I've been challenged lately as I've reflected back upon my life so far.  It hasn't been bad, by any means, but it has been quite the roller coaster.  I've had my ups and downs, dealing with image, popularity, and society, and I've even had my loops, dealing with issues like salvation and mortality.  If I could make my life into a ride at Cedar Point, I'm making bank right about now.  At the age of 14 though, I decided not to ride the coaster alone.  February 1999 was when I accepted Jesus as my savior and from that point on, He's been there to help me at any point along the tracks.

I only wish His presence with me and in my life meant that my struggles were done with.  But in fact, knowing Him personally for eight years has caused me to become a hinderance in my own walk.  You see, I'm learning the Word of God.  I've learned most of the usual stories and a few of the seldom-cited ones.  I know their basic messages, and I know what I need to take from them.  In fact, there are times I end up relying more and more on my knowledge of these stories and scriptures than I rely on the person of Jesus, who died for my salvation.  There are times in my life when I've gotten "too good" for Jesus.

I feel that this is a common thread throughout society.  Dr. Rob Myers said it greatly this past Sunday,

"The greatest sin in America is the same sin as in the Garden of Eden.  We grow to feel that we don't need God."

Society fills our heads with messages about helping ourselves.  We have the power to mend broken relationships in and of ourselves.  We have the ability to find happiness in and of ourselves.  We can even find the meaning of life if we look deep enough inside ourselves.  Society teaches us that we don't need a God that we can't see...we already have one that we can see face to face in any mirror.

I've been consistently brought back to the passage in Matthew 9 when Jesus calls Matthew from the tax booth to follow Him.  This is where Jesus and his disciples reclined at the table with the sinners and tax collectors.  The Pharisees saw this and were infuriated.  They wanted to know why sinners and tax collectors (also not very high up on people's lists) were dining with Jesus and they were not.  Jesus heard their questioning and answered...this answer provoked this thought of mine today.

"...He said, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick...I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'"  Matthew 9: 12-13

You and I both know we are all sinners.  Looking at scripture, you know that the Pharisees were just as much a group of sinners as the ones meeting at that table.  The Pharisees just rested in their knowledge of scripture more than in the presence of Jesus.  They had gotten "too good" for Jesus.

We are all sinners, though some of us have received the blessing of salvation through our trust in Jesus.  The moment you rely more on your own righteousness than on Christ's Love and Grace, you are eliminating your effectiveness for the cause of Christ.  Will you choose to sit at the Savior's table, acknowledging your need for Him, and devoting your life to living for Him?  Or might you yourself choose to be "too good" for Jesus?

As a group of Christ followers across various generations, we are all in need of a revival.  We have the power in our hearts to make a difference because our hearts are occupied by and in the posession of the Risen Lord.  We need to bring all that we do in life back to Him, and get back to making a difference in the lives of others for eternity.

I'm no longer too good for Jesus.  Are you?