Thought / Question of the day !!
As he (Saul) was nearing Damascus on this mission (persecution of the followers of Jesus), a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down up on him! He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"
"Who are you, sir?" Saul asked.
And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
Acts 9:3-5 (NLT)
Two separate thoughts today...or more like two separate questions to ponder:
1) When Saul was persecuting the early believers, he was doing so without even knowing this Jesus that they were following. Question one today is simply, "Do we?" Do we really know the Jesus that we follow, or have we just heard about him? Please don't dismiss this question with a quick "yes, I know him". If the answer is to the positive, you might follow it up with questions like, "Just how well do I know him ?" or "Do I know him as well as he would like?" or "Do I know him as well as I would like?" or "Have I neglected to honestly get to know him as well as I know myself?"
2) Paul persecuted people he really knew nothing much about. He thought he knew that they were misled and that they were causing problems with his organized religion. And this was the basis of his persecution. The question for us today is simply, "Who might we be persecuting...or judging...without really knowing them?"
In the love of Christ,
greg
posted by Greg Hazelrig @ 7:54 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Greg,
This is a great post! I would answer your first point to ponder with, do we know Jesus like those of his hometown who rejected him, or do we know him as he is part of the triune nature of God. I'd say...for me...I keep trying to know Him through the Holy Spirit.
Question #2 evokes a denominational response. Are Methodists too busy being Methodists that they persecute the doctrines of Calvinists, Catholics, Pentecostals and others? Do we try to diminish their approach to serving the living God? I wrestle with that at times, but tend to yield to Wesleys universal spirit sermon and agree that we are of the same heart.
Dern, I've got a couple of sermons on each and they're my favorites of all I've preached. Whenever asked to speak to a congregations I've never delivered the message to in the past, it's always about "Do you know Jesus".
This one got my attention!
Thanks Bro. Marty.
On the second, you make a good point about denominationalism. Actually, I was thinking more generic terms when I wrote it, but that is indeed a legitimate point. Thanks for you your giving me something else to ponder.
Greg,
This was a great post!
To answer your questions:
(1) No, we don't. At least, I know that I don't, but I'm trying to get better. This comes thru dilligent prayer and sincere, honest, study of the Holy Bible. Finally, we have to take time to actually LISTEN to God. I have made a considerable investment in my own spiritural life the past 5 or 6 years in this, and I see a considerable return. But, it requires time and dilligence and I will admitt that I get distracted by the things of the world and I have to focus to stay on the path of a good Christian Pilgrim.
(2) I agree with Bro. Marty on this. We spend way too much time in the Body of Christ fighting over denominational issues. There are legitament theological debates that have been made thru the 2000 history of the church. If a church comes into being that is fundamentally flawed, we should correct them. Outside of church and in the world, we continually forget that all men and women are sinners and that you and I are in that all group. We like to forget that while the actions and behaviors of some are vile and sinful, God still loves them just as much as he loves us. We in the process, alienate them, they miss out on the Gospel, they are lost forever.
I love the story of Paul's conversion for another reason.
When Christ knocked Paul off his horse, he said to Paul, "Saul, Saul, why are you pesecuting ....." Who, the Church? No. The Christians? No. The believers in Damascus? No.
Christ says, "Why are you persecuting ....ME?" .....""I am Jesus, the ONE you are persecuting! " To our knowledge, this was the first time Saul had see Jesus. We have to realize that when are persecuted for the faith or when we participate in such, it is not us, the individuals, the groups, the churches, etc. that are actually being persecuted. When this happens, it is Jesus Christ, himself, that is being persecuted. We know this from his own words to Saul. When we others are persecuting us, or we are doing it to others, we aren't just affecting them or us, we have put our finger in the eye of Christ, himself.
Great comments Keith. I'm just now getting back from vacation and reading what you wrote. I could not agree more. Thanks for your sharing.
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