Like Lightening

The first sermon i ever preached was on Luke 10:1-23. Jesus tells the rejoicing 72 that He saw Satan fall like lightening when they were out preaching the Gospel. But He tells them not to rejoice in this. It's hard not to hear Peter saying something he'll later come to regret isn't it?

Let me tell you about this weekend at church. We had our True Love Waits 'lock-in,' from 9pm Friday to 7am Saturday with about 35 teenagers. I'm not the best preacher at 3am, but the Word does and did the work, and i'm looking forward to seeing the fruit. As you can imagine, Saturday was a low-key day, but we still got to spend some time with a family in our church and one of the kids that Rachel teaches. Then Sunday evening we had a presentation by a five man team going to Ecuador on a short term trip next month, and then our True Love Waits commitment service. Afterwards, we stood and spoke for about forty minutes to a couple of guys who are considering going to college to study for ministry.

I share all that to ask this, how does one not rejoice in these things? How do i not wake up in the morning with a warm feeling and an expectant heart because of all that God is doing in my church and in people that i love? How do i avoid ministry idolatry?

Well to answer that, let me tell you a story. For the first year that Rachel and I were 'dating' she lived in North Carolina, and i lived in Reading. Not much dating went on, but a lot of letter writing. When those letters arrived i'll tell you the one thing i didn't do, i didn't kiss the postman! I didn't kiss the letter either, i didn't buy the letter a ring, and i didn't move across the Atlantic to be with the letters. I loved the letters because of my love for Rachel, which was deeper, and further back.

My love for Rachel was deeper than my love for the letters because she, at last, was bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She was the bit of me that had been missing, she was the other (better) half (three quarters) of me. Of course i didn't love the letters more than Rachel, of course i rejoiced more in our relationship than in the arrival of a letter, my love for her was deeper.

And my love for her went further back. No Rachel, no letters. No love, no love-letters. No postman bringing joy in Hallmark form, no plans and prayers shared on paper. It was because i love Rachel that i loved the letters, it was because they came from her. Our letters were the overflow of our love. We don't write letters anymore, if i want to talk to her, i can just speak.

Our love for Jesus is deeper and further back than our love for ministry. We must rejoice our names are written in Heaven. That truth is far deeper than salivations, or baptisms or discipleship. It doesn't make those things unlovely, it just means they don't go as deep. And our love for Jesus is further back. No Jesus, no ministry, no Jesus no preaching, no studying, no conversations. One day, i'll never preach another message, but i'll still have Jesus.

Remember the source, remember the heart, remember Jesus.