched and healed ten lepers, including a hated Samaritan.
Do you get it? Jesus was characterized by being among, even touching the unclean. Yet it did not pollute him! He didn’t end up unclean. Quite the opposite: when Jesus touched, he took away the uncleanness. He took away the barrier between the unclean person and God.
As a royal priesthood, we are called to a similar ministry. We are called to minister to an unclean world. We United Methodists have as a mission statement: Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our mission isn’t just to make disciples. Our mission is to transform the world.
That said, keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world means that we evaluate everything. Everything. Does everything that we do fall into line with what God wants from us? Do we present the world with an accurate picture of God through our words and deeds? Are we living out our purpose in life?
What are we here for? We are here to be priests. To continue Jesus Christ’s mission on earth. Jesus didn’t just come for us; he also sends us. In John 20:21, we find a resurrected Jesus meeting with his disciples. After greeting them with a customary Peace be with you, he commissioned them. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. We are sent into the world, not to be polluted by the world, but to bring them healing. To bring them Jesus Christ.
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