Well, the regular season for US
football has ended and the playoffs have begun.
I watched some of the last games of the season and they were pointing
out a lot of the season records, the records that could be broken, the records
that were broken or tied. Statistics aside I noticed that often the players who
were ending the season well were almost always compared to players of the
past. He runs like…, he has the skills
of… he leads like… and we see this in
many sports or other things like dance, music, acting, news casting, writing or
a host of other things that catch the public eye.
Even in our own small worlds we see
this encapsulated –oh, you’re just like your mother, he looks like his dad, he
has the same humor as his grandpa. The
traits and characteristics that we take on are sometimes by genetics, sometimes
by environment, often by choice. The
people we admire, the people we hang around with, the sport stars or musician
or world leader we want to be like.
I present to you this morning, one
life that is worth emulating, worth investigating and worthy of our seeking to
admire –it is the life of someone who never stared on his schools sport team,
never ran for political office, never won a Pulitzer prize, a golden globe or a
peoples choice. He was never voted the
person of the year by Time magazine or won an Olympic event. In fact, his life up to the last few years he
lived was extraordinarily ordinary. 500 years before he was born, the prophet
Isaiah wrote, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his
appearance that we should desire him.” (53:2)
And yet, his life, his attitude, his person and teaching are worthy of
examining, adopting and living out in our own lives.
He is of course, Jesus of Nazareth. Over this last summer and into the fall we
looked at the first 10 chapters of the gospel of Mark and began to discover and
rediscover some of the wealth, depth and passion of this life worth
knowing. Other than his birth and a
couple of other events in his first 30 years of life, he lived a rather
ordinary life. So much so that we are
told nothing by his biographers. But the
last three years jump out in extraordinary splendor as we are shown a man of
deep compassion, conviction, patience and love; a man of incredible depth of
insight into the human soul and need; a man of spiritual passion and a focus
for the glory of God the Father in all things; and, a man of timeless teaching
about living a life that is worthwhile, meaningful, fruitful and winsome. That is a word you don’t hear often today
–winsome. It means attractive or
pleasing. In Mark 4 Jesus teaches that
our lives are to bear fruit, to shine as a lamp on a stand (20-21). In chapter 7 he teaches that we are to live
lives that are clean not unclean with evil thoughts, slander, malice, deceit
and a host of other things that are not winsome. We will see in the coming weeks that he
teaches that love is the ultimate quality and characteristic to which we are to
aspire –love of god and love of others (12:29-31).
He not only taught that we should
be winsome and fruitful and loving but he demonstrated it. He taught respect for women, the care and
compassion for children, the acceptance of others who were different, the care
for those who were hurting, compassion for those who were often sidelined, and
ultimately showing no greater love than giving his own life for us. Jesus’ life
and teaching were so winsome at the time that crowds of thousands came to see,
hear and touch him. And his life is
still winsome today attracting people from all races and nations to discover
more of his life and to know more about him.
But know is not enough. As Christians, as people of faith, we are not
just to know about him but to grow in our understanding and application of his
teachings to our lives. Whether we spend
a little time or a lot of time studying the life and teaching of Jesus, it
really does little good unless we begin to apply it, to mimic and to do as He
did. That is what being a follower is, a
disciple, even a servant. Each of these
words , or descriptions of a Christian –even the name Christian for that
matter, means we seek to become more like Jesus. A follower is one who walks where he
walks. To literally take the same steps
as Jesus. A disciple is one who listens
to and applies the teachings and then goes and does what the teacher or master
did. A servant is one who does things
for and on behalf of the master. The
servant represents the master and seeks the best for the master in in
actions. The reputation of the master is
found in the servant. When Jesus says in
Matthew 25, well done good and faithful servant, he is not only commending the
actions of the servant but the way the servant represented the master.
But even more than just the names
Christians are called –followers, disciples, servants, the bible, even Jesus
himself, commands us to do as he has done (John 13 –as you have seen me do, go
and do likewise). We are not just to be
hearers of the word, hearers of the teachings, to know him more and more, but
also to be doers, to live as he lived, to take on the attitude and actions of
Christ.
The life of Jesus is not only worth
knowing, but worth growing in, worth emulating.
Ask yourself, seriously, ask yourself, with what I know of Jesus, am I
growing in my being like him?
And third, the life of Jesus is
worth showing. Getting back to the
introduction about emulating others, what would people see in you to have them
say, that is just like Jesus would do, that is the same attitude as
Christ. He has the same compassion Jesus
showed to children, she has the same mercy or patience or grace as Jesus. Are we, as Paul says in Romans 8:29,
conforming more and more to the likeness of the Son? Are we showing, are we living out what we
know and what we are growing in about Jesus to others.
This involves many things –our
attitude, our compassion, our passion.
But also our actions, our use of our gifts, talents and abilities. Our seeking to build up the body of Christ
–the church, by applying and using what we have and who we are to grow His body
(Ephesians 4). Are our works, our living
out the things of Jesus and our showing others, are our lives being lived in
such a way that others will glorify God on the day he returns? (I Peter 2:12)
And more, are we telling others
about this life worth knowing? We will
talk about Mandela and his work in abolishing apartheid in SA, we will talk
about Oprah and her charity work. We
will talk about some sports figure and their latest achievement, or some pop
star and their latest twitter or a host of other things, but what of Jesus and
his love, his healing, his compassion, his teaching, his example, his sacrifice,
his death his resurrection, his seeking first foremost and only the glory of
the father, his hope, his return, his rule, his life and life eternal?
The last words Jesus gave his
followers were go and tell. Show the
world you are mine by loving one anther.
Show the world you know me by living out what I have shown you. For I am
with you even to the ends of the earth.
Indeed the life of Jesus is worth
knowing, and growing in and showing. I
believe that his life is the only one worthy of such. This morning there is a challenge for each
one of us. It may hit us a one level or
at several. For everyone, there is the
challenge to know him more. His is a
life worth knowing and I don’t think we can ever know enough. To read, study, meditate on his life. His word.
His truth. Discover more about
Jesus. And then, apply what he teaches. Many people know about Jesus, but how many
are applying his truth, his teaching, his example to their own lives? Allow the Spirit of the living God to work in
you and conform you to the image of the Son.
And third, to show him to others through word and deed.
Know, grow and show. Three key words that express really the core
of us as a church, our purpose, our vision, our values. Three words that challenge us in our walk as
Christians –to know him more, to grow and mature in him more, to show him to
others more. Three words that move us
towards a life that is worth knowing, is worth growing in and is worth showing.
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