Not As Easy As You Think!

Speedy Morris, Baseball coach for LaSalle University, was shaving when his wife told him he had a call from Sports Illustrated. He got so excited over the possibility of national recognition, that he hurriedly finished shaving and nicked himself in the process. Not wanting to delay the caller he ran out of the bathroom, lost his balance, and tumbled down the stairs. Limping, with blood and lather on his face, he finally got to the phone.

“Sports Illustrated?” he panted…

Imagine Morris’s disappointment when the voice on the other end of the phone droned on, “Yes it is, and for just seventy –five cents an issue you can have Sports Illustrated delivered to your door.”
Life is full of disappointments, but maybe the greatest disappointments come from those things that promise so much yet deliver so little. Each and every one of us has been on both sides of this situation. We have felt the disappointment of promises not fulfilled, and we have made promises in one way or another that have not been delivered.

As Matthew brings his account of Jesus Sermon on the Mount to a close he reminds us that it's easy to miss our way into life if we are chasing after things instead of Jesus. Things will disappoint! They will break, go out of style, wear out, or we will become disillusioned with them and want something new or better. What is worse if we are pursuing them, they will eventually lead us to the wide path and away from Jesus!

13 "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. 14 But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it. Matthew 7: 13,14 (NLT)

For three days Jesus pointed out choices. Now as he ends this sermon He reminds us that we can enter the broad gate, plug into the wrong source, or build on an unstable foundation. And if we choose those paths we will end up being very disappointed, because none of them deliver what they promise. The other option is to enter the Gate of Life through Jesus, Plug into the source of hopefulness in Jesus, and build our lives on a foundation that will never fail…

History is littered with people who’ve trusted something else only to find disappointment: Jones Town, Waco, TX, New Orleans, and maybe your life or the life of those you know and love. if you’re just grazing from one thing to the next… let me encourage you to focus on Jesus come into Jesus’ fold and follow Him to Life.

Pressing On,
Dale