More Than We Bargain For

Proverbs of Mark #138: Small things morph into Godzilla-sized things when you mess with them.

You start to repair a small crack in the basement wall and next thing you know, a guy with a backhoe is replacing all your French drains.  You go for a routine dental check and you come home with all your teeth capped.  You buy a peanut and find yourself bringing home an elephant.  Small things often turn into more than you bargained for.

A couple hours before my high school prom, I noticed a tiny pimple on my temple, which I gently squeezed, and it ballooned up to the size of a coconut.  All evening, whenever someone took my picture I’d turn my “good” side out, to avoid memorializing the strange growth on the side of my head.  Made for some interesting prom photos.

In Luke 20 he records how Jesus turns a simple question some spies sent by the religious leaders ask him into an eternity-defining question they hadn’t bargained for.

So they asked him…”Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”

The spies act as if they’re sincerely wrestling with paying the Roman poll tax, but they’re really trying to catch Jesus on the horns of their question.  If Jesus says yes, he’ll  alienate the crowds who hope he’s the Messiah who will free them from Rome.  If he says no, they’ll scamper off to Pilate and have him arrested for promoting disobedience to Caesar.

But Jesus confounds them with a classic response: “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” In other words, since Caesar’s image is on the coin, it belongs to him, but since God’s image is stamped upon every human being, every human belongs entirely to God.

Jesus says, “You’re concerned about God wanting a coin, but God wants YOU.  He doesn’t want your money, he wants your whole heart and soul.”  This was certainly much more than they bargained for.

So often we ask “boundary” questions, like, Is it lawful for me to give 5% instead of 10%?  How far can I go physically in a relationship before it becomes sin?  How much TV is it lawful for me to watch?  Is it ok if I skip my devotions occasionally?

These kinds of questions, while legitimate, fall short of the ultimate question: Have I given my entire life to God – my heart, my hopes, my future, my friends – without reservation?  Is Jesus Christ my Lord?

When I first prayed to Jesus to forgive me, I didn’t know he’d require me to give him my life.  It was more than I’d bargained for.  But I also received far more than I could have ever imagined: eternal life and joy in Christ – so much more than I’d bargained for.

Not a bad deal.

photo by digitalART2