Our faith can fall into this same trap.  Instead of asking what God really wants of us, we look for the easy way out, the convenient, the less demanding way.  In the words of Dietrich Bonheoffer, we seek “cheap grace not costly discipleship.”  Worship is not seen as a time of praising God and seeking a renewed awareness of God’s presence; rather, the question is: is it entertaining? Or as one author has suggested, we have allowed the dummying down of worship. We want to be a part of the church, but do not want to be challenged to be sacrificial of time or of money.

But  in our Gospel, Jesus is talking about challenging stuff, things that turn our lives upside down and he’s calling names. Jesus is calling each of us by name, as well, to accept the challenges in our lives for our faith to make a difference. Our faith is not consumer-oriented at all, but a call to be a provider, to make a difference. The church is the only organization that exists for the benefit of its non-members. The challenge of our faith is never "what is in it for me, but what can I do with all that God has blessed me with for my brothers and sisters in Christ?"

May God bless you and yours,

June 11, 2008
© Dunwoody United Methodist Church