5 July 2019 - from unwell to unstuck

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.

Matthew apparently knew that he was sick in need of a physician. Sitting at his customs post he had come to realize that he was a sinner in need of a savior. His life and his routine did not lead him to fulfillment. It stripped of him even the hope thereof. He knew that his path on his own had no direction or end that mattered.

Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.

We too are unwell. We too follow many paths that do not lead to the blessed life God desires for us. We are sick but ignore our sickness to pursue many things which can only distract us for a short time.

Jesus is passing by. Our chance has come. When he passes by he will call us. In his voice we can hear everything which we know we need but which we could never find on our own.

He said to him, "Follow me."

Will we follow? Isn't whatever is holding us back oversold? Isn't it nothing but false promises? Why not leave it all behind to follow Jesus?

Following Jesus may mean abandoning our own plans. But it means embracing a steadfast fidelity to the plans of God.

"Put your hand under my thigh,
and I will make you swear by the LORD,
the God of heaven and the God of earth,
that you will not procure a wife for my son
from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,
but that you will go to my own land and to my kindred
to get a wife for my son Isaac.

God's plans may seem impractical or impossible or even undesirable. But truly they are the only plans in which all the nations of the earth can be blessed. They are the only way to find our heart's desires.

Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent;
he married her, and thus she became his wife.

Jesus doesn't want us bound by self-imposed laws keeping us at the customs post. He wants us to be  free to be able to make deeper and more meaningful commitments. He heals our souls with the freedom to actually get up and to follow him wherever he calls.

Visit me with your saving help,
That I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your people,
and glory with your inheritance.