I remember as a small kid drinking Kool-Aid. I liked it but the biggest drawback was the ton of sugar needed to make it desirable. That was before they introduced the pre-sweetened type. One thing I enjoyed was when the juice was almost all gone, as I drank, the sugary water would slowly pour into my mouth as I held the cup bottoms-up for a while. One day I was excited to show my mom what was flowing into my mouth. When she saw it, she said, “Ah, next time as you’re almost done, shake it some. So, the next time as I was nearing the end of my juicy experience, I remembered her words and shook the cup. It swirled around and I held my cup, bottom up high, closed my eyes to enjoy that sugary rush, and nothing came out! I was disappointed! I showed mom and she said, “Good, that is what you wanted, right?” I said “NO!” “I wanted more sugar, not less!” Now I had to wait for the next time!
Sometimes shaking things up doesn’t give us what we’re expecting. Jesus came to shake things up. Before His time on earth, people were like that sugar at the bottom of my cup: clumped, dissatisfied with their lives, comfortable with knowing that their parents had once served God, but satisfied that they didn’t really need Him in theirs. During their lifetime, they grew tired and bored with “serving” God. “It is weariness,” they claimed ( Malachi 1:13).
But when Jesus came to earth, He was known as a radical. He took matters He stirred the people, He challenged them to live the law more than simply know the law. He took things even further. He often said, “You have heard…but I say…”(5:38).
Why? Because He wanted the people to know that it wasn’t about being religious like saying, “I’m a Lion’s fan because my father was one, my mom, my uncle…” He wanted them to act like a lion, become a lion. In other words, live the law. Live the Word, etc. This Christmas, do more than be religious. Live like Christ. Give of yourself like He did. He gave His life a ransom for us (Matthew 20:28). He was born to shake things up. He’s coming back and He will definitely shake things this time around. You’ll want to be on His side when that happens.
“Whose voice then shook the earth: but now has promised, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also the heavens: (Hebrews 12:26). For those on His side, life will be sweet.
Merry Christmas!
God Bless!
Sam
The Big Job truck from Christmas, 1964