Not just a clever little suggestion…
In our “Jesus For President” series at SSCC we’ve been teaching through the Sermon on the Mount. We’re following along with our own discussion on it in burn student ministries. This past weekend I got to talk about one of my favorite sections, I lovingly refer to as “The Escape Plan”, Matthew 6:1-18. And something struck me, that I’ve seen a million times, but for some reason it just never hit me like it did in my prep this past week. Jesus’ use of the word “when”.
I have to admit, I am a sucker for products that advertise “For Men” on them. If I use a certain product (Shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc…) and they paste the “For Men” label on it, I’m probably gonna buy it. I see it and I think, “Hey, I use lotion, but that lotion is for men, I should use that one instead.” Like it’s truly gonna be ANY better for me than the regular lotion. Other than the fact that it doesn’t smell like “Dew Kissed Midnight Pomegranate”, it’s probably no different. But I always fall for it. When it says “For Men”, I pay attention.
Just like when I see the “For Men” tag on a product, I should be even more drawn to Jesus use of the phrase “When You”. Whenever we see the phrase “when you” coming from the lips of Jesus, it’s a good indication that we should examine our life in the light of the statement to follow. In this section of the sermon on the mount Jesus gives us 3 “when you” phrases. When you give, when you pray, when you fast. Jesus is dropping a big fat hint on people about some things that we need to make a part of our rhythm of life. If we are going to be able to truly live in this world but not be of it, as Jesus prayed, then we need to have some ways of being connected to Him. It’s a plan of escape from the way this world works day in and day out, and keeping our hearts beating in time with His.
We live in a world of consumerism, buy this, buy that… You need this or that to be satisfied. We get trapped by the seduction of money and the lure of stuff. Jesus plan to get us away from that? Start giving it away. Give.
We live in a world of constant noise and communication. The noises, images, and and distractions are all around us, trying to drown out that still small voice of Christ. What is Jesus plan? Pray. Privately, just you and Him. No TV, no radio, no computer, no twitter. Just you and Jesus.
We live in a world where we long to find satisfaction in things; food, relationships, movies, etc… These things bring us a temporary “fix” to our need to feel fulfilled or satisfied. Jesus plan? Fast. Get away from these things and focus on Me. He’s is the only place where we will ever find true satisfaction and fulfillment. Delight yourself in Him, Seek first His kingdom, Love God with all you have.
How do we live in this world and not be of this world? How can we live with a kingdom mindset? Let’s start by looking at our lives through the lens of Jesus use of “When You” phrases. These are not just clever little suggestions, they are the seeds of a revolutionary new way of life.
