Great discussion during class on Saturday. Thanks for your participation. Know that every time you participate or
share, you are helping to build our community of unity.
Our challenge this
week is focused on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem.
Luke spends a lot of time setting up the story of how Jesus had a steady
course to Jerusalem. He kept teaching
and loving all the way there, but he knows he is heading into pain, torture,
friends leaving him, humiliation, people spitting in his face, and finally
death. But he keeps going there.
I challenge you to read this story then get on your knees
and thank God for his love and persistent pursuit of you and your family. Praise him.
Man Risks His Life to Bring
Adopted Daughter Home
Eighteen years ago
my friend Andy and his wife traveled to a South American country to complete
their adoption of a little girl. At the time this country was gripped by
corruption, violence, and political chaos. After Andy arrived, they (that is,
anyone who could profit from Andy's plight) kept upping the price for the
adoption. When he finally threatened to take the matter to the U.S. consulate,
a mysterious figure confronted Andy, warning him of vague but dreadful
consequences. It was like a spy thriller, except it was Andy who was caught in
the middle of some sinister, dangerous plot.
But he refused to
leave without his daughter. The odd thing was that Andy had never even met this
girl. She was small and helpless. She hadn't won any awards or aced any tests.
He didn't know that one day her smile would light up their living room, or that
she'd love their cats and dogs, or that she'd play Mozart pieces on the family
piano. For all practical purposes, she was just an orphan condemned to a life
of grinding poverty in a far-flung developing country. But for some crazy
reason, Andy stayed there, negotiating with corrupt officials, spending oodles
of money, squandering time, and even risking his life to find and win this
little girl….
When he finished
telling me this story, it struck me that Andy, my non-Christian friend, had
discovered the heart of the gospel: God's loving, daring, persistent pursuit of
people like you and me. Like Maria, there's nothing we can do to earn God's
love, but he still loves us. And he doesn't want to leave us behind. Instead,
in the presence of Jesus, God walked into the "dangerous nightmare"
of human sin and pain in order to save us and bring us back home.Adapted from Matt Woodley, The Gospel of Matthew: God With Us (InterVarsity Press, 2011)
Be Intentional.
Travis
