“What’s in it for me?”
That can be a legitimate question. If we’re being asked to do something which requires a great deal of time and energy, we do need to know how we are going to benefit from all our efforts.
But that question can also dominate our lives. It’s not a long step from being responsible to becoming totally self-centered. We look at people and think, “What can they do for me?” We consider helping someone and wonder, “What will I get out of it?” And, whether we will admit it or not, we sometimes feel the same way about Jesus. We wonder, “What has he done for me, lately?”
The truth is, even in our relationship with God, we’re wanting to get our way and that usually means wanting to feel good. It isn’t hard to figure out why so many people are looking for a Feel Good Jesus. They just want him to make them feel good about themselves so that they can enjoy life on their terms.
On the first Palm Sunday, there were a lot of people looking for a Feel Good Jesus. They were shouting “Hosanna” and dancing in the streets. But what they wanted was a Jesus who would make them feel good by driving the Romans out and ushering in a time of financial prosperity. A Jesus who would suffer, die and rise again did not fit into their feel good plans.
While it’s easy to look back in history and judge other people with 20-20 hindsight, it is a much healthier exercise to look closely at our own attitudes towards Jesus and ask, “Do I want the Jesus of the Bible or do I want a Jesus who will grant me an unlimited number of personal wishes?
As we celebrate Palm Sunday, remember
Jesus comes as the King of Kings. He does not give us the option of molding him
into the kind of king we want him to be. We must receive him as he is, whether
it makes us feel good or not.
Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday:
10:00 am
