Week 10 - Just Keep Swimming
Text: Matthew 7:7-11
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
MT 7:9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Americans, on the whole, are driven by results. When advertisers try to get us to buy a new car, typically it is celebrated for its performance. It's why we take score in sports. We need to know who won and who lost. We need to know how many yards, pitch counts, and free throw percentage. We are driven to know who is better, me or you?
In this passage, Jesus destroys comparisons. He reminds us that success in spirituality has little to do with results, it is in the pursuit.
Spirituality is a process, it is the path that leads to a given destination, not the destination itself. So then, one might ask, what is our destination?
Dallas Willard, one of my favorite authors, says that being a Christ-follower is life that is dedicated, above all things, to simply being like Jesus. The truth is I will never be exactly like Jesus. He's the Son of God, I'm the Son of Robert.
But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, instead of showing a beautiful destination we have no hope of ever reaching, shows us how amazing the trip is as well. If we were launched into faith with an expectation of immediate arrival, we would have no hope. But Jesus invites us to take the trip, with Him as our guide, ensuring that not only will we arrive, but that we got the most out of the journey.
Something to think about:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
MT 7:9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Americans, on the whole, are driven by results. When advertisers try to get us to buy a new car, typically it is celebrated for its performance. It's why we take score in sports. We need to know who won and who lost. We need to know how many yards, pitch counts, and free throw percentage. We are driven to know who is better, me or you?
In this passage, Jesus destroys comparisons. He reminds us that success in spirituality has little to do with results, it is in the pursuit.
Spirituality is a process, it is the path that leads to a given destination, not the destination itself. So then, one might ask, what is our destination?
Dallas Willard, one of my favorite authors, says that being a Christ-follower is life that is dedicated, above all things, to simply being like Jesus. The truth is I will never be exactly like Jesus. He's the Son of God, I'm the Son of Robert.
But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, instead of showing a beautiful destination we have no hope of ever reaching, shows us how amazing the trip is as well. If we were launched into faith with an expectation of immediate arrival, we would have no hope. But Jesus invites us to take the trip, with Him as our guide, ensuring that not only will we arrive, but that we got the most out of the journey.
Something to think about:
- Have you ever given up on something? Why? Would that same reason pressure you to give up on faith?
- Why should focus more on the trip than the arrival?
- How can we keep going in faith?
- What role do others have in keeping us on the journey?
posted by Brian Jenkins at 2:33 PM
1 Comments:
This is a great study! I do have struggles with where to focus at times. I am finding that there needs to be more of a balance than focusing on just the destination or the trip. If my focus is only on the destination, then the struggles of the trip "trip" me up, and if only on the trip, I seem to loose my reason for the focus. Being prepared at least for me involves both the reason (destination) and the preparedness (focus on the trip) Thanks Brian
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