“Getting Excited In Christ Part 1”

Colossians 3:1–4 ¹If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

          Why are you not excited about your life with Christ?  The answer could be as simple as this; your focus is on the here and the now.  We are asking, “Where am I in the scheme of life?”  “How close am I to the rich man’s life?”  Or, “have I provided enough for myself to live a leisurely vacation for the rest of my life?” Well, leisure and vacations are nice, no work, no worry, just enjoy. 

Vacations are the simple life of leisure that lasts for a week or two, or if you can afford it maybe a month.  And then, it’s over; we scurry back to our life of humdrum thoughts of wishing our life were like a vacation all the time.  Of course we know that if life was always a vacation we’d soon want something more, and who does not want more?  No, we’re not excited about our life with Christ because we are too busy being worried about making this life exciting or our life to be heaven here and now.

Luke 12:16b–20 ^1b6 “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

          Where were we?  Not that I am trying to continue a conversation that I forgot where I had left off.  Rather I am asking, where were we, when we first started together as a congregation struggling to survive and wanting to grow? 

          This is an experiment you can try and it really works so I’m told.  This experiment might tell us about ourselves and where we were and where we can go. 

Take a 16oz. mason jar and put some live fleas in it.  You might have to stop the flea treatments you give your pets, take off their flea caller, or just see if your husband has some in his beard.  A full beard might produce more fleas; I’m not sure about foo-man-chooes or goatees.  Well, once you have the fleas in the jar screw the top on the jar so the fleas don’t escape and go back to where you found them. 

Now comes the exciting part, watch your captive audience as they try to jump out of the jar.  You will notice that the fleas will jump and bounce off the top of the jar’s lid.  Ouch, that’ll leave a mark.  As they continue to jump and hit the lid with their tiny little heads, they realize that they cannot go any further.  The fleas lose heart and they start to jump to only 3/4s of the way up the jar.  After awhile all of the fleas get used to the idea it is only safe at the 3/4s mark and they all succumb to that height of jumping. 

          Now comes the interesting part.  When someone comes along and takes the lid off the jar, what do you think happens to our little fleas?  Well one thing is for sure they don’t flee as you might expect.  Our free fleas though free to flee continue to only jump 3/4s of the way up the jar they have gotten used to living in.  They have been trained to a comfort zone of 3/4s and less of what they had before when they could have jumped out of the uncovered jar.

The fleas don’t get excited that they are fleas free to flee their captivity.  They don’t get excited because they are still living in their here and now.  They are captives of their comfort zone, and fear being free to flee their flea bitten captivity.

          Luke 12:21 ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

          Our lives they come and go in the flash of time, and when you think of eternity, our life is not even a blink of an eye; nor is the time our planet has existed.  The sadness we might face here and now will not even be a measurable fleeing flea bitten moment. In fact when you stop and really think about it, our life here and now is a mixture of sad and happy.  And if we have had happiness at all regardless of our sadness there is a joy waiting for us that is an eternity and our time of sadness was the least of all.  And Christ perfects all our eternal joy and happiness.

          A student from Africa once asked me why we wear such ornate crosses.  He went on to say that it was the instrument that took away our savior in such a bloody way, and we wear it as an ornate decoration.  It took me some time to think this through, but I eventually answered him.  It is true that our Christ died a terrible death on the cross, shedding His blood for all of us.  The true instrument that killed our savior is our sin and not the cross.  The ornate designs of the crosses we wear signify the contrast of what happened on the cross.  Jesus who was perfect died to give us the sinner a life of pure joy and not this life but our life with Him when He comes to take us all to the place He has prepared for us. 

          John 14:1-4 ¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”

          I’m excited for Christ, even though I am a sinner He has assured my life eternal and gives me freedom to flee the captivity of sin and have an eternal relationship with Him forever and ever, Amen.  And this He does for you too.  Christ is building that excitement in you too. Amen.

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May