I had the opportunity to preach Sunday morning at a church where I used to attend.  It is always amazing to me how intimate my moments are with the Lord as I preach.  I have made self depreciating jokes as to my lack of intimacy with Him elsewhere but the bottom line truth is if I ever hear Him “speak” to me it’s generally while I am preaching.

I have spoken before of my (or anyone’s) inner monologue.  It’s that audio tape that is constantly running inside your head as you communicate outwardly.  It is, to a degree, your mind and social awareness working hard at preparing for whatever is (hopefully) coming up next  or (much less effectively) what has just happened.  You know, after someone says hello to you and you just replied, “fine fine you?” your inner monologue is berating you, “You moron!  You just replied to hello with ‘fine’?!?!?!”

It is just beyond that inner monologue where I hear His “voice”.  It speaks more to my heart and less to my head (if that makes any sense).  Further, whereas my monologue is always all about me, when He speaks to me (mind you it’s not, I repeat NOT audible…but not far from it) it’s about something I’m not presently even aware of and certainly not thinking about.

So, during my sermon I was reading 1 Peter 3: 18

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

I was talking about the fact that to have a relationship with Christ is to basically make a “deal” with Jesus.  He, a perfect human being, pays the required price for my sins so that I can again have an unbroken relationship with God the Father.  The deal is that He died for me so, in turn, I live for Him.  His Spirit lives in me to help and guide me as I represent Him to a world that does not know Him.

I then went backwards (insert joke here about my ability to preach being backwards…let alone my logic or whatever) and read through 1 Peter 3: 13-17 and hit this “aha” moment while talking about 3: 15a

¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.

I talked about how many people want Jesus Christ to be their “Savior” but aren’t real keen on the idea of Him (or anyone) being their “Lord.”  We’re big in our society on receiving things for free but not real excited about someone guiding, let alone telling, us where to go and what to do.  This is true even if that person is doing it 100% in our best interest and knows us and loves us more than we could ever imagine.  It was at that point that a recent observation jumped into my head.

I read on a social media platform last week where someone’s cat had tragically and suddenly died.  The person stated, “That’s it God, you took my cat and I’m done with you.”  As I was speaking to this church I thought  to myself, “hmmm.  So that is how much this person values Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.  A cat.”  Please understand this, I know that a pet is precious or at least can be.  I know that it is a part of, if not for some people their only, family.  I have lost way too many in my day…we don’t get them anymore for that very reason (amongst others).  Yet, by saying, “My cat died so I’m done with you God” they have made the value of His sacrifice/their relationship with God equal to (or less than) the value of that cat, or pet, or family member.

The thought then occurred to me, “what would make me say ‘I’m done with you Lord.’?”  Many people are surprised that Rachel and I have stayed so steadfast in our beliefs and faith during this time with Trey.  We certainly can’t say for sure but we don’t see that changing if/when the diagnosis for Trey proves accurate and he passes.  We have decided to revere Him as Lord, not ourselves or our wishes/desires.  What if one of us gets sick (we will…someday), what if another of our children has something happen to them, what if something happens to us not health related?  Is our faith contingent upon a certain level of health/happiness/ or material stability?  I sure hope not.  The price He paid is far too great.  The debt we owed (for our sin) is/was far too burdensome.

I say all of this quite carefully and admittedly honestly with you knowing that it could appear quite judgmental if not self righteous.  I realize that the person listed above is coming along with their walk with Him at their pace and that their story is their story, not mine.  Further, I know that it is a random social media outburst and not a definitive statement.

Yet, God put this post on my heart (ooooh, the Christian trump card) for a reason and as much as I can tell it’s a loving warning.  Not that He will punish you but rather He loves you.  He did die…for you.  Bad things, very bad things, sickness, loss, financial difficulty, social disgrace, and yes, death are coming your way no matter who you are (maybe not all but an inglorious “pick two” at least) or what you believe.  He’s not in the business of making us “happy” or “not sad”.  He is concerned with having a relationship with us through these things.  He is/was so concerned that the value He put on it was the life of His only Son.  What value do you put on it?