I wouldn’t want to live in a world without women.
Really.
Without women, the world would be a (more) smelly, messy, harsh, and violent place.
OK, maybe that’s a broad generalization. But seriously, women do make the world a better place… Read More
The other day we were telling someone about our Thanksgiving Grocery Giveaway.
The lady responded, “Wow, that’s cool! You be careful though. You really gotta check people out and make sure they need it before you give them something. People will try to take advantage of you—so don’t give them anything!”
Both Shari and I thought the same thing: No way! We’re givers, not investigators. Of course someone will take advantage of us. No biggie! Others who have genuine needs will also come and be blessed.
We are often “careful” with our kindness toward others—while at the same time being “reckless” in giving grace to ourselves.
We need to flip that around.
We should be reckless in giving grace towards others, and we should be careful with ourselves.
Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seed, and that seed landing on 4 different types of soil…
The footpath, the rocky ground, among weeds, and fertile soil.
An easy application of this parable is personal: be good ground—be fertile soil.
In other words, you be careful to receive and respond to what has been graciously given to you.
Another takeaway from this parable is that we should sow INDISCRIMINATELY, even RECKLESSLY.
That’s what the farmer did. His seed was thrown on ALL types of ground.
He didn’t pre-judge. Nope. He sowed his seed—hoping that something good would come of it.
Our job isn’t to be investigators or judges, deciding who has potential and who doesn’t.
Our job is to love, serve, give, bless… to be reckless in giving grace to others.
Our job is to sow good seed indiscriminately, hoping that something good will come of it.
As far as our own lives are concerned: Be careful. Be good ground.
When it comes to others: Be reckless. Give huge amounts of grace. Hope for the best, and don’t worry about it.
One of the things that I don’t love about Christian culture is our propensity to live in fantasy land.
We isolate ourselves.
We try to create our own little world within the world—complete with Christian schools, movies, music, art, jewelry, clothing, video games…
Everything with our “Christian Approved” label on it could exist in a Thomas Kinkade painting.
It’s a Christian fantasy land—cute and heart-warming, but not real.
I know a lot of people see the Thomas Kinkade version of life as beautiful.
I don’t.
I see beauty outside of fantasy land.
I see beauty where the misfits are.
I see God working in the lives of real people outside of fantasy land.
I see second chances being given. I see hurts being healed. I see lives being restored.
And to me, that is a beautiful thing.
It kinda reminds me of the lyrics from Gungor’s song Beautiful Things:
“You make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things out of us.”
We all have a bubble…
I think of it as an invisible force field that keeps people out (or in).
Occasionally, someone either misreads the signs or is oblivious to them—and they break into your bubble.
Most of the time, however, you determine who is welcome in your bubble and who isn’t.
Question: Do you have misfits in your bubble?
Jesus was often criticized for the type of people he allowed in his bubble.
He was called “A friend of sinners.”
On one occasion, a Pharisee watched a “certain immoral woman from the city” anoint Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. This Pharisee thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” (Luke 7.37-39)
The funny thing is—Jesus DID know what kind of woman she was.
He knew everything about her and he welcomed her into his bubble.
The Pharisee considered this particular woman to be unreachable, untouchable, and unlovable.
As a result, his invisible force field kept her out. And he made the signs obvious.
Jesus, on the other hand, is a misfit magnet.
He attracts misfits everywhere. He welcomes misfits into his bubble.
I want to be like that. I want to be a misfit magnet, just like Jesus.
I want to love people whom others consider to be unreachable, untouchable, and unlovable.
I want misfits in my bubble.
Expectations are those internal “pictures” of how things, according to us anyway, are “supposed to be.”
They are often unwritten and unspoken—but they’re still there.
When these expectations are failed, we’re disappointed and disillusioned.
When our expectations are broken, our response is to say (or think), “That ain’t right!”
A book* I recently read states, “Jesus is surprising. His coming fulfilled ancient prophecies, but not expectations. He shattered expectations.”
This is so true.
Jesus simultaneously failed expectations and fulfilled prophecies.
Some of the same people who eagerly expected the coming of the Messiah didn’t like him when he came.
Why?
They pictured something different—the Messiah was “supposed to be” how they imagined him to be!
They expected a political leader, a revolutionary.
They expected pomp and circumstance.
They expected a “company man,” an insider.
They expected His teaching to affirm what they already “knew.”
And because Jesus didn’t meet their expectations, many said, “That ain’t right!” and rejected him. (John 6.60, 66)
In Luke chapter 7, some guys are sent to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (verse 20)
I think the question is funny.
It’s as if they are saying, “Are you gonna meet our expectations? ‘Cause if not, we’ll keep looking…”
Jesus answers, not with a simple “yes” or “no,” but by saying, “The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (verse 22)
Jesus essentially says, “The prophecies about the Messiah are being fulfilled by me.”
It’s as if Jesus is telling them to choose: A) Your Expectations, or B) What God is Doing.
Here’s what I’m driving at: Our expectations (our pictures of the way things are “supposed to be”) often cloud our ability to see what God is doing now.
Could it be that the pictures we’ve painted in our minds are not always 100% accurate?
Could it be that our expectations of how things are “supposed to be” are distorted?
Could it be that our response, “That ain’t right!” isn’t right?
I think it could be.
I don’t want to miss what God is doing today because my expectations are edging him out.
When it comes down to a decision between A) My Expectations, and B) What God is Doing…
I hope I choose B.
* Book: Defiant Grace—The Surprising Message and Mission of Jesus by Dane Ortlund
There is power in the unexpected.
On the other hand, the expected is, well… it’s expected.
For instance: giving your wife flowers on your anniversary—expected.
In fact, if you don’t give her flowers, you’re probably in trouble.
But if you surprise her by giving her flowers when she’s least expecting them… Bam! Good work my friend.
See what I’m saying?
There’s something about the element of surprise and the unexpected.
When we spend our lives working hard to “fit in,” we simply live within the expected.
No surprise. No power.
It’s when we embrace our unique “mis-fit” that we stand out and begin to have real influence.
There’s a fascinating story of a Roman officer found in Luke chapter 7. It’s surprising, full of the unexpected… it’s the story of a misfit who captured the interest of Jesus.
Basically, this Roman officer had a highly valued employee who was sick and dying. The officer heard about Jesus and sent some respected Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come heal the man.
OK—that’s unusual. He was a Roman officer. Rome ruled the region. This man had the power to order any Jewish person around… including Jesus. But he didn’t.
And what’s even more surprising is that the Jewish elders actually came begging Jesus to heal the man, saying, “If anyone deserves your help he does—for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” (Luke 7.4)
Talk about the unexpected, the element of surprise! Wow. This Roman officer loved the Jewish people and built a synagogue for them. Huh? That is unusual. Not normal. This man was a misfit.
Guess what? The power of the unexpected captured Jesus’ attention. He went with them to the man’s house.
On the way there comes yet another surprise…
The Roman officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come.” (Luke 7.6-8)
Here’s the best part of the story:
“When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’ And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the man completely healed.” (Luke 7.9-10)
JESUS WAS AMAZED. He was surprised. He had encountered the unexpected.
This Roman officer wasn’t normal. He didn’t fit the mold. He was surprisingly different.
There’s an important lesson here…
When we look, sound, think, and act like everyone else—there’s no surprise.
That’s expected, and there’s no power in that.
Instead, be a misfit.
We were made to stand out, not blend in or fit in.
Be surprising. Do the unexpected—‘cause you’re a misfit.
