God's Last Words

VALUE ADDED

Matthew 10: 24-39

Last week I was amazed at how long a fly hung onto my windshield wiper as I was driving down the National Pike. It led me to “google” houseflies.

I learned that the housefly is the most talented flyer on the planet — superior to any bird, bat, or bee. According to a scientist, “a housefly can make six turns a second, hover, fly straight up, fly straight down, fly backwards, do somersaults, land on the ceiling, and perform various other show-off maneuvers. And it has a brain smaller than a sesame seed.”

Flies are also loaded with sensors. In addition to their compound eyes, which permit panoramic imagery and are excellent at detecting motion, flies have wind-sensitive hairs and antennae. They also have three light sensors, called ocelli, on the tops of their heads, which tell them which way is up. Roughly two-thirds of a fly’s entire nervous system is devoted to processing visual images.

If God put so much information processing into ordinary houseflies, imagine what it means for each of us to know that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Think for a second - If I offered you a dollar bill, would you take it? What if I wadded up the bill and threw it on the ground — would you still want it? What if I stepped on it, kicked it, and even spit on it? Could you still go to the store and spend it?

The answer is yes. That bill has value because of what it is, not because of how it looks, where it’s been, or what it has been used for. A crisp, clean dollar bill is worth the same amount as an ugly, old, abused one.

Jesus tells us many times that even though you may feel like you’ve been stepped on, beat up, or kicked around, even though you may feel dirty, unworthy, or useless,  be encouraged, that like the twenty-dollar bill I just talked about — no matter what you’ve been through, you still have value to God!

Let’s hear Jesus teaching on how much value we have (Matthew 10: 24-39):

"A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

"So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

"Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Jesus has made the greatest offer known to humanity; but in order to receive it you have to commit to never ever accepting any other offers again from anyone else.

I will admit that my admiration for Senator John McCain has decreased over the years since I served under him in the Navy. But he once said, “Courage is like a muscle. The more we exercise it, the stronger it gets. I sometimes worry that our collective courage is growing weaker from disuse.”

He went on to say, “We don’t demand it from our leaders, and our leaders don’t demand it from us. The courage deficit is both our problem and our fault. As a result, too many leaders in the public and private sectors lack the courage necessary to honor their obligations to others and to uphold the essential values of leadership.”

I think McCain’s words serve as a wonderful summary of Jesus’ words from this passage from Matthew 10: 24-39. The value we have to God remains in being a true and reflective witness and disciple of Jesus.

As long as we have the courage to be a disciple we grow in love and value!

No compromise, no slacking off, no excuses, no allowances for “well, just this once…” The courage to hold to the truth and what’s right.

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect but He expects us to be consistently faithful and true to the values of His Kingdom and truth. In a funny way God expects us to live in such a way that we wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip!

A psychology professor at the University of Maryland knew his students expected a  long, difficult, final exam. To play with their minds a little (what do you expect from a psychology professor?) he put ONE question on the final exam. He watched the reactions of the students as they all opened the exams and saw the one question. Initially they all looked relieved, but as the difficulty of the question began to sink in, those relieved faces sagged to confusion and consternation.

All, that is, except for one student. He read the question, tapped his pencil into his palm a few times, then quickly wrote something down on the test paper. He walked up to the professor, handed him the final, and walked out. The professor blinked in surprise, looked at what the student wrote, and smiled. The professor wrote "100%" on the top of that student's test.

The question: What is courage? The student's answer: “This is.” That’s what God wants – actions not promises. Reconciliation takes change – change takes courage.

If we do this we will close the distance between ourselves and God’s Kingdom. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18 that “Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

We should never forget that Jesus has taught us:

The foundation of ministry is character;

The nature of ministry is Service;

The motive for ministry is love;

The measure of ministry is sacrifice;

The authority of ministry is submission;

The purpose of ministry is the glory of God;

The tools of ministry are the Word of God and prayer;

The privilege of ministry is growth;

The power of ministry is the Holy Spirit;

And The model for ministry is Jesus Christ.

Have courage in Christ. Amen.