Thank You, Father, for Your direction throughout my day. Help me, through every day, to seek Your guidance and reflect You in all I say and do. Amen.
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I’ve had a song stuck in my head since last Saturday! I even listened to it Monday in an attempt to get it out of my head. …it hasn’t worked… Even this morning, it would randomly pop up. I thought its lyrics might tie in well to my blog…nope. I’d have really had to stretch to make it work.
The song is Take a Chance on Me, sung by ABBA in 1978. I still like their music, but why was that song stuck in my head?
As I drove this morning (it was still running through my mind!) …the title…that made a connection with me! We’ve been watching the well-received The Chosen. Their website states: The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, [it] shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings. (You can find it on several different platforms – I use their app.)
What’s impacted me the most is that Jesus is seen in His humanity. He is genuine, sincere, caring, and compassionate. He’s portrayed how I picture Him in my head when reading the Bible and speaking of Him from the pulpit and on my blog.
We just watched Episode 7 of the first season last night. In this episode, Matthew is called to follow Jesus. Early on, he is portrayed as an odd duck of sorts. He is very intelligent – a young man of numbers and fixated on detail, with a great aversion to the filth of his culture. (Early on, he steps into a pile of manure and nearly wretches, pulls off his sandals, and replaces them with a backup pair from his satchel.) He has more money than he knows what to do with. People shove him, push him, spit on him – he is a reject of his people. Tax collectors are not popular…
In the storyline, he witnesses Peter’s big haul of fish and his call to follow Jesus. Later, he gets a rooftop view of the healing of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof. Shortly after that event, Jesus makes eye contact with him.
Truth be told, Matthew is a mess. Not only did his people reject him, but his family did, too. They don’t even claim him anymore. And at this point, he is struggling. He is drawn to Jesus. He is questioning everything about his life.
And then Jesus calls him. “Matthew, follow Me.” His mouth drops. Jesus’ other disciples protest. The Roman soldier manning the tax collections tries to stop him – but to no avail. None of what is said or done fazes him. He leaves it all and follows Jesus!
In each of Jesus’ interactions, it’s like He’s saying, “Take a chance on Me.” “You’ve tried so many other things, none of which have given you what you wanted. Take a chance on Me.”
He says the same to us. Quit running. Quit trying to make it all come together by yourself. Only Jesus can truly help you become who you were created to be. Take a chance…you won’t regret it.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 11:28 NIV)
Feb 22nd, 2024, Thurs, 12:42 pm
