Recently I shared this as a devotional thought for a strategic working session of the Blue Mountain Academy Board and Staff. While this was directed to an educational setting, the principles could be applied to how we think about a Pathfinder club, church Sabbath school ministries, church youth groups, and even church social activities.
What if Jesus only ministered to the “good” kids?
Or those who showed potential for excelling in academically or socially acceptable ways?
Sometimes, the thought arises that we would have a better school, our mission and work would be easier, our outcomes would be different, if we just took in the “good” students and limited severely the amount of the “other” students.
So, what if Jesus only ministered to the “good” students?
How might the gospels read differently today, if that was the case?
Well, think of the demoniac of the Gadarenes. (Mark 5:1-20) He would remain demon possessed. After all, you don’t want a student who is already into the occult as part of your ministry.
So Jesus would by-pass him.
Oh, and by the way, after Jesus cast out the demon, he sent this man, now clothed and in his right mind, back to his village, and later, when Jesus came back to that region, a whole village accepted Jesus and His message.
What about the woman at the well. (John 4:1-38) Now there is a case to avoid. Don’t take her in with your ministry, Jesus. It is obvious she is promiscuous. 5 husbands and now living in sin with another man. No, we don’t want kids that could be sexually active to mess up our world. So pass on this one.
Oh, and by the way, there was a whole village this woman brought to Jesus.
What about the paralytic lowered through the roof? (Mark 2:1-12) It was his sin, according to Desire of Ages, that cause his health to be ruined. So we better not let Jesus have this man associated with His ministry.
We might have kids today who are experimenting with drugs, smoking and alcohol and harming their health.
How do we treat them?
What would Jesus do?
How redemptive should we be?
Or how exclusive should we be?
Peter lies and tries to kill his enemies right in front of Jesus.
Levi-Matthew is a tax collector, and we all know they cheat and steal. And they are traitors to their country.
Simon is a zealot. That is pretty close to being a terrorist and a threat to homeland security.
James and John have a mother that is conniving and trying to manipulate political advantage. Can’t stand to have students with parents like that!
Jesus mixes with tax collectors, drunkards and prostitutes.
If we could just keep Jesus with the “good” kids, then…then He could just be with the likes of Judas and the Pharisees!
Now that is a sobering thought. Perhaps we need to be with more than “just the good kids.” How else can those who are not always the “perfect” or “good” kids be brought to a place in Christ, that they can become a fully committed disciple of Christ, unless they are included in our sphere of influence, and unless we are intentional about seeking to influence those on the margins for Christ?
2 comments:
A powerful reminder that too seldom do we follow the example Jesus set. This was a sobering reminder to me that I need to be more like Jesus with all I interact with. Gal. 2:20
I think it's important to remember that Jesus was not a child when he was doing this. While yes, all people, and certainly all children, need to be reached, I would be shirking my God-given duty as a parent to knowingly expose my children to worldly influences that they are not yet old enough to stand strong against. Certainly non-Christian children should be ministered to, but in family settings and other settings with a high adult to child ratio, not settings where there are too many children per adult for all interaction to be monitored.
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