From the Pulpit-June 10, 2012

"Is It Worth Finding?"

Mark 3:20-35
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

What would Jesus be like today?  How would He connect with others?  Would He Facebook?  What car would He drive? What conflicts would He have with religion today?

Today's scripture says basically, "This guys crazy."  In this scripture, Jesus has come home.  If it were today, there would be paparazzi.  His family says come on in--spend time with your family.  He says, "I'm with my family--these are my brothers and my sisters."  And He was accused of dealing with Satan.  Conflicts?  I guess so!  Results?  "A house divided cannot stand." A famous quote worth looking into deeper.

In 1883, this church, this house of God, would have been considered a super-structure.  There is a vast space spanned with no support columns.  The ceiling and roof-systems working together in this way was a great achievement.  Consider the symbolism in this.  The highest part works together and keeps things centered and balanced, just as good leadership keeps an organization together.  Not leaning to the left or the right, finding common ground, and sharing experiences can keep a church together on solid ground.

But our "house" is challenged when we consider how we are called to keep one foot in heaven and one foot in this world as Jesus did.  We are called to not lose our hearts and our souls to this world.
We are asked the question "Are you a body with a soul, or a soul with a body?" to help us focus on our priorities.  We must keep our soul first priority, if we are to have a sense of peace in life.

And that is what Jesus would be like?  He would be the peace in the storm, the calmness in the chaos.  It wouldn't matter if He was on Facebook or what care He would be driving.  It wouldn't matter what conflict was stirred up around Him.  He would reflect calm and peace.

And those who believe in Him can reflect that as well.  We are called to have that inner peace that comes from knowing Christ and trusting God. We are called to know there is a bigger picture and a bigger power. So what storm are you living through right now?  What people around you are living in chaos?  What conflicts do you find yourself in?  And what do you think---Is it worth finding?