Have you ever been invited to something? That
you didn't feel worthy of that you didn't think
that you quite fit in maybe as a dinner party
a banquet or or a wedding You walk in and you
wonder if the invitation was really meant for
somebody else maybe it was a black tie event
and you're dressed with your T -shirt and your
jeans for the backyard barbecue. You thought
it was going to be maybe the times whenever you're
talking with people and you hear them discussing
stocks and bonds and You're just talking about
the four -game losing streak that the Astros
just had Or even the times whenever you're trying
to walk in and you're just wondering whether
or not anybody in there even wants you there,
but the truth is Even when you walk up and you're
wondering did I just double dip without meaning
to right in front of the host, which by the way
is almost the unforgivable sin in my opinion.
The truth is that you weren't meant to earn your
place on that guest list. It wasn't a question
of whether you were impressive enough. It was
just that the host wanted you there. And that's
why you were invited. See, that's the Gospel.
That's grace. It's the start of the mystery of
who Christ is. the sort of tone that Paul is
striking in our Colossians reading. He's writing
to a group of Christians that are trying to figure
out what it even means to follow Jesus in the
first place. Is it about making sure that you're
wise and learning some new type of knowledge
that not everybody has? Is it about looking more
spiritual than the people that are around you?
It's so easy to get caught into one of these
traps, right? See, they haven't just stumbled
into it though. They've been brought into something
that is good, mysterious, eternal, but something
costly, even as it's also joyful. The mystery
of Christ in the midst of this party. So what
does this invitation look like once we're inside?
Let's look at someone who's at the party then.
someone in the middle of the action, someone
named Martha. Let's be honest, Martha always
gets a bad rap. Isn't that the truth, right?
Oh man, oh, are you being a Martha? Blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah. Really? Come on. Martha was
a dedicated disciple, y 'all. She was someone,
she and her sister and her brother, they were
following Jesus wholeheartedly. And in fact,
John 11, when Lazarus dies, it's Martha, it's
not Mary, it's Martha who runs to meet Jesus
and makes one of the most stunning declarations
of faith in all the Gospels. Yes, Lord, I believe
you are the Messiah, the Son of God, and she's
the one who believes that there will be a resurrection.
She just doesn't realize it's about to happen
right there with her brother, but she believes.
And when in John 12, Lazarus, he's made alive
again, and Jesus is sitting at the table, guess
what Martha's up to? Martha is serving everybody.
Martha shows up. Martha opens her home. She's
the one that tends to the people that are gathered
around Jesus. I mean, Martha's the one who gets
things done, and typically she's just doing it
because she cares. She serves the meal, she sets
the table. And we even see her work so hard that
she gets overwhelmed. And there was her sister
looking like she's doing nothing. Jesus, could
you just get her to do something? She's worried
and distracted by many things. You know that
moment. You've been doing well 99 .9 % of the
time and you just have that one part when it
just comes out. and it was just a little too
much. Sorry, that's just me. None of you have
ever done that before, I'm sure. The emotions
are just too strong, and one of the disciples
just happened to be writing it down for the next
2 ,000 years of people to know about. I'm really
glad nobody records all of my stuff. But Jesus
says that Mary has chosen the better part, that
being with Him matters more than performing.
for him. Martha is us. How often do we get so
caught up in doing more or trying harder to make
everything better because we somehow think it's
more about our efforts than it is about Christ
and the relationships that we're meant to celebrate.
We want the appetizer spread to be better so
we leave everybody and get in the kitchen and
start cooking again. We want to see games being
played, so we interrupt everyone's conversation
to make sure that a game of Settlers of Catan
gets started up. I've never done that. Sure.
Martha is all of us who are trying to be faithful
in the details while wrestling with the tension
between doing more, being more. Sometimes miss
the moment because we're working so hard to make
it happen. But Jesus... doesn't dismiss Martha.
We need to realize that's not what's happening
here. He loves her. And Paul says that in Christ,
even people like us, the worried people, the
distracted people, the imperfect people, are
holy in His sight without blemish and free from
accusation. You see, the party of faith, this
life of faith, it's different from other things.
Not every moment in the party is frivolous or
easy. Sometimes the music fades and we find ourselves
face to face with conflict, with struggle, or
sometimes the pain that we were hoping that the
music would just play over. But you see, suffering
is sometimes a part of the party. See, Paul says
that he rejoices in what he is suffering for
them. for the Colossians and that he fills up
in his flesh what is still lacking in regard
to Christ's afflictions. What a strange thing
to say that Paul is somehow filling what is lacking
in Christ's afflictions. But it's meant in a
very profound way, even as Christians suffer
in so many ways. See, suffering, it's not an
interruption to the Christian life. When you're
suffering, This is not somehow causing a gap
in your Christian existence. It's part of the
pattern that Jesus modeled for us. It's not because
God somehow delights in our pain, but because
we follow a Savior who suffered in love and we're
being made like Him. The way of life includes
the suffering. And in many ways, the suffering
makes it more real. See, as we listen to Paul,
there are three types of struggle that we can
really hear that resonate in us. One of them
is when the world pushes back on us. The times
whenever we feel that the world is out to get
us. This is the one that we often focus on. Whenever
we're hearing about Paul speaking about suffering,
Oftentimes Christians will talk about this idea
that living out our faith in a culture that doesn't
always understand it can lead to resistance,
rejection, even ridicule. And it happens. It
does. Sometimes, sometimes the world pushes back
simply because you showed up to the party. You
brought your faith to work, to school, to public
life, and someone told you it doesn't belong
here. You don't belong here. That kind of suffering
can feel like being the only one at a costume
party who actually wore a costume. Been there,
done that. It was still a good costume though.
You see, you stand out, but it's not in a comfortable
way. This is the one that we often see in the
world as Christians, whether it's true or not.
But you see, there's a second type of struggle,
a second type of suffering. It's when the world
weighs heavy. It's not that the world is always
pushing at us Sometimes the world is just heavy
just because it is Sometimes we struggle in the
world just because we exist, you know being God's
children Even with no one and nothing pushing
us at all We see injustice. We see brokenness
and war poverty racism our hearts ache To love
like Christ means to hurt like Christ. There
are times when it's not about persecution. No
one's persecuting us. But the pressure is still
there. Life itself is just heavy. Grief, illness,
exhaustion, anxiety. These are things that weigh
us down even when no one is targeting us. Being
at the party doesn't always mean that the music
is too loud because they want to annoy you Sometimes
you just need to sit quietly and try to hold
it together because frankly you've just had a
long week And no one can read your mind But third
sometimes my soul just weighs heavy sometimes
The hardest struggles are what's happening in
the inside. The doubt, the depression, the anxiety,
the loneliness, the anger, even the feeling of
failure when we realize that maybe we missed
the point today, and maybe we even missed Christ
right there. But even then, Christ is with us.
See, this is the internal struggle. When you
realize the real burden, it's not just outside,
it's also in you. The times when you want control,
the times when you want to be right, the times
when you want to be the host for what you think
God is going to do in the world and in your life.
But the Spirit keeps pulling you back and reminding
you that this party isn't about you and your
power. It's about surrender. It's the maturity.
where we're seeking in Christ that involves allowing
ourselves to break in a holy and refining way,
because it is actually a good thing, not self
-destruction, but self -surrender, to let the
brokenness happen inside, because God is speaking
something new into your life. See, Paul isn't
glorifying suffering for its own sake. It's always
weird when we hear these parts from Paul, right?
You're like, man, Paul, you are not quite the
upbeat person we needed at this party. You're
kind of a downer, buddy. But you see, he's reframing
the suffering as something that can refine us
or be used as God's purposes. He's saying that
the party that we've been invited to, it's not
about shining. It's about growing. And growth
often comes through the struggle. And yet, even
in the struggling, the suffering, something deeper
is happening. Something mysterious. And now we
begin to see who's really hosting this gathering.
Because the mystery of Christ in us, everything
in the party gets flipped. See, this is where
we truly see what God is doing. See, we thought
we were the ones throwing a party for Jesus.
Man, I'm really glad I set my life aside for
God and for Jesus to really speak. I'm glad I
have this ready for Him. We built the space.
We sent the invites. We set the table. But the
mystery is, He's still the host. He always has
been. He always will be. He always should be.
Christ in you. The hope of glory. That's the
mystery. That this whole thing isn't about us
inviting Him into our lives. It's about Him inviting
us into His. Into His life. Into His suffering.
His joy. His resurrection. See, everything you
thought you brought to the table, He already
prepared it. I've been the guy who had to go
to the party with the Kroger bought potato salad,
alright? I know what it's like when you realize
you don't have it. You had someone else make
it for you. Or every story that you thought you
owned and you realize that God's been writing
it. Yeah, I've been at the party before where
I was telling the story and then realized everybody
around me knew it better than I did. But you
see the real celebration, it's not about what
you've done for Him. It's what He has done for
you. See this section it opens not just the identity
of Jesus, but the scale of what He's doing. He's
not just a teacher, a miracle worker, or some
abstract idea of salvation that anybody and everybody
is okay with. He's the living presence of God
who has taken you into Himself. And that's what
Mary knew. See, Mary, she wasn't just contemplative.
She received the mystery revealed. She received
Christ Himself. You see, the Gospel is not some
spiritual idea or a motivational framework that
you can internalize with a self -help audio book
in the few minutes that you have with Christ
before your Cheerios, which frankly should be
honey nut. But rather, the Gospel is Christ in
you. the hope of glory in the midst of suffering
each and every day each and every hour of the
day we don't grow by fixing our mindset or out
thinking our anxiety somehow we grow by receiving
Christ in our mess and in our struggles Mary
received this mystery not because she figured
it out like some Zen master but because she sat
and let Jesus reveal it Mary didn't do anything.
That's the whole point. That's why Martha was
so upset. But you see, Paul calls it a mystery
that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,
but is now disclosed to the Lord's people, which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And that's
the center of the party. Not your derves, not
the games. That's the thing that changes everything.
Not that we've shown up to do something good,
but that someone great has shown up in us. Someone
who brings a struggle because of what he's doing
in our lives. The mystery isn't that we found
Christ, it's that Christ found us. It's that
Christ is throwing the party. And the guest list
includes us. That's the mystery. Not because
of our resume, but because of his grace. We're
there at the watch party for the championship
game Realizing that we get to cheer on for our
team even though we're doing nothing We have
the jersey on The ring is going to belong to
us The victory is ours, but we didn't earn it
Because the one who did has made room for us
So now at the end of the night what's left a
bunch of take -home leftovers, and maybe that
one song that got stuck in your head. What do
we carry out with us after everything we've experienced
in this party of God's grace? See, that's the
thing is that maturity happens as we grow in
Christ. Paul says he is the one we proclaim admonishing
and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that
we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
To this end, I strenuously contend with all the
energy Christ so powerfully works in me. What
is the maturity that we're looking for? It's
not having all the answers. It's not conquering
every emotion or distraction that ever grabs
us. It's knowing who the host is. It's being
able to sit down at the table without thinking
you have to earn the spot. It's not earning the
spot to be at the table, but by being at the
table, we are changed forever. And frankly, maturity
doesn't mean perfection. This isn't trying to
figure out which of you here in this place has
somehow attained the right level. It means becoming
who you were meant to be. It means knowing where
your home is. It means living with gratitude
and courage and trust. Not just because you've
been to the party, but because you now know the
host. Maturity is gratitude. Maturity is humility.
Maturity is confidence that grows not because
you figured it all out, but because you stayed
and accepted the mystery of Christ. Because you
learned how to dance even when the music didn't
make sense. Because you kept coming back to the
table because the food is delicious. The invitation
is still open. The doors are still wide. The
mystery still holds Christ in you, Christ in
me. The hope of glory is not your deviled eggs.
The hope of glory is the mystery of Christ. And
that you didn't throw this party. But you, by
the grace of God, are in the middle of it. And
the host is so glad that you're here. Thanks
be to God.