I love sports. For the most part, I'm not a fanatical sports fan (except for Penn State football of course), but I really enjoy the competition of sports. I like going to sporting events or watching on TV and cheering on my favorite teams. I like to play sports and even enjoy coaching my kid's sports teams.
I suppose my love of sports stems from my childhood. Some of my earliest memories are of playing different sports (baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, etc.). I played plenty of organized sports, but what I really enjoyed most of all was playing "pickup" games with my friends. No childhood sporting event was complete without the ceremonial declaration of the "players." You see, every time we played, everyone had to decide which pro they were going play the role of for that day. Often times, more time and effort was spent arguing over who got to be Michael Jordan, Mike Schmidt, or Joe Montana for the day than ever got expended in the actual playing. You knew things were going to get exciting if two guys showed up to the park with the same player's jersey on. A fight was sure to ensue!
Every kid dreams of being like their heroes; be it little boys pretending to be Superman on the playground, little girls dressing up like Elsa from Frozen, or me and my friends mimicking our favorite athletes. As we grow older though, we begin to give up these "childish" ways. After all, when I show up to a church league softball game these days, I don't run around telling everybody that I am Barry Bonds. As adults, we think it's silly to act that way.
And yet, this is exactly what the author of Hebrews is encouraging us to do in this week's scripture lesson when he writes, "consider Jesus..." Likewise, the Apostle Paul, on numerous occasions, exhorts his hearers to imitate him in his imitation of Christ. So, what exactly are these encouragements and exhortations trying to convey? How exactly does one act like Jesus?
On the surface, this seems like a bit of an impossible challenge doesn't it? I mean, it's one thing to wear your favorite athlete's jersey, but quite another to actually do what they can do. You can't simply tell someone to go out there and be Lebron James or Tom Brady. Practice and hard work can take someone so far, but we all know genuine talent when we see it. No amount of practice can make you 6'-9", 250 pounds with ridiculous athleticism!
The same applies to Jesus doesn't it? If we're being honest, commands like these can feel crushing at times. "Hey, be like Jesus they say. Sure, let me get right on that! I've got all of this extra righteousness lying around and I've been wondering what I could do with it!" Regardless of how much effort one can put in, we just won't ever be able to fill those shoes.
At the core of this idea of "considering" Jesus or "imitating" him is the notion that we begin by looking to him. My friends and I were students of our favorite athletes. We watched them play and attempted to copy their techniques. If a player had a unique stance in the batter's box, we tried to copy it. With the introduction of the adjustable height basket hoops, every kid could attempt to recreate the most poster-worthy dunks. In the same way, we should begin by reflecting on Jesus. Just as an actor may spend time observing a police officer for a role in a crime drama, we can learn a great deal about Jesus by simply studying him. This means we look to the scriptures.
Ultimately though, regardless of how much we know about Jesus, the key to truly being transformed into his likeness is in our relationship with him. It's not enough to know about Jesus, we must know him and be known by him. This means that we enter into relationship with him. The true mark of a Christian isn't their knowledge, but rather their faith. If wisdom is knowledge rightly applied, then we might refer to faith as knowledge rightly rooted. Another word for it might be conviction. It's a question of trust.
Some of you may know that I studied engineering in college. In our modern day, when an engineer designs something, say a bridge for example, they affirm the design with their seal. The seal is issued by their state licensing board after the candidate has displayed adequate competency through a combination of work experience and rigorous testing. But a little over a century ago, such licenses didn't exist. Anyone could work as an engineer. I have heard it said that one way in which a designer might have proven the dependability of his designs back in those days was to simply place his family in harm's way; perhaps have them stand under or cross over said bridge. Whether that is true or not, I don't know for sure, but it surely would prove one's willingness to stand by their work! There's nothing quite as simultaneously rewarding and terrifying as stepping foot on or in a structure you helped design. You can't help but think, "I sure hope I got all of those calculations right." (I'm just kidding...I was pretty sure I got them right. That's a joke too! Don't worry, you are safe! Besides, I don't have any buildings in this area.)
All joking aside though, we display faith all of the time in the things in which we place our trust. When we flick the switch, we expect the light to come on. When we push the brake pedal, we expect the car to stop. We don't even think about it. We trust our doctors with our health, our grocers with our food, our political leaders with our well-being (at least we want to), and our pastors with our beliefs. And yet, so often we balk at the idea of trusting Jesus...the only one in the whole universe worthy to be trusted.
The exhortation to "consider Jesus" goes well beyond simply calling us to reflect upon him. It is a call to trust him. And God knows how hard this can be for us, which is why he has graciously given us sixty-six books of evidence so that we can and should.
In Grace,
Chris Morris
If you missed this week's sermon (or just want to listen again), follow the link below to listen. Or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes.
Part 7 - Greater Than Moses
Questions discussed in this sermon:
1. Why is Jesus referred to as an apostle?
2. How is Jesus greater than Moses?
3. How can we tell if our faith is in ourselves rather Jesus?
Next week's lesson: Hebrews 3:7-18
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