The Reason He Came

    Being a pastor has its ups and downs.  There is great elation in being a part of God’s work and seeing God use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  There are great blessings which come when we are (I am) able to let go and let God work, thus maximizing the potential God has placed in us as well as the potential God has placed in the community of faith.  At the same the pains and struggles of life and relationships too often reveal that we are indeed human, fallible, and prone to misunderstanding and misdirection.
    I remember growing up as preacher’s kid I hated the unnecessary pain that was inflicted because someone got upset over something or someone did something to another, and suddenly a hornet’s nest was opened up and the stinging was passed from one person to another.  This is the very reason I said I’d never be a pastor!  I often remember the phrase, “I love the Church, and I’d love it even more if it weren’t for the people...”  It would be a humorous phrase if it weren’t so true.
    And yet, as I’ve grown in my faith and in my vocation, I am more and more convinced that it is for just such people and situations that I’m called (and gifted) to minister to.  Even more importantly, it is to just such people that He came.
    Now when I say “just such people,” I’m including myself in the equation.  After all, like everyone I make mistakes and get caught up in my own desires, and it takes a constant re-examining and re-aligning myself with the Spirit for me to try to stay on the path of faith.  But part of what this means is that I too am the reason He came.  And He came for you as well.

    There is an interesting story that is told about how one day the mother of James and John, the Zebedee brothers, came with her sons and said to Jesus, “Give me your word that you’ll give these

two the highest seat in heaven – one on your right and one on your left.”
    Jesus responded, “You don’t know what you’re asking.”  He looked at the brothers and asked, “Are you willing to die as I die...for the Kingdom?”  They say, “Sure.  Jesus answers, “Yes, you will die but it’s not my place to give these seats up.”
    As you can imagine, this causes a ruckus among the rest, then they started judging and wanted those places for themselves.  Jesus calmed them down and says, “It's so easy to get so caught up in power and ourselves that it goes to our heads.  But this is the way it is: Whoever wants to be great, must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be a slave.”
    When I read this, I remember that Jesus knew and knows us all too well.  We tend to think of and for ourselves, and when it comes to religion, watch out because it is a very personal and volatile subject.  But what I’ve found is that if we just step back from our defensiveness...just risk seeing things from the perspective of the other, and even dare to admit that relationships are messy and can only be straightened out together, then if we do this, God has a way of putting the pieces back together.  Even better, God puts them back to a place where they are stronger.
    I’ve learned the hard way, greatness and being right is not all that it’s cracked up to be, and at least for me, that’s not the point.  Instead, what God desires is that we seek understanding and living into the kind of life He offers.  I know that when I do that and seek that, then at least for me, my life and the lives of those around me are much better.
   

    It’s funny/interesting.  Jesus came for you and me.  He came to save all, and part of what that meant for Him and means for us, is that He needed to understand us and we needed to understand Him.  The way He did it is the very way He invites us to live, to be humbled, to be servant, for in doing so, we discover the very One who was slave to all and who on the other side, brought New Life and Hope.

What situations have I had to deal with lately that have invoked a sense of entitlement or seeking for self?  How might I humble myself to try and make things right?  What might God be teaching me through those situations?