Hall of Fame

I watched the Hall of Fame induction speeches on Saturday. The theme of each speech was remarkably similar. Each football player recounted how impossible it seemed for him to one day play in the NFL. Speaker after speaker told of their upbringing in poor, working class neighborhoods; in single-parent, disadvantaged surroundings; in an environment that pulled them toward rebellion or despair; in a situation that systematically told them "you can never have a better life." But there they stood, miracles of human beings. Some gave glory to God and praised Jesus. Others sighed in relief and disbelief that their lives were now being cheered by a throng of fans on a sultry night in Canton, Ohio.

I watched. I listened. I saw a picture of heaven.

As I sat in awe at the athletic accomplishments of these men and as I listened to the ups and downs of their lives, I saw that they were being enshrined in spite of their imperfections and in the face of the walls of impossibility that stood before them. Poverty, bad influences, poor decisions? They were being enshrined. Failures, imperfection, stumbles along the way? They were being enshrined. Good games, bad games, bad press, good press? They were being enshrined. On that evening in that place and at that time, their lives were being lifted up. In that moment, they were all good. Everything was just right. Grace covered the blemishes, and their achievements were bigger than life, projected on the giant screen behind them.

I thought of Jesus' dialogue with believers at the heavenly enshrinement in Matthew 25: "Come you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."

The "sheep" responded: "When did we do all this?" Jesus told them, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

In other words Jesus enshrined a bunch of lowly, disadvantaged, fragile and failing people. He made their lives all good. Everything was just right. Grace covered their blemishes and their achievements were bigger than life. They were now in God's Hall of Fame.

This applies to you, of course. But it also applies to the people you meet and are with. As a servant of Jesus, you will meet many broken, dysfunctional, hard-to-get-along-with, unreliable, vacillating, insecure, poor-decision-making people. You will get frustrated and be tempted to push them all out of your life. You will be tempted to give up all hope when they don't get their acts together in a timely or efficient way. You will be tempted to lash out when they hurt you or let you down.

But remember, these are God's Hall of Famers. One day, on that Great Day, if these hobbled human beings stumbled along with a shred of faith, they will be enshrined. Their lives will be lifted up. Everything will be good. Grace will have covered their blemishes and they will be celebrated by the throngs of heaven.

That's what God's redemptive gift of His Son has accomplished. Sin-cold corpses have been raised up to stand on the victor's podium. A bunch of nothings will be celebrated as the greatest somethings.

When you feel like you're wasting your time on persistent problem people, press on. You're rubbing shoulders with God's Hall of Famers.

(Church Planting Series, Part forty-two)

What Are You Giving Away?

I was watching television the other day and saw one of those commercials that gave you not one, not two, but three magic vegetable slicers for the price of one. Wow, that company is losing money! They’re giving away their stock. They’re going to close down if they keep that up. Giving things away free will drain them! Or will it?

Clearly, free is not free. The scales still tip to the profit side. The company is a profit-making business. They’re getting something out of all this.

We know this and become skeptical patrons. “What’s the catch?” is the question we’ve learned to ask. Usually, we read the fine print or wait a few minutes to find out that free really isn’t free.

This is the mindset people bring to the Gospel. “What’s the catch?” they wonder. Unfortunately, we can fall into the trap of adding catches to the Gospel. We can scribble fine print below the message of grace. Unintentional “profit-making” attempts can interfere with Christ’s free gift.

We may proclaim salvation by grace alone, but do we express that a person really belongs only when they conform to certain outward habits and appearances?

We may preach the unconditional love and acceptance of God, but do our lives communicate that acceptance has its limits? Certain people are not welcome.

We may talk about the beautiful fellowship in the body of Christ, but do our social and organizational structures show that there is no additional room for anyone else in the club? There are no openings for new friendships.

We may claim flexibility in that which is not commanded—and even use the term “adiaphora,” but, in reality, are we idolizing and giving priority to the “indifferent things”? Is our rigidity based in tradition rather than on enduring truth?

We may wave the banner of grace, the free gift of God, but do we put a collection basket by every coffee pot, at every doorway, and by every resource rack? Are we teaching selling rather than stewardship?

What are you giving away? Is free really free? Are people finding “catches” to your presentation of the Gospel? Could there be better ways for you to reflect the lavish generosity of God so more of His goodness can be given away?

(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-six)