As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”   When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”   ”Yes, Lord,” they replied.  Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored.   Matthew 9:27-30a (NIV)

The idea that God heals people is one most people go for.  And the idea that somehow faith is important is also one people agree to.  Where it gets a bit sticky is understanding how faith influences God to heal.  The extremes range from: a)those that figure God is in charge and he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do , to b) those that claim if you muster up enough faith you can kinda get God to do what you want him to.

Matthew 8-9 contains lots of stories of Jesus healing leprosy, paralysis, fever, demon-posession, bleeding, blindness, inability to speak….even death.  People’s faith in Jesus was a key element in the stories.  I think that the appropriate shape of that faith was the belief that Jesus was sent from God and that he could heal them if he was willing.  Not that he necessarily WOULD, but that he absolutely COULD, so he was the person to ask.

I was teaching this part of Matthew to a group of teenagers at my church last week and was trying to make this point.  I challenged them to tell me how faith and healing interfaced, even if they had a different take on what these passages teach.  I pressed them on what this might look like, to explain it in their own words, so that I would know they were at least listening and wrestling with the idea.

One of the guys, a football player dating a cheerleader,  said, “We’re like cheerleaders saying ‘You can do this,  God.  C’mon, God. ’”  I don’t think I can improve much upon that.  Cheerleader theology is a sound, Biblical explantion of faith and healing.  I just love that……

He must become greater; I must become less.   Matthew 3:30  (NIV)

John the Baptist was losing influence .  Jesus was taking over centerstage.  Above is John’s response. 

Am I willing to become less?  How much less?  Really?  That much?

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.   What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight.  What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Matthew 10:26b-27

I spoke with a young man recently that was in a kinda difficult situation.  He was being pressured to do something that, it seemed to me, he really didn’t want to do.  His plan was to use finesse, to be diplomatic, and to choose his words and actions carefully.  

Want a recent example of this?  Our president tried to use finesse in announcing his plans for Afghanistan.  The “I’m sending 30K troups but we’ll begin bringing troups home in July 2011″ part was where the finesse comes in.  Obama’s words were meant to appeal to both those that believe the US needs a bigger presence in the region, and to those that believe we need to get out.

The challenge is that finessing a situation means walking a rasor-thin line.  One one side is compromising what you know to be true and on the other is deceiving people.  I don’t suggest insensitivity or rudeness or just plain stupidity, but it is very, vey important to guard our integrity and our hearts.  It’s hard to do that and conceal what we really think and hide what we really believe and stay emotionally and spiritually healthy….especially over any extended period of time.  Acting and speaking what we truly believe, “what is whispered in your ear,” is the better course. 

I sell for a living.  The company I works for makes some great stuff that works well and I can sell it with confidence.  But every now and then, we’ll get something to sell that maybe turns out to be not so great.   And I think, “nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.”   Guess what, the company still wants me to produce sales.  And they pay me.   Yet there are some things and some offers that I just don’t aggressively promote to my customers that trust and count on me.  It costs me sometimes, and it may even cost me my job someday…..like if my boss reads this blog today.

So anyway, I really believe the verse above is important, because Jesus said it and because in practice it’s the best way to live and to lead.  Be careful with too much finesse.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.  Serve the LORD with gladness;  Come before Him with joyful singing.   Know that the LORD Himself is God;  It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;  We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.   Enter His gates with thanksgiving  And His courts with praise   Give thanks to Him, bless His name.   For the LORD is good;  His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.   Psalm 100

I’m constantly amazed at how prone I am to think the world revolves around me, even when I consider the THINGS I give thanks for.  I need to be reminded as I thank God for family and the other good things in my life on this Thanksgiving Day that the absolute best thing to be thankful for is God Himself.

We had a Thanksgiving Potluck  Dinner at church last night in a driving rainstorm.  I figured we’d have a pretty slim crowd.  Our pastor has made some changes this past year and not everyone has been enthusiastic and supportive.  So even when the sun’s shining and we aren’t asked to bring food, attendance has been spotty at times, at least by us “regulars.”  Our average attender has traditionally been: a) white, b) middle-class, 3) brought up in a Baptist church, and 4) has 2.5 children.    But along the way some new people have begun showing up.  And when we started a food pantry and gave away food, some more new people surfaced.  And some of them brought their friends and family.  So our Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner looked a little different this year.  We had some dinner guests that we wouldn’t have a while back.   Reminded me of this little interlude in Matthew (and please remember who wrote Matthew.)

Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.  But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”  When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.”  Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’  For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  Matthew 9:10-13 (NLT)

So I’m pretty enthusiastic about our rainy, messy dinner last night: where we barely had enough food, where some people had to bring extra for those that would bring little, where a few young people helped with much of the set-up and tear-down and clean-up, where some of our guests went back through to take food home for Monday.  I wish some more of our “regulars” had been there to join in.  I’m pretty sure Jesus really, really loves our dinner guests.

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Matthew 7:2 (NIV)

I know how I want to be judged: with a whole lot of slack,  a whole lot of understanding,  a whole lot of grace.  That should effect how I judge others.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.   Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.   In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.  1 Tim 6:17-19 (NIV)

If  I’m living in America I fit the “rich” category.  Jesus warned about laying up treasure here, accumulating more stuff.  Instead he tells me to lay up treasure in heaven.  He never exactly explained how, but Paul helps out Timothy with insight.

He says, “Do Good.  Be rich in good deeds.  Be generous and willing to share.”

Aren’t Christians more likely to be taught, ”Avoid Evil.  Don’t sin.  Be careful with your money and take care of your own.”

That’s different, isn’t it?

Life just isn’t fair sometimes.  Things don’t add up the way we think they should.   The bad guys seem to get away with murder and live great lives, and those that seem to live lives that honor and obey God suffer.  What’s up with that?!

  The Psalmist was frustrated because life didn’t seem fair and he wrote to God:

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.  Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire except you.  My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:21-26 (NIV)

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where theives break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where theives do not break in and steal.  Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)

Jesus said this.  It challenges me.  I imagine it made the people he was speaking to uncomfortable as well.  Whether you are a first century Jew or a 20th century gentile, it makes one squirm a bit to be told not to accumulate stuff.  I’m pretty sure Jesus knew it would bother his audience then and now.

Yet almost every time I’ve heard this passage taught, there has been a disclaimer offered where I’ve been told, “Now Jesus didn’t mean for us to be irresponsible and not plan ahead,” or “This doesn’t mean it’s wrong to have nice things or save money.”  Now disclaimers like that may be true, but I’m very much of the opinion that they are unnecessary.  Honestly, are many of us REALLY tempted to focus so much on heavenly treasure that we neglect to be financially prudent? 

C’mon.  My temptation, and what Jesus made the point of warning about, is to store up wealth here and now.  I desperately need to hear his warning and I need to sit and stew in it.  I need to wrestle with how I make my living, how much I’m driven by the need to accumulate, how I strive for wealth and comfort and the good things here on earth.  And I need to work through the disconnect between what I say is of most value and what my life and lifestyle actually reveal. 

I’m fully capable of justifying myself without anyone’s assistance.  I don’t need that, and I doubt you do either.  I need to hear it unfiltered and it needs to really, really bug me until I do something about it…….

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 (NLT)

God gave motivated by love.  The gift was his one and only Son.  God gave intentionally to us and for us.  God gave his very best.  No strings attached.  Jesus Christ is God’s gift to us all.