I Am Rich!....

I don't play the lottery. But I must be honest and admit that I've thought about it - a lot! I find my thoughts drifting to the possibility of winning thousands or even millions of dollars when I'm paying bills and money is not stretching as far as I need it to. Or sometimes when something big goes wrong with the house or a vehicle, and it's going to take a chunk to fix the problem. Or sometimes when I decide on something I want or someplace I really want to go, and it's just not in the budget. And then there are times when the philanthropic me would love to take care of needs that I see around me or even across the world, but I don't have the resources to do much at all. When my mind dreams about what I'd do with all that money, I always think, "I'll give a bunch of it to the church and mission work!" I really would, but thinking that probably helps clear my conscience! The fact is, I am not sure how having lots of money would change me, if at all.

Jesus spoke about being rich several times in Luke, so it must of weighed on his mind. In Luke 16, he tells of the Rich Man and the beggar. The beggar was at his gate everyday, covered with sores and longing to be fed the crumbs from the man's table. This is the poor man whom the dogs licked his sores! A very pitiful situation. The rich man never acknowledged the beggar, never offered him anything to eat, never offered to clothe him with the clothes his servants were taking to Goodwill, never offered to get him medical attention, never even shewed away the dogs! The poor man died and was taken to heaven; the rich man died and went to Hell. Hell was so torturous that the rich man asked that the beggar be able to come and just give him a dip of cool water! He still didn't get it! Even in Hell, he expected the beggar to serve him - he didn't get that something was so very different between them that they ended up in very different places!

Jesus again spoke of riches in Luke 18. Here he speaks to the Rich Young Ruler who asked what he needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus recited the Ten Commandments and told him to keep them, to which the rich young man said he had been keeping them all of his life. Jesus then said there was one other thing he needed to do and that was to sell all of his possessions and distribute the revenue to the poor, which would build up treasure in heaven, then follow Him. Wow! Can you imagine what must have been going through the young rich man's mind? He was rich...and had never lacked for anything...could come and go and do as he pleased - just like if I won the lottery! Now Jesus was asking him to sell EVERYTHING  and give away the money. He had been watching Jesus; he must have known the kind of nomadic lifestyle He and the disciples lived - never quite knowing where their next meal was coming from or where they would lay their heads at night. Jesus was asking the young man to make a drastic change! The scripture says that the man "became very sad, for he was extremely rich." Then Jesus said that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

At first thought, I can rationalize the stories Jesus told about rich people in one of two ways. One, I am not rich, therefore, I am not the focus of the stories, which lets me off the hook. Second, the stories can stand to validate the view that rich people are selfish and snobbish, and think they are better than everyone else. Accepting either of those, would indicate my own shallowness in my relationship with the Lord. So, I must dig deeper and think broader until the Holy Spirit shows me Truth that applies to me, personally. That's what Bible "study" really is - much more than "reading" the scripture.

Obviously, there is a literal meaning and application of the lesson of the rich men when "rich" means well-off financially. And, there is truth in those lessons. However, I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that all of it has meaning and application to all people. I can't pick and choose the stories that I want to draw application from. There is something for me in all of His Word, but sometimes I have to study on it a bit more.

Okay, I am not financially well-off, so can I metaphorically be the rich men in the stories? Yes, indeedee! Let's take the first story, the rich man and the beggar. The rich man had a lot, and the beggar had nothing but sores. The beggar came to the gate everyday hoping to receive something helpful from the one who had much. How many people do I pass by everyday who needs something I can give? Attention, a smile, a hug, an ear to listen, a nice word, the gospel. You see where I am going with this. It's not necessarily about money but ministry. I am rich because I know the God of the universe! The Creator of all, the Helper, Healer, Comforter, Provider. the Rock, Forgiver, Redeemer, Salvation-giver! I have everything that "beggar" needs! Yet, most days and most opportunities, I pass right by and never even notice his/her presence.My gosh, even the dogs noticed the beggar and licked his sores!

What about the second story? I, too, try to keep the commandments. But Jesus wanted more than legalistic obedience. He wanted "heart" obedience. He told the rich man to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor. When the man couldn't do that, He said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I believe Jesus was talking about what we focus our time and attention on - whether that's money or family, or job, or sports, or scrapbooking, or quilting, or building birdhouses. What is it that we won't give up and instead, put Him first in our lives? The man whose focus or treasure is concentrated on something other than the Lord is the target of this story. I may do all the "things" that I can check off on my offering envelope, but none of those may deal with the condition of my heart. He readily admits that in our humanness, it is very difficult to not focus on something other than God. That's why he added the strange remark about the camel. But when we don't even notice or care that we are out of focus - that's the problem the rich young ruler had and was unwilling to rectify.

All this time, I've been reading those stories about rich people and thinking how "right" Jesus was to concentrate on them. Wow! How small-minded I've been. He has speaking to me and about me all the time because - I AM RICH because HE IS in me! I have won the Lotto!!!

Mary or Martha?...

One of my most favorite movies of all time is White Christmas. When I was growing up, it always came on TV on Christmas Eve, and my family would gather round to watch it every year. Then I shared it with my girls, and we continue to watch it every Christmas season. There is just something wonderful and wholesome about the story and its characters. My dad was a WW II vet - maybe that was one reason it hit a soft spot with our family. But I loved the music and the dance scenes as well. And I loved Rosemary Cloony! The one song besides the title song that has always stayed with me is "Sisters."

• Sisters, Sisters. There were never such devoted sisters...
• All kinds of weather, we stick together; the same in the rain and sun...
• Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister,
• And lord help the sister who comes between me and my man!

The relationship between sisters may be one of the most complicated of family relationships. It is filled with love, friendship, jealousy, resentment, contempt, and the list goes on. I know because I have a sister. I also have a brother (I wanted to mention him in case he ever reads this!) I also know this because I am the mother of two sisters. So, I've seen  this sister-thing from different vantage points. You can say things to a sister that you can't or would never say to anyone else - both good and bad things. You learn to read a sister's face and body language - you know when she is happy, in love, jealous, angry or put-out - especially with you.

So, I think it's fitting that Jesus chose to teach us a lesson(s) through two sisters, Mary and Martha, at the end of Luke 10 (v. 38-42). Jesus and His disciples had been traveling for weeks from village to village teaching about the Kingdom of God, healing the sick, and casting out demons. They were tired, thirsty, and covered in road dust. As they came into this particular village, Martha welcomed them into her home. We don't know a lot about this family other than they also had a brother, Lazarus (John 11). We learn later that Jesus and the brother developed a deep friendship. We don't know about husbands or children.

What we do know is that these two sisters were opposites. Martha was a "doer," and Mary was a "listener." Martha was the leader; Mary was the follower. In this situation, Martha welcomed Jesus and the boys into her home and quickly got busy preparing to serve them. No doubt she was a great hostess and homemaker. She went about her work, using her gift of service. Mary, on the other hand, never made it to the kitchen to help Martha prepare the meal. She was mesmerized by Jesus and sat at His feet and listened as He talked.  As with any "good" sister, this ticked Martha off! She did the unbelieveable - went to her guest, Jesus, and tattled! My goodness, you would think they were five years old! She actually complained that Mary wasn't helping her in the kitchen and actually asked Him to tell Mary to get in there and help her! I can't imagine...if I had ever done something like that to my sister, well, let's just say I would not be here to write this blog!!!

But Mary didn't react. Now, I have to say that if I had been Mary, a cat-fight would have insued. Instead, Jesus looked into Martha's eyes and basically said, "Martha Martha, calm down. You are getting yourself worked up over nothing...Only one thing is essential, and Mary has chosen it, and it's the main course..." (The Message) That could be interpreted as Jesus getting on to Martha. But I've read this in several versions and my trusty commentary, and none of them indicate that was intended or implied. Instead, I see Jesus saying those words with empathy and concern in His voice. Why? Because that's His M.O. - He always treated people who were seeking to know Him with compasion.

So, what did He mean? Martha had chosen to serve the Lord and got busy doing just that. Is that bad? Well, sometimes, it is. Just being busy "doing" is not all that Jesus wants or deserves. Sometimes we can get so busy doing good things, that we don't even think about "why" we are doing them or for Whom. I can get really busy doing church/God related activities. I study, I teach, I help with the drama productions, I work on the Women's Ministry team organizing Bible studies and helping with events, I help with the Fall Festival, I help with Operation Christmas Child, I help with Heart Beat, I do..., I help..., I do...! Wow, am I busy for the Lord, or what??? All those are good things, but at what point and how often do I take time to just sit at His feet and listen to Him? That's the main course, the most important activity we can do for Him (and for ourselves) is to spend time with Him, soaking in all He has to teach us. That's how we grow our relationship with Him deeper. It's through that relationship that true meaning and purpose is found in the things we do.

Yes, we should be about "doing" for Jesus, but never before we have "sat" with Him. We need a little bit of Martha and a whole lot more of Mary so our life with Him will be healthy and balanced.