Mike Rusch

…this may deal more with motivation than with result.

Matt 6 begins…

¹“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

²“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

So, my first question is ‘what is our motivation for serving and giving to the poor?’

Is it to receive rewards in heaven, or is to receive rewards here on earth? It sounds like the answer to this question then sits within the context of how we served (either out in the open or done in privately).

Honestly, with the work we do within the Cobblestone Project, this question has been put to us from time to time (and fairly so). It’s a question we all have to answer and reconcile within our hearts and minds as to our true motivation.

However, before I continue, I think it is interesting that Jesus pairs this message of serving and giving to the poor publicly with prayer in public.

⁵“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him

and then Jesus goes on to instruct us how to pray.

I return to my earlier question, ‘what is our motivation for praying this way?’, and I again return to context. Is it to receive rewards in heaven or here on earth?

Honestly, within the work we do within the Cobblestone Project, the question of why we don’t pray in public has come up from time to time (and fairly so). It’s a question we all have to answer and reconcile within our hearts and minds as to our true motivation.

Side note: it is interesting to me that it is typically the people who question why we display our ‘works’ who are also the same people who question why we don’t pray.

I believe this is where I have personally settled, and I believe it is quite simple.

I don’t pursue or subscribe to a rewards based theology.

Think about the consequences of me pursuing a rewards based marriage or a rewards based friendship. It simply doesn’t work in that context, so why would I assume that it would work in the context of my relationship with the Creator of the universe?

I am simply pursuing to love, to serve and to pray out of the excess of my heart and only because of what our Father has already done for me. I simply do not know what else to do.

If God is the great “accountant” in the sky who keeps track of my works and prayers here on earth, I guess I am wrong. However, at the end of the day, I truly know who I am. I am an adopted son of the Creator of the universe because of my faith alone, and it is because of this that I know that I have already received everything.

I simply have nothing more to gain.

…let me say that again.

I simply have nothing more to gain.

I not sure that our culture largely understands or believes this issue of identity, because if we truly know who we are, we don’t have to be told what to do. Would love your thoughts and observations. Grace & Peace.

from Luke 8:43-48…

“Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed…”

Did you catch that in the story?

There is a story in the bible about Jesus arriving to a place to find a crowd of people who were “all expecting him.” We are told that a man in the crowd pleads with Jesus to come to his house to heal his daughter who was dying, and so off they go.

However, the story reports that the crowds around Jesus “almost crushed him” as he walked through them. In the middle of this sea of people, one woman’s quiet attempt to touch the edge of Jesus’s cloak in hope for healing was noticed.

What was outcome? Who was the woman? Why is this story important? What kind of faith did she have?

I think I’ll focus on the fact that she was even noticed at all…

Something happened when this woman touched “the edge of his cloak,” but it sounds like a lot of people were doing that. In fact, this story seems to lean towards the idea that she was even trying to go unnoticed. So what was different about this woman? Something must have been different because Jesus asked a question that He did not need to ask.

“Who touched me?”

Why ask the question? I believe He knew the answer to that question, and I believe He knew exactly who touched Him. I believe He knew she was going to touch Him from the moments of her very first breath, so why ask the question?

Was it so that He would know the answer, or did He ask so that the people around Him would stop and notice?

For some in the crowd, there may have been a problem with noticing. There may have been a problem because according to the Jewish belief this woman did not have the ability to approach God. This woman’s type of brokenness made her unclean to worship God in the temple and the religious people of the day were not allowed to even touch her or they would be considered unclean as well. But, that didn’t stop Jesus…

So what can I find in this short encounter?

I find presence…

It tells me to be aware and present with the needs right in front of me (even if I’m on my way to serving someone else).

It tells me that being present draws people towards more than just physical healing.

“seeing that she could not go unnoticed, [she] came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him…He said to her, “Daughter, you faith has healed you. Go in peace.“

She spoke of physical healing, but I think Jesus is talking about something far greater.

It tells me that God’s reaction to brokenness is to engage in it where ever it is even if that brokenness is found along a road leading to engaging brokenness.

Little redundant? Maybe, but be patient with me as I am still “pursuing” this concept of “presence” and it has not been easy. It hasn’t been easy because my presence is not just physical; it is also found in the awareness of what is around me. There is just so much to do (Jesus was on His way to heal a girl who was literally dying, so did He really have time to stop?  Regardless, He did).

For me, being present is a really easy concept to understand, but I’m feeling like it may be impossible to actually accomplish.  However, maybe I’m supposed to “accomplish” presence.  Maybe, just maybe, being present means that I have nothing that needs to be accomplished.

I will continue to pursue with the hope that it will be found…

I’m not really sure when or how the conversation started. Maybe it was over a random cup of coffee or a comment that was said in passing, or maybe something as simple as a few people being a room together. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I was a part of the conversation. However, whatever the situation was, it must have been good…

…because somewhere these themes of Rescue & Redemption began to simmer until they found another expression last Sunday evening at The Well.

Past couple years for me (and Corrie) have been a pretty amazing and fast paced journey down a road of rediscovering faith in the context of the larger story that God is telling in the world around us. Looking back, I think I wasted a lot of years trying to figure out how to get more God into my plans for life vs. the other way around. It hasn’t been an easy road to walk, but it has been filled with incredible stories of people & their lives being changed.

I don’t yet know Seth (Primm), Matt, Rick, Seth (Haines) or Philip as well as I’d like to (or plan to), but I do know that being surround and influenced by a group of people like that is pretty incredible. I truly appreciate the impact they have had on my life and for being voices of encouragement along the way.

…looking for a couple places to continuing exploring these themes?  Try…

• On Adoption - “From Ashes to Africa” by Josh & Amy Bottomly
• On finding the image of God in everyone - “Sex God” by Rob Bell
• On how our culture is changing - “UnChristian” by Gabe Lyons & David Kinnaman and “Lord Save Us from your Followers” by Dan Merchant
• On story - “Searching for God Knows What” by Donald Miller

I’d love to hear your story of Rescue & Redemption. Would you share?

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(you can visit The Well’s website and go to Media > Messages to steal a listen to the evening)