In my youth ministry, we're discussing the last week of Jesus. We started last night by discussing Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. Unlike other times when Jesus came into the holy city, this time He was announcing His kingdom. He proclaimed Himself King. And, of course, he did this with much pomp and circumstance by riding in on a....baby donkey?
Um....yeah.
(By the way, I had my group take parts and act out this scene. Few things are funnier than seeing one teen on the back of another as they play the parts of Jesus and the donkey. I'd like to see a senior pastor try this in Big Church.)
Jesus was unexpected when He came to Earth. He was unexpected in the way He lived. The religious leaders expected a Messiah who would be clean cut like they were. The disciples expected someone who would lead a revolution. It probably shouldn't be very surprising to us that Jesus would do something like this. At the very least, we can say Jesus was consistent.
I think the question we all need to ponder is; why do we expect God to be predictable? Why do we think God will do what we expect?
Think about it. God says His ways are different than ours. He tells us His thoughts are better than our thoughts. Everything He preached is about as counter-culture as one can possibly be. Why would we expect a God, who never did anything that even remotely resembles a strategy we would come up with, to accomplish His mission in a way we expect?
Maybe instead of asking God to do things the way we do them, we should be asking God to be patient with us and let us go along for the ride. After all, if I have a plan and God has a plan, instead of expecting a clash of plans, we should set our aside. Otherwise we will find ourselves telling God that we don't think His plan is all that good.
Good luck with that plan.
Um....yeah.
As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
(By the way, I had my group take parts and act out this scene. Few things are funnier than seeing one teen on the back of another as they play the parts of Jesus and the donkey. I'd like to see a senior pastor try this in Big Church.)
Jesus was unexpected when He came to Earth. He was unexpected in the way He lived. The religious leaders expected a Messiah who would be clean cut like they were. The disciples expected someone who would lead a revolution. It probably shouldn't be very surprising to us that Jesus would do something like this. At the very least, we can say Jesus was consistent.
I think the question we all need to ponder is; why do we expect God to be predictable? Why do we think God will do what we expect?
Think about it. God says His ways are different than ours. He tells us His thoughts are better than our thoughts. Everything He preached is about as counter-culture as one can possibly be. Why would we expect a God, who never did anything that even remotely resembles a strategy we would come up with, to accomplish His mission in a way we expect?
Maybe instead of asking God to do things the way we do them, we should be asking God to be patient with us and let us go along for the ride. After all, if I have a plan and God has a plan, instead of expecting a clash of plans, we should set our aside. Otherwise we will find ourselves telling God that we don't think His plan is all that good.
Good luck with that plan.
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