Just Thinking Out Loud...

Matthew 25:31-45--- "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'37 "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'40 "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'44 "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?'45 "And he will answer, 'I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me."

On Thursday, April 9, 2009, I had the privilege of officiating a funeral service for James David (TJ) Smith who went home to be with the Lord after a motorcycle accident this past week. I never him, but within thirty minutes I learned a great deal about this big man with an even bigger heart. No, TJ didn't wear his religion on his sleeve because I assume like a lot of motorcycle riders, they were cut off. I've been thinking about cutting mine off... religion, that is, especially after the funeral yesterday.

As I listened to the flood of people who poured out to pay their respects to this "real good man," a song that was played at the funeral, their love for TJ filled the room like the fragrance of exquisite perfume. They openly wept as they shared one TJ story after another.

One told of the time when TJ met a total stranger whose boots were just totally worn out. TJ took him to the shoe store to buy him a pair of boots. When the man took his boots off, he only had a few threads for socks. So, TJ bought him some new socks. When the clerk measured his feet, his feet were two different sizes. So, TJ bought him two pair of boots so he could get one good pair out of the two.

At restaurants, TJ would buy drinks for everyone at the next table. He would go around and introduce himself and talk to each and every one of them. TJ would just say, “I like to meet people.”TJ wanted everybody around him to have a good time. He had a contagious laugh that made everyone stop and smile even if they were in a bad mood. He was a lover of life. The world was his oyster, and he meant to savor every ounce of life.

When Jesus said that He had come that we might have life, and life more abundantly, TJ took Him seriously. Like Jesus, TJ just loved people. All people. He didn't discriminate. TJ understood that God was God, and he was not. He told one man, "God's always right. We are not." He would consistently tell young people to love their mamas and call home so they wouldn't worry about them. He believed in the adage, "live and let live." And live he did. He left fingerprints on everyone in that room. Even me, and I didn't even know him.

As I looked out over that chapel yesterday, I saw a family more closeknit than any church I've ever been a part of. They laughed. They cried. There was no pretense. No hypocrisy. They were who they were… just a bunch of people who came together to honor a fallen comrade and console one another in their grief. I’m understanding more and more why Jesus yelled at religious people who just didn’t get it. Jesus came here to love people to life and set them free from the bondage of the law, not kill them with it. People who had been irreparably damaged by the Fall needed a Savior to follow, not a creed. Jesus told people to follow HIM. Following Jesus means following a PERSON, not a set of religious rules and regulations we can use to compare ourselves with others who, in the eyes of religion, don’t make the grade.

TJ was like the group that didn’t have a clue they were ministering to Jesus when he befriended people and lent them a helping hand. Religious institutions are more interested in what people can give to support their kingdoms rather than God’s. Religion just doesn’t get it. TJ got it, and no church taught it to him. Maybe TJ was the way he was because he was saved FROM religion rather than BY it.

Romans 2:13-16 MSG--- Merely hearing God's law is a waste of your time if you don't do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.14 When outsiders who have never heard of God's law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. 15 They show that God's law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God's yes and no, right and wrong. 16 Their response to God's yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.

You think about that…