Rejected...Restored...

    There are times when you and I head out to the grocery store.  Maybe we are in a rush, maybe not, but it's easy to get anxious or frustrated because of the slow moving customer or long-talking checkout attendant in front of us.  Don't they know we are in a hurry?  And yet, to respond in such ways borders of judging, even rejection -- rejection of the person maybe, but rejection of an opportunity to be a witness definitely.

   Yesterday I was rejected.  Well, I wasn't rejected, though it felt like it, my car was.  It was inspection time, and though I expected to pop in and out to go on my merry way, instead I was called into the workbay and told that the wear on my front tires was too low.  They'd have to reject my car for inspection, and after getting new tires bring it back so I could receive a passing grade.  

    Yes, I was frustrated by the fact that I'd have to spend $300 on two new tires, but what I found interesting was that on and off throughout the day, my mind kept turning to the rejection...the label.  In fact, I don't really want to be driving it to the tire shop today, lest someone see the sticker and think things about me...lest a cop stop me letting me know that I can only drive directly to the repair shop and back to the inspector's lair.
    It's odd really, because it isn't me that was rejected, but it was my car.  I was not conscious of the worn equipment, and yet for some reason there is this feeling inside that I messed up.  That there is something wrong with me, or that I have been irresponsible driving a car with tires that have worn beyond the acceptable level.  And yet, that's how I feel.
    As I've reflected upon my reaction to this "judgment" on behalf of the auto repair industry, my heart and mind have been moved to think beyond this trivial judging and reflect upon the many time I, and we, judge and even reject others.  It has given me a good reminder.
    As with most pastors, I deal with many folks calling or stopping by seeking assistance with food, shelter, and help with bills.  There are times when I can be quick to judge them or quick to take care of their needs and get back to my work, and when I do, I not only judge them but in a way reject their needs...even reject them.
    There are even times in church when folks get so used to seeing a certain kind of people there or doing certain things, that when someone different or something creative happens in worship, we reject it as being out of place.  To do so is to judge, and it may be a rejection of the very thing that might draw us closer to God than we ever had, had we not experienced those encounters.

   In the book of Deuteronomy, God shares the law with Moses, and in the first chapter, at the beginning of this whole process God say, "Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.”
   How often we find ourselves judging others, especially in this political environment?  How often do we reject others because of their political or religious affiliation, sexual orientation, race, class, sex, even vehicle they drive?  And maybe even harder, how often do we judge or even reject ourselves?
    The Good News is that God is the one who judges, and God proclaims from the beginning and revealed through the Son that God loves and invites us to embrace that love.  God points out where we need to be inspected and corrected, then God invites us to do what we need to do to be "upgraded" and changed so that we would be at optimal functionality.  Ultimately, God points out our need, even when we don't see it, and invites us, "Come with me, and let me make you new again.
 
    Are there places where you have been rejected?  Are there people that have judged you?  Are you overlooking some area where God desire for you to be changed?  God's inspection station is always open, we just have to go there and seek to know the truth, so we might be made whole again.


Where is God inviting you to be renewed as a follower of Christ?