Chasing Squirrels and Chasing Jesus

Our dog, Lucy, just loves to chase squirrels.

And she has plenty of opportunity to pursue her passion, thanks to a bird feeder on our deck, a built-in dog door, and a couple of very brave squirrels.

She never gets tired of the chase. She never loses interest, and she never gives up. As soon as she sees a squirrel on the deck, out she goes...a blurry of fur flying through the dog door.

Actually, all you have to do is say the word, "squirrel" around her...you barely get the word out of your mouth...and, "BANG," the dog hits the floor full-speed-ahead...a dog on a mission.

Of course, the squirrel ALWAYS gets away.

Never once, in the hundreds and hundreds of times she has tried, has Lucy ever actually CAUGHT a squirrel.

She runs...she hops...she jumps...she barks...she scrapes her nails on the wood deck...but she never quite manages to complete the task. She never reaches the goal.

But, every time a squirrel pops back up on that deck, Lucy THINKS she can do it. She thinks, "THIS time, it will be different! THIS time I am going to get that squirrel!"

Not.

Not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...
not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not...not
...not...not!

I almost wonder if Lucy is expecting the squirrel to just reward her for the effort.

I wonder if she is thinking that the squirrel might finally just say, "You know, dog, you have been trying so hard to catch me for such a long time. I admire your persistence and effort. It's amazing. Here, open your mouth, let me jump in. You deserve it!"

It reminds me of people who just keep coming to church over and over and over again, who think that God will be persuaded to reward their effort.

They come to church week after week after week after week...whether they want to or not...and they sit in the same spot in the same pew in the same church. Every Sunday.

Their effort is amazing. They never give up. They never get tired. They keep on coming over a long period of time. What persistence! What effort!

What for?

Do they think that Jesus is going to say to them someday, "You have worked so hard for so long at coming to church every week. It's amazing. Here, I have opened the gates to heaven for you. You deserve it!"

If that is what they think, on that day, I'm afraid they will be sadly disappointed.

Just like that squirrel is never going to reward Lucy's effort by jumping into her mouth...he would not sacrifice himself like that...Jesus is not going to reward anyone with a place in heaven simply because they made an effort to get to church.

He did not sacrifice Himself for that.

He did not sacrifice Himself on the cross of Calvary to get you to come to church!

No. He sacrificed Himself so you would invite Him into your heart.

He doesn't want you to come to church to impress Him. He wants you to come to church because you love Him.

Church is not the door to heaven. Jesus is the only door.

Jesus first. Church second.

Look at it this way...if heaven is a doctor's office, church is the waiting room. If heaven is an airplane, church is the departure gate. If heaven is a late-night television talk show, church is the green room.

If you are in the doctor's waiting room, you are already a patient. If you are at the plane's departure gate, you already have your ticket. If you are in the green room, you are already an invited guest on the show.

You see, you come to church not to get into heaven. Rather, you come to church because you are already "in" heaven.

You are already a patient of the Great Physician. You already have your ticket booked. You are already an invited guest.

Because you already have Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

The great apostle Peter went to church. Paul, the greatest church planter of all time, also went to church. James was a mover and a shaker in the early church in Jerusalem.

But, for all of them, church was a consequence of their encounter with Jesus.

Here is how Paul put it when he wrote to the church in Philippi...

"Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances...The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at his ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts and we know it – even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials.

...(These) very credentials...I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash – along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ.

...Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant...I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him." Philippians 3:2-8a (from The Message)

Lucy will chase squirrels as long as they keep running away from her.

Isn't it good to know that you don't have to chase Jesus in the same way? He does not run away from you. He turns to you and opens his arms.

Wide.


See you in church on Sunday!


Pastor Gregory