Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:34-40 ESV

Spoiler Alert – Stop reading now if you haven’t seen the Internship, and still want to!

The premise of the Internship, is that a competition for a Google internship.  It essentially comes down to a team of misfits and a pompous rich kid and his team of stars.  The bad guy makes it clear he doesn’t have time for anyone but those he thinks are important.

This becomes most clear in his interactions with a scruffy headphone guy who is painfully shy, and never listens to music but wears the headphones because it lets him keep to himself.  One of the two bumbling protagonists goes out of his way to befriend headphone guy, while the pompous villain makes fun of him.

At the final announcement of who won the internship, the pompous guy can’t believe he lost, and interrupts the announcement to say, “lets get someone down here who matters.”

Headphone guy appears, is revealed to be the head of a major department at Google, and he’s been listening to the whole thing.  He tells the villain – you haven’t shown very much googliness.  We learned earlier in the movie, this googliness is all about community and creativity.  But the villain says, “what does that even mean?”

The headphone guy sums it up, “The fact you don’t even know is why you’ll never work here.”

Jesus says this about his kingdom.  Compassion is a sign that you get what my kingdom is all about.  Its part of kingdomliness.  The way you treat those who don’t seem important, is actually very important.

Jesus even puts himself in their shoes – says it’s like you’re serving him when you serve others.

He goes so far as to say that this is how he sorts out those who want to be in his kingdom, with him, and those who want to take a pass.  He says its like separating sheep and goats – the ones who want to be in his kingdom will act like it, and those who don’t, won’t.  He says this twice, and I only read one version here, which  is the positive describing who gets in, but he also tells the story in the negative, describing who stays out.  What becomes clear is that we choose God’s kingdom, or separation from him, not just with words but with actions.

We’ll see tomorrow how this applies to our neighbours.

Question: How do these six actions benefit the recipient, the doer, and Jesus?

Ryan Sim - July 4, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - Knowing

So far this week, we've seen that Christian faith is not about just the words you say, and not just about deeds you do. If it were, then Christian faith would be like trying to get to know a celebrity - you would either be guessing the right passcode to get through their mansion gates, or you'd be trying to hop the fence. It would be easy to know about the celebrity, and never really know them. But thankfully, God is not like a celebrity who keeps a safe distance from his fans. In Jesus, God came to earth. He didn’t have to, but he passed through those gates into our world and made it possible for us to know him personally. God took on human flesh, clothed in the way people were clothed in first century Israel, and spoke their language. We can actually know God, who came to earth in Jesus, and is active today through his Holy Spirit. Even though Jesus died and rose and since returned to heaven, we can still know him by studying his words, communicating with him in prayer, and with the community he calls his body on earth – the church. Like the one we are forming in Ajax in Durham Region just East of Toronto. The saying is true: it's not about what you know, or do, it’s about who you know. Who you know, will then affect what you say and do. Words and deeds are important, but are no substitute for the full picture of life in God's kingdom given in the Sermon on the Mount. It's about actually following who you say you follow. Inviting him to transform life…not just saying he does. The aim is to have him transform our hearts, so they look more like his. How do we know? That’s what Jesus has been teaching all through the Sermon on the Mount. He's been describing what God’s heart looks like, and wants your heart to look like, so that it transforms the rest of your life. The health of your actual heart matters – blood passes through to all areas of the body. An unhealthy heart means unhealthy life. No matter how healthy you appear, you aren’t healthy if your heart is hurting. God wants to transform the heart of our lives, so all other areas of life get healthy. And he warns us that starting with our words and actions will result in failure. It starts with openness to Jesus…a willing submission to his will. Challenge: List some ways to intentionally get to know a new friend, neighbour or colleague better. Now list ways you can intentionally get to know Jesus better. Pick one from each list and try it today.

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