The Unlimited Capacity to Claim: December 30, [Claim Your Volkswagen]

Transcription

1 The Unlimited Capacity to Claim: December 30, 2018 [Claim Your Volkswagen] Did you know That you can buy [Devil's Head Lode #1] A mining claim In Douglas county Up around Devil s Head For $3500. Devil s Head Lode No. 1 That s right. $3500 Seems like a deal. Doesn t it? But There are a few drawbacks. It s an area known for topaz Not gold or silver So it s a semi-precious stone It can be valuable But more than likely.. Less than 20 to 40 dollars A carat. A lot of work Not much pay - Also.. you know When you buy a claim You re buying the mineral rights Just the rocks Under the ground. You get timber rights That are related to your mining operation And land rights To access your claim. But that s it. What you own is limited To the rocks Underneath that little 1500 by 600 Foot rectangle But you could own that. It would belong to you. It would be all YOURS... YOUR claim. -

2 That s kind of how we look at family. [2 Family] There is a limited amount of ground we can cover. A limited number of people Who we claim belong to our family. And the criteria we usually use Is blood relation. These people Are my family Because we can check the source And make the claim That they belong to us Because they share our DNA But if we re honest We all share about 99.9% Of the same DNA. If you could trace it back We are literally All related. But blood is thicker than water. Now some families Are much more complicated Than blood relation. Some people have in-law families Step-families Adopted families Foster families Blended families Which are all different kinds of relationships Than blood based You may not share the same direct DNA lines But you are a family none-the-less It s choice based. Maybe not your choice. But someone has made a choice To gather all those people together And call them a family. And then There s another kind of family. It s based on friendship And mutual support and love. You may not be related. By blood Or by official commitment.

3 But these are the people You want to be A part of your life. They are more than just our day to day friends Or casual acquaintances. It s a group That we consider our family. It s all about claims. Who is a part of your family? It s who we claim as our own. These are the people Who belong to me. Everybody else Sorry you re on your own. You don t belong. You re not a part. This is my life This is my circle You are in But you are out. I only have So much to give. - How we view The value of other people Is often based On whether we live Out of a sense of abundance Or an attitude of scarcity That the resources Are like silver Volkswagens Or mineral rights To a 20 acre strip of land. When we see all of our resources As limited resources. We can claim only this many people And no more. This is the group Into which I can pour my love. The rest is outside of my realm Of responsibility. When I was a kid I used to watch The Price is Right With my Grandma.

4 And even as a kid It always made me laugh When someone would win [3 Turtle Wax] A lifetime supply of Turtle Wax. I tried to do the math How many times a year Do you actually wax your car? And how many swipes of wax Do you actually take out of a can Of Turtle Wax. A little dab will do ya. I know that s Brill Cream But the principle is the same. You don t need much. But when I was researching this sermon I actually found a post From someone who won A lifetime supply of Turtle Wax The received 7 cans. That s it. That s a lifetime supply. According to the Turtle Wax company. If you live longer than 7 tubs You re out of luck. Because it s a limited resource. - But what if Our potential to love And care for other people Isn t limited like that. What if our capacity for family Goes beyond what we think We can handle... And rests more With what God thinks our family should be. In the lesson for today John 1:12-13 [4 John 1-13] But to all who received him, Who believed in his name, He gave power to become children of God, Who were born, Not of blood Or of the will of the flesh Or of the will of man, But of God. Simple criteria

5 When you receive and believe [5 Receive and Believe] Then you are born of God. That s it. That s all there is to it. People want to make All kind of criteria In order to belong To their family Their clan Their church. But as people of faith We can t do that. I mean of course We can be jerks We can keep people out We can work hard To make them feel Excluded But that s not God s will That s human bologna. Belonging is not our s to give. The claim belongs to God. The offer is ever present To every single person Who has ever lived And who will ever live. And we don t get to decide. They do. So whether we think they have a place here or not Is not our call. Whether or not We welcome them with kind words. Whether or not We are gracious Whether or not We give them Part of what we think Belongs to us. This church. This word. This communion. This fellowship divine.

6 Regardless of how we feel [6 God s Door] About anyone else. GOD S DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN. If they receive Christ Into their hearts. If they believe in Jesus In their hearts. It doesn t matter Who s child they were It doesn t matter What their pedigree is It doesn t matter If they have been good or bad Rich or poor Dirty or clean Kind or mean Born a Lutheran Or born a Buddhist. The moment We receive and believe God gives us all The power The unlimited power To become children of God. And that s what we are Born of God Not flesh. Not blood. This has nothing to do With genetics at all. We are born A child of God. And more than that. If we belong to God. And in a round about way Everyone else who belongs to God... Belongs to us. Because they are God s children And we are God s children Therefore We are Sisters and brothers in Christ. Holy siblings

7 With everyone else Who claims to receive and believe And love God. And that should make a difference In how we see things. - This is a story from Reader s Digest About how children see things. [7 Shocked Kid] One day a woman was Driving down the road With her three children On a warm summer evening. As they drove a woman In a convertible ahead of them Stood up and waved. Which was fine except The lady was completely naked! As the mother struggled With the shock of the event Trying to think of something to say From the back seat her five year old shouted Oh my gosh Mom! That lady isn t wearing a seat belt! - Children see things differently. With innocence and kindness And graciousness and genuine concern And love and grace. I know they can be little pains too But the good stuff seems to come More easily to children. We are children God s children. And we too are called to see things differently. And treat people Differently And to understand [8 Love Unlimited] That our family Has an unlimited capacity To grow. God can handle it. So. Be careful my friends. Don t ever look At what we have been given here

8 As we look at everything else In this world. This is different. This is unlimited. This is Christ. And his grace His love Is well Just more than Like Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:18 I pray that you may have The power to comprehend, With all the saints, What is the breadth and length And height and depth, And to know the love of Christ That surpasses knowledge, So that you may be filled With all the fullness of God. God is big. So is our family. Thanks be to God. Amen!