Sunday 27 September 2009

Background

How hard these words of Jesus must have been for the disciplesto hear. Unquenchable fire is promised to those who stumble, and ifyou cause another to get into trouble, your end is just as bleakthough more watery. It must have also been hard for them to hearthe words that seemed to imply that as long as you do the rightthings then it does not really matter what you believe or who youfollow.

How hard these words are for us as well! It seems to play into thehands of those who ridicule us and tell us that our desire for Godis based only in a superstition about hell and living a good lifeis nothing to do with faith.

Jesus uses hard sayings to rub and remind, to stick in the throatand make ignoring them impossible. The disciples would have beenchallenged to see how important the kingdom was - that what Jesuswas for was not to make followers, as such, but to let his Father'swill be done on earth as in heaven. What mattered was not being 'inwith Jesus', but that someone whose life was miserable and damagedwould be set free and given hope.

This is a story about purpose, and the purpose is no less thanGod's kingdom: a place of healing, life and justice. Nothingmatters more than that purpose and woe betide if you hindersomeone's progress into the kingdom, and woe to you if you letsomething far less important hinder your own entry.

How much does the kingdom matter? "THIS MUCH" Jesus seems to shout!You can almost feel Jesus struggling for something hard, compellingand stark enough to make the point. Jesus challenges the disciplesto 'keep the main thing the main thing'. These are hard sayingsbecause the main thing matters!

Let the hard saying trouble you - it is part of Jesus' teachingmethod!

To Ponder

What is the 'main thing' in your life and is the'main thing' really the main thing?

Where have you unexpectedly seen people makingkingdom things happen?