What if My Family Tree is Rotten?

     I get asked a lot if I’m a male model.  I have to tell them no.  I’m a preacher.  Why are you laughing?  No really, stop laughing.  Whether you believe me or not, we human beings make many judgments based on outward appearances.  Sometimes that can get us in trouble.  We miss a good movie because of a bad trailer, we skip a great book because of lousy cover.  Sometimes we miss a great friend because of they way they look or act.  

     Paul warned the church at Philippi that they needed to be on the look out for false teachers calling themselves “The Circumcision.”  They were obsessed with family trees, 8 day old *ahem* “procedures,” rule keeping, proper attire and checklists.  They wanted to make sure the new Gentile Christians kept all the old Mosaic laws and looked the part of a good God-Fearer.  Paul saw through their mask of holiness and peered into their hearts.  They weren’t really following Jesus. They were following Jesus +.  Jesus + anything equals nothing.  

     Enough was enough.  Paul was ready to compare the outward stuff.  He reads off the laundry list of areas where he was “more holy” than the Circumcision group.  They were Jews, he was a pharisee.  It was like trying to compare your 8th grade Free Throw contest win with Michael Jordan’s basketball career.  

     He lays out all of his accomplishments and reasons for why God should accept him and then he does the unexpected.  He tosses them in the trash.  More importantly, he throws them away so he can have Christ instead.  He realized that Jesus + anything is nothing.  It’s Jesus or nothing.  You may be thinking, this has nothing to do with me.  I’m not Jewish, or a Pharisee.  I don’t have a tribe or anything like that.  Still, we do get caught up on having the right image.  We get really concened about how we look, what we wear and even how we act.  Don’t get me wrong, those things can be good things.  They become a problem when we focus on them instead of loving Jesus.  When we get more concerned about wearing the right clothes rather than worrying about someone being clothed in Christ; we are wrong.  When we start talking about things we can’t say or do ‘at church,’ but any other time they are fine, we are wrong!  If we ever start thinking or saying, “My family has been at this church for 50 years, who are you?,” we are wrong.  When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, our family tree doesn’t matter, our wardrobe doesn’t matter (except modesty), and our history doesn’t matter.  What matters is, “Am I in Christ?”   

     The only thing that mattered to Paul was knowing the power of Christ’s resurrection and to share in suffering like Jesus had for him.  That’s really all that matters in our lives. At least that’s the way it should be. Instead of bragging about our years of service or how many generations of our family have been in the church, or looking the part, let’s focus on letting Jesus change us.  Let’s let the Holy Spirit have more influence in our lives.  Let’s see what God can do through us, in the lives of others, so that we can be Jesus to them.  Whatever you count as a + in your corner, throw it away and just lean on Jesus.  He will never let you down even when your clothes are out of style, your family tree is rotten and your perfect attendance pins are rusted.  Oh, and stop laughing about me being a model.   
Read Philippians 3:1-11