United States of Excess.

James 2

 

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?

15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food,

16 and one of you tells them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled;" and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it?

17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.

 

America is a very blessed country. God, in giving us freedom, has provided far more food, clothing and other things than we ever will truly be able to use. Sadly, there are those in our country who are starving, without homes, without even the barest necessities for survival.  Are we called to look at them, shout epithets and crass, throwaway phrases like "Get a job, you bum!"? Not if we are the God-fearing Christians we claim to be. Poll after poll states that somewhere around 80% of Americans claim to be Christian.  Where are the examples, though. Alas, too many "Christians" either fall into the category of those who have a spoken faith, which is to say they are merely self-proclaimed Christians who are not living the life of a real Christian.  They are talking the talk, but not walking the walk.

 

            This wouldn't be so tragic if if it weren't for the evidence of our excess and how we are drowning in it. We have fast food restaurants on nearly every block of our cities and towns.  We have buffet restaurants galore, and any number of other restarurants, diners, pizza places and other food outlets with which to gorge ourselves to oblivion. Yet, out on the streets, out on the highways and byways there are people wondering when they will have their next meal and where it will come from.

            So, yes, we are blessed, but we are not properly sharing the blessings.  Jesus pointed out the error of this, the error of not feeding the poor and what the consequences would be:

 

Luke 16

 

20 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried.

23 In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

24 He cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.'

25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.

26 Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'

27 "He said, 'I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house;

28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won't also come into this place of torment.'

29 "But Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'

30 "He said, 'No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

31 "He said to him, 'If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.'"

 

Jesus also knew that this was a direct consequence of the fact that no one would willingly listen to His own words.  He admonished them knowing full well that few, if any would follow in obedience and make sure that the poor were fed, clothed and sheltered.

            Imagine what it would be like if the owners of all the various buffet restaurants, fast food chains, and other eating establishments took the excess from their kitchens and rather than throwing it all away as is the practice, they went out and distributed it to the poor, needy and hungry. It would revolutionize our country, and it would, more importantly please our Lord, Jesus.  That said, however, this would have to be done with the proper motives.  Forget doing this to make Taco Bell, McDonalds or Pizza Hut look good.  How about doing it because of the abundant love we received from God in the person of Jesus Christ?  How about feeding the poor because God showed us grace?

 

Romans 5

 

8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God's wrath through him.    

 

But that's the problem with America. God, apparently, has been left in the dust of our pursuit of self.  Everyone seems to be out for number one!  At the rate we are going as a nation, we are not just asking for God to remove His hand of blessing, but almost begging for it.    We turn our backs on God and then have the tamarity to bitterly wonder why it is He seems to have turned his back on us?

 

For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:26

 

We have a long way to go as a country, and we will never arrive at the place we need to be without God.  If this country is ever going to change, if we are ever going to see to it the poor are properly fed and clothed, we must surrender to the transforming power of God!

 

 

 

Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

 

"Submitted for your approval."

If you are as old as I am, or older, you are familiar with Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" in which the host, Mr. Serling, would open a lot of his stories with the phrase that titles this blog entry...."submitted for your approval."

 

Well, in the case of this blog entry and all the ones to follow, I am submitting it for God's approval.

As I say in the newly edited introduction, this blog is undergoing a transformation.  I plan to use it to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  In past entries I have talked about proclaiming the truth...well the most important truth I know is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!  It is only through Jesus and his atoning sacrifice that any of us can ever get to Heaven. 

 

Now, you're wondering to yourself "Okay, then, why the new name for the blog itself?"

That's relatively easy!  It has to do with one of my favorite passages from the Gospel of John:

John 9

 

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
4 I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man's eyes with the mud,
7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, "Isn't this he who sat and begged?"
9 Others were saying, "It is he." Still others were saying, "He looks like him." He said, "I am he."
10 They therefore were asking him, "How were your eyes opened?"
11 He answered, "A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received sight."

Being totally blind, I have a certain attachment to this passage, especially since I first really heard it right after losing the vast majority of my vision to a retinal detachment. 

One of the things about this passage that has always stuck with me, though, is the name of the pool and its meaning..."sent."  This is significant on a number of levels.

 

1. Jesus was sent by God to save us, to die for us, and to love us.

 

2.  We who believe in Jesus and try to live in obedience to Him are sent out into the world to proclaim His good news...his Gospel.  Yes, we are sent, blind and sighted alike, deaf or hearing, disabled in any manner or perfectly able, to proclaim His gospel, His grace, and His mercy. 

 

In my case, however, I haven't been doing a lot of proclaiming.  None that is directly tied to the Gospel of Jesus Christ at any rate.  God, of late, had been left out of the equation.  Events in my life have, consequently, brought me around to where I began to realize that God wasn't the factor in my life He should be...I wasn't surrendering my life to Him.  So, I am proactively changing that.  As part of that, I decided to surrender this blog to His desires for it...for the opportunity to proclaim His truth in all its forms!  I know the labels this will get thrust upon me, but I can handle that. As the Apostle Paul says:

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes;
Romans 1:16

 

Blessings to you one and all. 

 

In the name above all names, Jesus Christ,

 

Alan Wheeler