From the Pulpit: Our need for Jesus
I don’t know who reads these. You might be “all on” the Jesus train, or you might think He’s only for the weak. You might pray regularly, or it may have been decades. I represent a contingent of those who not only believe Jesus is real, but that our need for Him is real.
As I write this, I am straddling the deadline for Jill to go to print. I’m way behind because last week did not go as planned. I had kept my calendar relatively clear. Our church at Blessed Redeemer was hosting roughly 150 kids (yay!) for Vacation Bible School. I hadn’t been feeling well but was battling through – typical guy! By Tuesday not only did I feel wiped, but my left arm started feeling tender. Come Wednesday it’s stiff, hard to move, painful, and blown up like one of those balloons that clowns twist into animals. I spend the rest of the week hospitalized in Sioux Falls being treated for cellulitis.
I’m home now. I’ll also be on daily IV antibiotics for at least a couple weeks. This infection is no joke. I may not be fresh meat straight out of Seminary, but I’m also not a wrinkled, gray/white-haired individual who can barely walk into a pulpit anymore and who needs to retire. I’m middle-age, and this hit me hard.
What a reminder: of the need to get thing checked out, to schedule appointments, that doctors and medicine are good. What a reminder of my need for Jesus. I needed the care God is providing through my healthcare team. I need the treatment God is using for healing. I need the reminder that in my frailty there is something not so frail, that will withstand when other things – including my health – diminish.
The message of the Christian faith centers on Jesus and the forgiveness of sins He won by dying on the cross. The message of the Christian faith also reminds us of the strength, presence, power, and calm He brings in the midst of life’s challenges. Just because I’m a Christian – a preacher – doesn’t mean I need Him less. Likely more!
My need for Jesus never diminishes. Because His love is so great, because He lives having risen to life on Easter morning, not only do I need Jesus, but I have Him. Helping me. Strengthening me. He’s with me. Don’t dismiss Him. Welcome Him and the help He brings.
