Do You Even Care?

(clic on the pic to listen to it)This is a vexing question – Do people matter to you? Really?

One day while Jesus was teaching in a sizeable metropolitan area, he found himself surrounded by a large group of irreligious people. Once a year church goers. Undesirables. The Unconvinced. The spiritually confused. The morally bankrupt people of the town. People God wouldn’t probably have any use for. Off to the side was a huddle of religious leaders who were shaking their heads and talking to each other in muffled tones. They were complaining about the fact that Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of the Holy God, was hanging out with – well, let’s say it – THOSE kind of people. Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking. So he moved the whole procession over to where those in the “holy huddle” were standing. Then in a steady forceful tone, he began to tell a series of stories.

Matthew 18

12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Jesus continued after he told the story about the woman who had the ten coins. She lost one of them. So she lit a lamp, swept the house, turned over the furniture, and searched relentlessly for them. Then he told the story of the two lost sons. One was lost because he was super religious and the other was lost because he walked away from this father. Jesus was so ticked off over the discussion of the religious leaders (the holy huddle) were having about who matters to God and who doesn’t that he told these stories to make it clear who really matters to God. When Jesus listeners put all of these stories story together, they were probably crushed by the weight of God’s love. A love so large that it could look beyond the sins and treasure the wayward people behind them. A love so powerful that it could patiently endure years of resistance, selfish pleasure-seeking, money-chastising, and power wielding.  (help from Pastor Bill Hybels)

In the face of all this, God’s love says, “Even though you’re way off the track, you still matter to me! You really do!”

John 3:16-17 reminds us,

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

God wants no one to perish. He wants everyone to have eternal life. He destroyed the earth with a flood. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. None of those worked. People still turned away from Him.

So, what did God do?  He sent his one and only son into the world – not to destroy it – but to convince it that everyone matters to Him. He doesn’t want anyone to perish so one man’s blood was shed for the sins of many.

He has chosen you and me to convince the world that they are still loved by God!

Despite our prejudices. Despite our predetermined value system of people. Despite our cliquish nature. Despite our economic divisions. You and I are charged with convincing the world (those around us) that they are still loved by God.

These things (prejudice, predetermined value system, etc…) do not matter to God. What matters to God is that there are many out there who are not convinced that God loves them. These things are what keep us convincing the world (those people around us) that they are loved Him.

God has never been concerned with how much money we make, how big our house is, how many cars we own, or how big our barn is. Those are things that we are concerned about. Those are the things that we are to repent from. Those are the things we are to confess when we pray.

• “God forgive me for my haughty spirit.”
• “God forgive me for not loving others the way you do.”
• “God forgive me for not loving my enemy the way I love my own family.”

The thing that matters most to God – PEOPLE! What matters to God is how well you love others! Church buildings don’t matter. Budgets don’t matter. It’s people that matter to God. We’d better be using the things and resources that God entrust us with and invest it in the life of others!

We exist to convince others that they are still loved by God. He hasn’t abandoned them. He hasn’t forsaken them. He hasn’t turned His back on them. This is exactly what Jesus did. He wanted to convince those around him that they are still loved by God.

He didn’t have a building or budget or church to call his own but yet he had the greatest single impact on the world than any human being has ever had. Why was he born? For people Why did he walk the earth? For people.Why did die on the cross? For people.Why did he return? For people. Why did he return to heaven? For people.

Everything he did – he did for others. He wanted everyone to know that they matter to Him. 

You are reading this today because you understand that you matter to God and God matters to you. You have heard the message that God loves you. You have responded to that message and are loving Him back the best way you know how.

God wants the world to know that people still matter to Him.

As God walked the earth in human form (Jesus) – people were attracted to Him. It wasn’t because he was good looking. He probably looked more like Archie Bunker than Tom Selleck. He probably looked more like Fred Sampford of Samford and Son than Brad Pitt. He probably looked more like Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood than Chris Evans (Captain America). It wasn’t because he had a lot money like Trump, Gates, and Hugh Hefner. It wasn’t because he was powerful.

It was because He cared. It was because He did something.

He simply didn’t say, “God loves you” I hope you find someone to heal you. I hope you find someone to care about you. I hope you find someone to meet your need. I hope you find someone who will invest in you. He did something. He healed them. He cared for them. He met their need. He invested himself into the life of others. 

Doing something demonstrates you care.

Why do we buy our kids presents on special holidays when they really don’t need it or deserve it? It is because you care. Why do you give 10% of your income to the church when you really could use it to pay another bill? It is because you care. Why do you continue to do silly things for your spouse when they don’t deserve it? It is because you care. Why do you continue to serve others when all they do is seem to take advantage of what you have done? It’s because you care.

This is what people were attracted to. Jesus cared and he did something. 

All Jesus had to offer was himself. He didn’t own anything. He didn’t have any money. He didn’t have a van ministry, a youth and children’s ministry, or discipleship classes to send people to. He didn’t even have a church to invite people to.  But yet, what Jesus did. How he cared. What he did infected a lot of people. 

The lame man mattered to him– others left him to die by the pool. No one would help him get in the pool. Jesus healed him. The blind man mattered to him – he gave him his sight.  The prostitutes matter to him – he healed them and said sin no more. Religious leaders mattered to him – some were convinced he was the real deal and started following him. The tax collectors matters to him – Zacheus gave back  4 x the amount he had stolen. Matthew became a follower and many others because of Matthew ended following him to. The poor mattered to him – he fed them and healed and gave them hope.

They weren’t affected by Jesus. They were infected with Jesus. He infected them with hope! He infected them with life!

If you are reading this blog (which you obviously are) you have been affected by Jesus. That’s probably why you are reading this. We go to church. Read religious blogs. We do good works. We meet for Bible studies. We do a lot of nice things. This is what people do who are affected by Jesus.

Not everyone reading this blog has been infected with Jesus.

If you are infected with Jesus, He takes you from the sidelines and puts you in the game. The early church was so infected by Jesus that they served their pagan (irreligious) friends when the government and religious leaders left them to die during a plague. They risked their own life for them not so that they could win them over for Jesus  but to demonstrate to them their lives matters to God.

Once people understand that they matter to God – the Holy Spirit has an open door to change the heart.

David Blough (there is a blog entry about him on June 28th) shared a couple of weeks ago about Gelen (pronounced Geelynn) Robinson. Gelen is the son of the former Purdue/NBA great Glen Robinson.  David convinced Gelen (a professed atheists) that he mattered to God. He had confessed to David that he was an atheist. David simply told him he mattered to God and talk to him about what it meant to have a relationship with Him. This 6’4′, 270 lb, chiseled out man, under the stars in South Africa, wept like a baby and God changed the direction of his life. David also shared about how he and a teammate met with another football player who grew up Muslim. They got the same result. They had convinced  him that God still loved him.

David confessed to us that morning (blog entry on June 28th) that he was not ashamed to be a Christ-follower. He is not ashamed to talk about Him. He’s not ashamed to live the Christian life in front of his atheist and Muslim friends. Not only has Jesus affected his life, I think it is safe to say that he is infected his life.

If you are reading religious material, then your life has been affected by Jesus. The question is are you infected with him?

When your infected with Jesus – he changes the way you look at people. He changes your attitude towards people. He changes your heart towards people. He changes the way you think about people. He changes the priorities of your life. He changes the way you handle your income. When you are infected with Jesus – people begin to matter. 

This is what it means to be infected with Jesus:

We risk our lives, our well-being, and our resources because people matter.

When you are infected with Jesus – you no longer can sit on the sideline and just be a fan of the Christian faith. You want to participate because you know people matter. When you are infected with Jesus – you no longer serve yourself – serving others becomes your priority. When you are infected with Jesus – you can longer hate your enemies – but you are compelled to love them. When you are infected with Jesus – you no longer can do nothing – you are compelled to do something. When you are infected with Jesus – you don’t ask “why are we doing this?” – you ask “what can I do to help?” When we are infected with Jesus – we understand how deeply he cares about us – it motivates us to care deeply about others. When you are infected with Jesus there is a joy unspeakable, a faith unshakable, a peace unbreakable, a love unfathomable. 

Is this not what we want to infect our communities with?

Jesus did. Those who caught it – their lives were changed forever.

The disciples did. Those who caught it – They changed the culture in which they lived.

The question is, will we continue to do it? Will we continue to communicate to others that they matter to God?

It starts with asking what really matters to you?