September 30
September 30
Are you ever offended by your Lord, or by what he has called you to stand for or do?
The gospel of Jesus Christ and his moral calling to his children are offensive to the surrounding culture. What the Bible says is right or wrong, true or false, and wise or foolish offends people. The declaration that God exists and is the ruler of everything offends people. Speaking of God as the Creator and owner of all that exists is considered absurd. God’s plan for parents, husbands and wives, government, and human sexuality is largely rejected by the culture we live in. The question is, Do your Lord and what he calls you to stand for ever offend you? Do you find it hard or embarrassing to declare your allegiance to him and his moral call? Would you rather please the crowd than your Savior? Do you weaken your moral allegiance to him in order to gain human acceptance? Are you willing to be misunderstood and rejected for his sake?
Consider the following significant moment in Matthew 11:
When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matt. 11:1–6)
Let me set the scene. As Jesus was going about teaching and preaching, John the Baptist had been thrown in prison. John was confused by this. This was not how he thought the coming of the Messiah would play out. As John the Baptist evidently understood the prophecies of the Messiah, his ministry of preparation would result in blessing, not rejection and imprisonment. So, he said to his disciples, “You better make sure that this guy is the real deal.” Jesus’s response was, “You know that everything I have done is a direct fulfillment of the prophecies that were made of the coming Messiah.” Everything Jesus pointed to in his ministry was a direct fulfillment of the prophecies made by Isaiah. Then he said, speaking to John, “You are blessed if you are not offended by me.”
Your life with your Lord may not be the life of comfortable blessing that you thought it would be. You may not have anticipated the mockery you would get at work because of your moral stance. You may not have expected that you’d lose your university job because of your stand on sexuality and gender. You may be tempted to question your Lord. Are you offended by your Savior and his call? There is rescuing and empowering grace for this struggle, and blessing to those who are not offended.