The Way Recovery Houses

A long time ago I traveled to a city to live and work for a year to gain insight to people. The group I was with ministered among people who were set aside by most of the present day culture. I met and got to know people that we only ever talk about, people that were cornered off so that most people would not have to see or interact with them. What I discovered is that these outcasts had dreams, had hopes, they were someone's daughter or son, someone's spouse. They needed Jesus. There is a story in the Bible where Jesus is at a house of people who he was not supposed to be with. The religious people of course were disgusted and asked the disciples - Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? (Matthew 9:10-11) He does because he loves them and knows the possibilities their lives hold if they stop living the lies they were raised with. So I want to challenge you today - are you one of those who society has labelled and cast off to some corner so they don't have do see you? If you are, it is time to realize that Jesus looks at you very differently. He comes in close and offers you a life that will fulfill you and your dreams. So let me address the other group in this story. Are you one of those who label people as say - stay away from me and my families. Clean you life up before you become part of my life. Here is your challenge. If we are called to be like Jesus and Jesus would walk among the outcasts, who are we not to do the same? What I learned living in that city is the Jesus is the only one who can make a difference and it takes all of us to walk with those who have been set aside. Who can you sit with today?

I have a friend who is facing an incredible external crisis. He has several choices. One, he can go back to his addiction numbing the pain of the crisis. Two, he can blame everyone and everything around him for what is happening. Three, he can pretend that nothing is happening and simply ignore the reality of the situation. Four, he can wake up, take one day at a time, stay clean and live with the hope that he has in Christ. We all face situations and circumstances that are out of our control in life. It is only when we abide in Christ that we have the wisdom and strength to navigate life. It is only in Christ that we have a community of people who will walk with us and help us understand what the next step is. So today, what will be your choice that you take?

One of the qualities of Jesus is he had this knack for seeing who people were becoming and helping them move in that direction. When he saw Matthew, while others saw a tax collector who ripped people off, he saw someone who would be influential as one of his disciples. When a group of men pulled a woman from a scandalous affair, he didn't see an adulteress, rather he saw a person who was about to begin living a better story. He knew the power of love would transform anyone. What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? Does your reflection see the person you were or the person that you can become in Christ? All of us need to allow grace to influence how we see ourselves. Also we need to grant the same grace to others. Is there anyone that you have written off because you only see where they have been and not where Christ wants to take them? Jesus sets the example for us, seeing who people can and are becoming and not who they use to be.

So this is Holy Week . . . the time when we reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Mark 10, as Jesus approached Jerusalem, he told them for the third time that he was going to die and rise again. But they did not hear him, they were still caught up in who was going to sit on the right and left of Jesus when he over threw Rome. They missed the larger picture of what Jesus was about to do. He was about to take on all known evil, immersing himself in the judgement of God, he was going to pay what they could not possibly pay for, he was about to set them free. God wants to do so much more in your life than you could ever imagine, but we limit ourselves because we have our own thinking where we miss out on the larger picture of what God is up to. So this week, why not take the time to listen and see what God wants to do in your life instead of settling for a version of life you control. Remember - He is risen and so can you be found alive in the Kingdom of God.