Jump Start # 1487

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

  Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was on last night. I sat and watched it. I watched it by myself. I have seen that so many times I can quote the lines. But last night I saw something for the first time. I saw a parallel to the church today. It was the island of misfit toys. Those goofy toys that no children loved. A train with square wheels. A squirt gun that shot jelly. A bird that couldn’t fly but swam instead. A Charlie in the box. Misfits. Unwanted. Unloved. Banned to the island of misfits. Like lepers long ago, the only thing that they had in common were that they were all misfits.

There are times that some in the church feel like those misfit toys. They feel unwanted and even unloved. They are not invited into homes. They are not included by others. The misfits are the ones that are ignored, stared at and if folks could have their way, they would be banned to the isle of misfit Christians. Some wish that “those people” would go to another congregation. Often they do. They leave feeling unloved and unwelcomed. When they leave, the rest feel a sense of relief. “Yeah, they are gone,” is a common thought.

The “misfits” feel the unwelcome message that others are sending. They are not wanted because they are not “normal” like the rest. They have had a baby out of wedlock. They have been divorced. They continue to struggle with the bottle. They can’t find a job. They seem to be just a step away from being evicted. They never finished school. They have a past. Some have criminal records. They don’t shop at the malls, but rather at Goodwill. They may seem to be high maintenance. They need a ride to services. They need some rent money. They need to talk to someone, all the time. They respond often to the invitation and are confessing failures on a regular basis. They are just not like the rest of us (oh, we think that way). Misfits.

Have you noticed how many times Jesus visited the island of misfits? The Samaritan woman had been married multiple times and was with someone that she currently wasn’t married to. Little Zacchaeus up in the tree was a social outcast. There was a woman caught in adultery. There were lepers. Even among the apostles, there was Matthew, a tax collector. Jesus was with the misfits so often, that the Pharisees charged, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Lk 15:1). Jesus was the hero of the misfits. He came to save all mankind, even those who were misfits. I made the comment recently in a sermon, that in a large audience, it is very, very likely that there would be some that we would not invite to our home. We don’t know them well. We have little in common with them. Truth be told, we may not even like some. Yet, God is inviting each and all of us into His home. God is better than we are.

Our verse today reminds us that all of us have sinned. All of us have a past. All of us are misfits to the Lord. Instead of being cast to the island of misfits, God sends Jesus to save us. This passage reminds us that we have many things in common with everyone else.

We all have sinned. There is no one who can rise up and say that he hasn’t, other than Jesus. We are all broken. We have all disappointed God. We all have sinned. We might think, ‘my sin wasn’t as bad as your sin,’ but really, are we going there? We are in the same boat. It doesn’t matter.

We all need Jesus. All of us. The guy who is successful needs Jesus just as much as the one who is a constant failure. We all need Jesus. We all need Jesus all the time. We never get to the point where we don’t need Jesus. We never get so advanced that we “out grow” our need for Jesus. Never. Some may seem to need Jesus more than others, but that’s just an outward observation. We all need Jesus deeply.

We all have a future with God. God hasn’t given up on any of us. Although we may think some do not fit in with the rest of us, God doesn’t think that way. Jesus gave the adulterous woman another chance. Jesus gave Zacchaeus another chance. Jesus gives you another chance.

We all must be careful with our attitudes and judgmental spirits. Pointing fingers isn’t nice, nor is it the nature of Christians. Avoiding some, ignoring some, playing favorites is what the world does. The church must do better. That misfit person who is always asking the odd question in a Bible class may have a greater faith and be closer to the Lord than I am. Our smug attitudes and self righteous spirits may be the very thing that sickens the Lord. If there were such a thing as an island for misfits, we might be surprised that we would be the one exiled there. We, who believe that we have all the answers. We, who have all of our ducks lined up, nice and pretty. We, who are always on time. We, who are always there. We, who are dressed so proper. It may be we who are the true spiritual misfits and who are lacking that simple, child-like faith in the Lord.

The church, our fellowship, ought to be a haven where all are welcomed and loved. Some come bruised and beat up on the insides. They need help. They need to be loved. And in their innocent faith they may be the very ones that help the rest of us. They remind us of who Jesus loved. They remind us of who Jesus spent time with. They remind us of those that trusted Jesus, purely and openly. They remind us of what we ought to be like.

Misfits—that word should never be used within the fellowship of God’s people. The world loves that word. The world loves to ignore certain ones. The magazines, the billboards, the movies are full of beautiful people that are dressed sharp. What if you are not like that? What if you have crooked teeth? What if you have big ears? What if you can’t afford to dress sharply? What then? The world laughs at you. The world puts you down. The world makes you feel inferior. The world is vain, selfish and lacking Christ.

The church shouldn’t be like that. It may be that some among us ought to ask God to forgive us for the way we have treated others. It may be that we need to start opening our hearts and our homes to all those who confess Christ as the Lord. It may be that we stop trying to make some “normal” and appreciate their love for the Lord. It may be that we recognize that we may be the true misfits.

There was a sign on church that read, “God loves you and we are trying our best!” Maybe we can try a bit harder. Maybe we can show it a bit more.

Oh, I love Rudolph. What a great lesson. I wonder what I can learn from Frosty the snow man?

Roger