Post Sunday August 16 2009

“I will seek the one I love,” Song of Solomon 3:2

There is an aspect of yesterday’s parables (Matthew 13:44-46) that Jesus told that is absolutely thrilling. That is the fact that you have found that priceless item. That item of immeasurable worth. That person that you have dreamed of for years upon years. That thing that if you had it you are certain it would totally revolutionize your life. In this parable the two individuals came upon this priceless treasure, this priceless pearl and they were able to take possession of it! Now that is exciting, getting that in which you wanted. All of us love that, all of us love getting what we desire.

Here is the difficult part. This priceless item is Christ. This priceless item comes with a price tag, namely as the parable told us, stop what we are doing and sell off all we have (remember we talked through what we sell: Our sin, our self-righteousness and our prejudices).

We sell off our sin because our sin does not belong in the presence of this priceless item and can’t be in the presence of this priceless item.

We sell off our self-righteousness because it is no match for this priceless item, we may be good but we can never be perfectly good like this priceless item.

We sell off our prejudices because even our good beliefs that we lean toward (remember we specifically talked about our desire to promote taking care of the environment) pale in comparison to the truth that this priceless item speaks forth.

If we honestly take our time thinking through those three things it can lead us to believe that we do not really need to stop and sell off everything to possess this priceless item and we instead settle for the Happy Meal version of this priceless item. We make it into just what we want, which is a quick meal and a toy. It feeds us, without taking up too much of our time and we have fun at the same time…….

All of us have at least one sin that we struggle deeply with and if we are completely honest with ourselves we have either continued to live in that sin and told Happy Meal Jesus that He is going to have to live with it or we justify it by saying well, Jesus is love, so He is fine with what we’ve decided to do. Last I checked the Happy Meal did not come with a crown of thorns, a rugged wooden cross and nails? That’s what Jesus’ Happy Meal contained in order to offer us forgiveness of sin. And we are to share in the fellowship of His sufferings (see Paul’s letter to the Philippians…)

All of us struggle in some form or another with self-righteousness. Because of what we have done, maybe we gave up an afternoon and helped someone for example, thus our Happy Meal should contain exactly the meal and toy we want which would be not having to trouble ourselves with serving anyone that night. I mean we just served all afternoon! Why on earth would Jesus want us continuing! We say good enough, when oddly enough Jesus responded to one person who called Him good with this statement: Matthew 19:17 “So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

All of us lean toward certain prejudices in our lives. We are all more sensitive to certain things, especially things and people we have grown an affinity toward. Do you know that most Happy Meals normally come with this question now: Do you want the boy Happy Meal or the girl Happy Meal? And there is the Big Kids Happy Meal and the Little Kid Happy Meal. There is a Happy Meal that is now better suited for each child. Let’s be honest our view of Jesus is the view that best fits our prejudices in life. If you have kids that impacts your view of Jesus. If you have pets that impacts your view of Jesus. If you love nature that impacts your view of Jesus. If you grew up poor and are now self-made financially that impacts your view of Jesus. If you struggle financially that impacts your view of Jesus. If you have been in the church for decades that impacts your view of Jesus. Each life and lifestyle demands a different Happy Meal Jesus. He isn’t just indescribable, He is also indefinable.

That being said it is not ours to set the price tag. It is not ours to say what and what we will not stop. The priceless item, namely Christ is the One who sets the price and sets the standards (what to stop and what not to stop).

How do you discover the price and standards? Read the opening verse again from Song of Solomon.

This is spoken by the Shulamite Woman, the common woman who was now united to the king, King Solomon. This common woman married to this “priceless” (I use that term to keep our thinking on the priceless Christ, not to say that Solomon was priceless!) king. This woman found herself at night without him and let me read you the entire portion of verse 2.

Song of Solomon 3:2 "I will rise now," I said, "And go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love." I sought him, but I did not find him.”

How diligently are you pursuing the priceless Christ? This woman stopped what she was doing (namely sleeping) and began to search. Remember what she stopped was sleeping, so she is tired and weary, yet she was willing to forsake that and search for her priceless love. She isn’t going to settle for the Happy Meal that allows her to sleep and catch up with her love later. Second best isn’t good enough when there is a priceless item on the line. Is Christ priceless to you or is He the drive thru when it is convenient and pick up the Happy Meal to you? I know that is hard to hear it should be we are talking about the priceless Savior of the world!

Did she ever find him? Yup. Verse 4 of Song of Solomon chapter 3: “When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go.” How easily do you release the priceless Christ from your grip? Is He disposable because you know there is a McDonalds down the street and picking up another Happy Meal Jesus when you need is easy enough so no bother sticking with Him?

My fear is that our love for Jesus is mainly based on our love of things going Happy Meal right in our lives, instead of the sacrifice of things that coming into possession of a true priceless item requires.

I can’t answer that for you. For me….I know that my search must be diligent that I am always seeking the one I love in moments of doubt, confusion, disappointment and anxiety and when I do find Him, I must hold on like there is no tomorrow, which come to think of it, how do I know what tomorrow contains for me if at all?

A Happy Meal is Nice, but I would much rather be at the Table that the Priceless Christ sets for me, some days there isn’t much food set on the table for He is teaching me something and other days that table is so loaded with good food (i.e. tater tots) that I feel like the most spoiled individual ever. Priceless items tend to do those things, teach you through sacrifice and fulfill you through lavishness.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. Which Jesus have you placed your faith in? Happy Meal Jesus or Priceless Jesus?

pastor e