Growing Wings - Lessons for Earthbound Christians

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be in the crowds on that day? I picture the sun shining, the crowds sitting around Jesus, neighbors next to neighbors, friends near friends, those who have been healed sitting with a sense of expectancy. I picture the Pharisees who have been following there as well, listening. I wonder if the words of Jesus changed their hearts, or if their hearts were as hardened at the end as they were at the beginning.

Most of them viewed Jesus as a miracle worker. They had failed to see Jesus as someone who had something to teach them. Here, on the mountain, Jesus began to speak … and he taught them that life was more than about miracles. Physical healing was good, but spiritual healing was more important. It was here on the mountain that Jesus gave them their first vision of what it would be like in the Kingdom of God, and it was here at His feet that they began their journey of faith.

John the Baptist proclaimed “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” In the words of Jesus we hear what the Kingdom of God should look like. In fact, Jesus encourages his disciples to live in the Kingdom of God here on earth. I call it kingdom living, and if all who lived here on earth chose to live in the way that Jesus taught, God’s Kingdom would, indeed, come … on earth as it is in heaven. In fact, just as the followers of Jesus were caught up in the troubles of their time – held captive by the Romans, we are also caught. We are caught and earthbound … wanting something to set us free to be the people Jesus calls us to be.

And so, as pastor of an individual church, I decided to take time with my congregation to look back at the Sermon on the Mount. Was it relevant to the way we lived our lives today? Could sitting at the feet of Jesus for awhile change our opinions and attitudes about what was important? Could we grow new wings of faith as we listened and lived out our beliefs?

One of my earliest findings was that it was too easy for all of us to be the Pharisees of that time. After all, we are the religious people of today. We know what the rules are, and we are upset that others don’t follow them. We are even more upset that others disagree with us on what the rules are.

With every teaching that I studied, I found myself challenged. It was as though Jesus were speaking to me personally, as though He could see right inside of my heart and knew right where my personal sins were. I spent a lot of time praying, and as I worked through redoing these sermons into this book, Jesus challenged me once again.

I know it isn’t just me who finds myself sinning in the very areas where Jesus spoke. Jesus spoke these words because it is all of us who need to hear them. The sins he discusses are common among us, and are easy traps for those of us who are Christians to fall into. These are the traps that hold us back, that keep us tied down. Letting go of those sins frees us in new ways.

I invite you to join with us on the following pages of this book in sitting at His feet. Take off your shoes and put on some sandals. Wear some comfortable clothing. Come up to the mountain to hear the one who has come and is speaking to the people. This teacher, this prophet, this miraculous healer, has some wonderful things to talk about.

Not all of it will be easy. We will deal with forgiveness, anger, judging others, self-deception, pride, stewardship, and just about every other area that we normally don’t want to talk about. At the end of each section, we will stop and reflect on what Jesus is saying. We will be challenged; we will find ourselves wondering if anyone could really live this way.

Because it won’t be easy, you will be tempted to put down this book and stop at places where Jesus challenges your deepest held convictions of what you think are your rights. You won’t be alone, because many who followed Him did the same.

This is why the earliest disciples gathered together. It is in the community of faith where others are trying to live the same way that we feel safest beginning to walk in the steps of Jesus, living as Jesus lived, living as Jesus taught.

Take this sermon by Jesus a little bit at a time. Reflect, not just on what Jesus said, but on what it means in your life. Join together with other Christians and commit yourselves to follow Jesus in the way that Jesus taught.

Perhaps it isn’t too late. Maybe today, we can begin the walk that transforms our world into God’s Kingdom here on earth. Maybe today, instead of being earthbound Christians, caught up in the ways of the world, we can be freed, freed to grow into the new beings that Jesus taught us to be.

I had struggled through the sermons and had nearly completed the book, and in fact, at that time, I had a working title of Kingdom living. It was then that my daughter had an assignment for her photography class. She was to tell a story using only photos, and she wanted to convey that children are like butterflies, that they have stages of growth, and as they grow, they grow wings.

God uses everyone in telling His story, and it was there in the photos she took of her daughter that I first glimpsed the true title of this book – Growing Wings. Because each one of us is caught up in our caterpillar lives, and it is only when we die to ourselves that we can turn into the butterflies that God created us to be.

Join us here in the book. Listen to the words of Jesus. And I invite you to feel the buds on your shoulders as you become free to fly.