What Are Humans?

What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Psalm 8:4

Let me try to answer that.

We are perfect. We love one another. We care for one another. We give our all for God. We serve God with our all. We don't do wrong. We are kind to one another. There is no hungry man in the streets since we look out for each other. There is no abused in homes or any other places because we respect each other. There are no homeless in our world, we shelter our brethren. We give way to others at the ATM lines or at the intersection. We affirm each others works. We accept each others limitations. We don't gossip of each other. We pray for the welfare of all, even the ones we don't get along. We don't compete, we complement. We always think positive about other people. We don't doubt the goodness of God and man. We hold out temper and have tremendous patience in times of distress.

I can continue all day and all night. But I won't. Bottom line is this, we are like as enumerated above thus God cares for us.

Wake me up!

Because in reality, the first twp paragraphs are just a dream. Maybe you can satisfy one or few sentences but not all.
Humans are imperfect. We fight each other. I don't care, you don't care. We are selfish. There are hungry people in our sight. There are homeless. There are abused in our midst. We outdo one another to be on top or be first. We disrespect each other. We falter. We do wrong. We sin.

You know why? Because we are mere mortals. Only an immortal being would care. Only an immortal God will.

God cares for us. God loves us, mere mortals.

Center

Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,.. Mark 7:1

They followed him like his disciples.

Yes, the Pharisees and scribes. Ever since Jesus began his ministry, they were there. They walked with him. They might have ate with him. They listened to what he said. They looked at his actions. His last step is as important as his next, for these Pharisees and scribes. They were like Peter, John, James and Andrew. They closely observed Jesus.

Mark puts it this way, "Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,..". Man, they stick like glue. However, they are not there to follow him. They are near him to give him questions. They throw their inquiries to cast doubts on his real followers. They examine him like a CSI agent analyzes a crime scene. Their sentences always starts with "Why".

That was centuries ago. Today, Pharisees won't be around you. But questions and doubts are encircling you.

"Why a lay-off?"
"Why a sickness?"
"Why a chaotic family life?"
"Why a stumbling block ahead?"
"Why death?"
"Why a dead end job?"
"Why poverty exists in our nation?"
"Why spiritual growth is slow?"
"Why bad things happen to good people?"
"Why global warming?"
"Why a rebel child lives in your home?"

You know what? It is good to ask questions and cast your doubts to Jesus. As long as you ask them with a sincere heart wanting to be enlightened. Don't be like these Pharisees trying to trap him or trying to trick him.

In both situations Jesus is at the center. The difference is this, for the Pharisees, Jesus is at the center of the problem. For the believers, Jesus is at the center of the solution.

Personal Touch

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed. Mark 6:56

In CNBC's Titans, George Foreman's story on how a boxer became a successful entrepreneur was essayed good for the eyes and ears. From the top of the ring, the man was on the top of the world. It all started with the grill.

Yes, the George Foreman grill. It let goes the fat. It gives you healthy food. It has his name. Seems to have his personal touch. But it only carried his name for the grill to sell. It was not created by him. The created doesn't match the creator.

Genesis tells us God created us and this large universe. He created the sky, the sun, the moon and the planets and the stars. He created the animals, the birds, the four legged ones, and the fishes. The trees and the plants, he made. It has his personal touch. It has his signature all around us.

Mark tells about the opposite way. The created touching the Creator. Man touching God. Specifically, sick men and women getting their hands on the cloak of Jesus, the Lord.

You got to be ready for this.

There is personal connection between the Creator and the created. Why?

Both long for each others touch. There is a signature within which thirst for the presence and the touch of each other. God can reach us and touch us. And we can reach out and touch our God.

There's a match between the Creator and the created. That's what you call personal touch.

Salt

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Matthew 5:13

When Evelyn Salt was released from a North Korean prison, the love of her life was waiting for her at the exchange. Salt was a CIA agent and her first statement to him was, "Why are you here? You are not safe with me!" His response caught my heart, "I don't want to be safe, I know you and I want to be with you."

If that won't tickle your humanity, I don't know what will.

Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth. His call for us is not to be safe. Yet you want to be. Safe for yourself. Safe from others' ridicule. You want to be safe from peer pressure that you don't want friends or office mates to tag you as fanatic. You want to be safe from what others might say about your Christian beliefs. You want to be safe in conforming with the not-so-positive culture of your family or clan when they come together. For when we want to be safe, we lose our taste, thrown away and trampled underfoot. No good for anything.

His call for us is to live a life knowing him and being with him- to be the salt of the earth. It's not a guarantee to safety. It's a guarantee of loyalty. It's a symbol of you stick with him no matter what the price is. Knowing what he will do so you know what you will do. Being with him when you are with others or alone with yourself.

Don't be on the safe side. Know him, be with him. Tickle the earth. Be the salt.

Stay Not Away

We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:25

His jaw dropped.

Upon hearing this, "We travel a total six hours to attend prayer meetings and have fellowship with brothers and sisters." Though we do this once a month or seldom twice, there are considerable practical considerations for doing so. Packing for overnights. Physical toll. Payments for toll and gas. Weekends given away. Girls get bored on the long travel. McDo stops, bad for health. Minivan gets more mileage. Very tired father-driver. All these issues are overshadowed by one reason.

We want to stay not away.

Keep in touch with the assembly. Be part of a community. Be given support and be present to provide support. Share God's work and work for God. More than just attending and having fun, we encourage one another. We share our trials and victories. We open our difficulties and bring out triumphs. We talked about our weaknesses and build on our strengths. We speak with one another and we listen to one another. This is staying together. This is coming together. This is assembling for God and for each other.

When you come to the church, a prayer gathering or a support group meeting, be sure to stay not away.