February 26
Lev 19:1-20:21 | PS 42:1-11 | Prov 10:17 | Mark 8:11-38
It is a constant event on social media. Some heinous attack caught on someone's cell phone. Women being raped in the subway with no one coming to her assistance but no shortage of people recording the event on their devices then sending it out on the various platforms. A child in a schoolyard surrounded by a menacing group, being viciously beaten, with no one coming to their aid, but with plenty recording the event. The same holds true for people being lit on fire, being savagely murdered, etc. There is such a disconnect between reality. Filming an event in which you should be coming to their assistance is cowardly, unneighborly, and shows just how far we have drifted from the caring human beings that we are supposed to be. So much social media, so much isolation with our little devices, that many care little for those around them. They watch people being mistreated much as they would if they were watching a movie. God clearly stated in Leviticus 19:16, "...Do not stand idly by when your neighbor's life is threatened. I am the Lord." Jesus in the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 shows the reality of what it means to be one's neighbor. When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 is, He offers two, the first is loving God with all our heart and soul, the second quoting Leviticus 19:18, "...love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." So, the natural question is, what has happened to us.
The truth is most are dreadfully afraid of being harmed themselves. Some truly could care less, while others count the costs of stepping in to assist and realize that in their coming to assist, they might be injured, or worse than that killed in the process. Jesus discusses what it means to follow Him and be His disciple in Mark 8:34-38, "Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Being Jesus' disciple can be dangerous business. Time and time again we are warned that if we choose to follow Him, and it is a choice, then we will face tribulation, and it might cost us our health, our positions, our relationships, even our lives. To be a true believer means that we must get off the sidelines. It is not a spectator sport. To be a true believer you are either all in or you are not. There is no shortage of make-believers. Many know the words to say, can quote a verse here or there, might even regularly attend church. But as Jesus said above, to follow Him might cost us our lives, but our souls will be safe with Him. One must wonder as we watch these heinous events being recorded by all the world to see, how many of those recording, how many of those watching but not doing anything are Christians. How many of them were at church that week. We, in the faith, need to look different. We need to be different. We are God's ambassadors, His vessels, and we need to step out and show the world what that looks like. Our walk must reflect our talk. The walk of the Christian is unpredictable and can be dangerous, but our eyes must never leave our Shepherd. He has given us the Holy Spirit and it is time that we boldly yield to His calling and His direction.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: