JR. Forasteros - July 21, 2013
Sheep and Goats
We often encounter people who push us outside our comfort zone. It's our tendency in these times to retract, to pull away into places we're more comfortable, with people we're used to. But according to Jesus, unless we become the kinds of people who give ourselves even to those not like us, we haven't discovered the essence of Jesus' new life. To wait for our King is to realize he's already among us, working among those to whom we're called. So what are you waiting for?
From Series: "Waiting for the Kingdom"
Jesus' disciples often asked him when his Kingdom would come in full, when this new life he always talked about would arrive. In response, Jesus told several parables that illustrated the tension we feel as we wait for his kingdom to come on Earth as it is in Heaven. Waiting in Jesus' new reality isn't passive. It's an active, intentional patience. So how do we wait well?
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When I was in high school, a friend of mine invited me to play Dungeons and Dragons. This was exciting to me for a couple of reasons: first, I am and was a huge nerd, so D&D had always been something I wanted to check out. And second, I didn’t have a lot of friends in high school, so this invite was exciting to me!
There was only one problem: I was a child of the 80s, which means I grew up during the so-called “Satanic panic” when America was convinced there were covens of Satanists behind every rock and tree. D&D was alleged to be one of their primary recruiting tools. So my mom was not thrilled that I would be summoning demons with my friends so that we could sell our souls to the Dark Lord.
I’ll spoil the ending: she eventually relented, and my friends and I played D&D for several months straight and no one ever even saw Satan.
We certainly weren’t interested in selling our souls.
But even today, in many churches, bring up D&D and people who wouldn’t know a d20 from a d10 are convinced that D&D is a tool of Satan, along with rock n roll music, high school dances, and a host of other activities.
Which begs the question: really? And, in light of our last series about asking better questions, “Are those the right places to be looking for the devil?”
Today, we’re going to see the answer to that last question is, “No. Actually, if you want to find Satan, you might want to start by looking at religion. Because according to Jesus, one of Satan’s favorite tools is not D&D, but the kind of religion that shields us from looking closely at ourselves.
There’s a way to be religious that keeps us from being honest about our sin, so it actually keeps us from God.
The good news, though, is that Jesus offers to shine the light of truth on our satanic deception, freeing us to follow him into God’s life!
