From our Pastor

Rejoice that Your Names Are Written in Heaven

   Luke 10:1-20, Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18                                                      July 7/8, 2007

          It was a beautiful day for golf.  The four friends were waiting for their turn to tee off.  These four guys were definitely different from one another.  The first golfer was a pessimist.  He was sure that he was going to have an awful game.  The guy was very athletic, one of the best golfers around.  But he was always dissatisfied.  It wasn’t just golf that he was unhappy about.  You name it, he could find something to complain about it.  His cup was always half empty.  Some of the other guys wondered why they invited him sometimes.  He so often rained on their parade.

          The second golfer was sure that he could change the pessimist around.  He was sure things would get better for him.  Why was he so sure of that?  He was an optimist.  Everything looked good to him.  He had read some years ago that a positive attitude produced positive results.  So he strove to always think positively.  For the most part he was successful.  But there just didn’t seem to be any reason for him to be so positive. 

          The third golfer was also a very upbeat man.  He would not be described as either an optimist or a pessimist.  Still he was generally very upbeat.  This is a man you might describe as a stock market whiz.  He had made a fortune in the stock market, had retired early, and continued to make large sums of money in the stock market.  When he made money, he celebrated.  He did a lot of celebrating.  When he lost money, he was really down.  When his golf game went well, he celebrated.  When he played poorly, he moped around.  What do you suppose life will be like for this guy as he ages?  What if he has physical difficulties?  Will he have any reason to celebrate?  When he faces his own death, will he care what the stock market is doing?  As long as things were going his way he could be happy.  But forget celebrations when things are tough.

          Then there’s the fourth guy.  Let’s make him in the image that Jesus would have him be.  What would he be like?  Well you can imagine that the way God wants you and me to be would have some similarity with the optimist.  After all we are told to rejoice always. (Phil 4:4)  But there’s a reason for that rejoicing.  We rejoice because we have life with Jesus.  We rejoice because we have forgiveness of sins.  So there’s reason to rejoice always, but for good reason. 

          God would have us be like the pessimist, too, at times.  Not that we should be pessimistic, but that we should be upset, down about our sins.  We ought to be upset and despondent over the sins we have committed.  It ought to really bug us when we’ve sinned, when we have turned our backs on our best friend, Jesus.  It ought to really make us unhappy.  But unlike the pessimist, we should not stay unhappy.  Rather what God would have us do, is to turn, repulsed, away from our sins, to turn to God.  To plead with God for forgiveness.  Then to rejoice.  Rejoice that your sins are forgiven!  That’s the right attitude to have. 

          God would not have us be like the third golfer.  In some ways he seems the most balanced of the first three.  The optimist is happy all the time no matter what, the pessimist is sad all the time, no matter what.  The third golfer seems to be the more healthy of those three.  But the problem is that he doesn’t rejoice at the important things.  The things he does rejoice at are all right.  But there are other things which are so much more important. 

          Jesus sends the 72 before him to preach and heal and cast out demons.  As he sends them he says “the harvest is great.” (Lk 10:2)  That’s great reason to rejoice.  I remember going on vacation each summer to my Uncle Erwin’s wheat farm in Kansas.  Aunt Marguerite was the family photographer, and we’d all gather each summer to see pictures of when we were smaller.  It was great fun.  Part of the slide show included pictures of different harvests.  I had never seen a wheat harvest in person.  It was interesting to see the combine a little closer with each successive slide.  There was a great joy about those pictures.  Big smiles on both kids and adults.  Harvest was a great time!  There was often worry during the growing season about whether or not there’d be enough rain.  There was worry as the harvest time came close about whether it would be dry enough so the wheat could dry out and the machinery could get in the fields. All it would take would be one bad storm to severely damage a crop and a whole year’s labor could go down the tubes.  It was like being on pins and needles.  So when the harvest was there, and it was being hauled in, that was great reason to celebrate. 

          Jesus says look, the fields are ready to harvest!  That’s fantastic!  That’s reason to celebrate!  Bring in the harvest!  The harvest Jesus is talking about is people, people ready to be brought to faith.  Pray for more workers to bring in the harvest.  In those slides we saw in Kansas, it was always my uncle and family who brought in the harvest.  In the older pictures, my grandfather was a part of it.  A long ways back grandpa would hire workers, especially during the depression, to help with the harvest.  Jesus says we need help with the harvest.  

          There are so many people waiting to hear about Jesus.  So many who are “ripe.”  Pray for workers says the Lord.  Pray for help.  Rejoice in the harvest, rejoice that people are being brought to faith.  When the 72 returned to Jesus they were rejoicing.  They were “flying high.”  Imagine their excitement.  They had commanded evil spirits in Jesus’ name, and the evil spirits obeyed them!  Can you imagine the sense of power they had. 

          Jesus said, you’re celebrating over the wrong thing.  You’re majoring in the minor things.  Don’t get all worked about that.  Instead rejoice that your names are written in heaven!  Rejoice at what really matters.  You’re heading for heaven.  Rejoice that others are hearing about Jesus and that they will go to heaven. 

          When you rejoice that your name has been written in heaven, you have reason to rejoice in all circumstances.  In good times, and in bad.  Rejoice!  In health and in great pain.  Rejoice!  With or without bags of money.  Rejoice!  When you have good news or bad news.  Rejoice!  You’re going to heaven.  That’s always good news.  That’s always something to eagerly anticipate.  Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.  Rejoice also that the harvest is great.  Love people to Jesus.

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