Immunity

Patty and I enjoy watching NBC's The Biggest Loser. The physical transformations from the beginning to the end of the period is absolutely amazing. Of course the goal is two-fold: 1) lose weight, 2) win the prize money. One of the most cherished short-term gifts is immunity which a team or an individual receives by winning the challenge. If you have immunity, your results in the weigh-in for that week are irrelevant. There is no risk of punishment for that week.

Inside our churches, people often act as if they've been granted or deserve immunity. If we act that way, we're less likely to be seeking the help that we may need or to strive for improvement. We constantly fall back on grace. Don't read me wrong. Grace is the most precious gift we've received and when we accept this gift, we have eternal immunity. On the other hand, the eternal immunity does not shield us from the responsibilities, issues and unfortunate circumstances in our daily journey of life. With an attitude of immunity, we then ignore or miss the opportunity for help and may be in denial regarding the consequences of our decisions and actions.

In an encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus overhead them talking about him to his disciples. They were complaining that Jesus hung out with the less desirable in society - irreligious people, sinners. Jesus responded to them with veiled sarcasm (Mark 2:17 NIV):

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus begins with an analogy. You only need a doctor when you're sick. If you're healthy, you don't need a physicians help. In the same way, Jesus came to help those in need -- those who were sick (sinners) so that is where he was spending his time. The implication in his remark was that he didn't need to spend time with the Pharisees because they were already healthy (righteous).

We know this is a back-handed remark because Jesus himself stated that no one was righteous except God. Another translation lifts the veil in Jesus' remark (Mark 2:17 NLT):

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

Jesus couldn't help them because they were unwilling to admit they had a need. They acted as if they had immunity.

Even if we've already received Jesus into our life, we still need him. He desires to complete his work in us (Philippians 1:6). As far as circumstances that we encounter or issues in life, the people of the church are not so different from those outside the church. People everywhere experience marriage issues, family strife, addictions, financial struggles, job performance issues, and the list goes on. Jesus tells us that the sun and the rain (circumstances in life) fall on the "just" and the "unjust." We are NOT immune in this physical life. We will face difficulties and the consequences of our actions.

Rather than living as if we have immunity, live everyday as a challenge. Seek help. Strive to improve. And for a bonus, reach beyond yourself to love and help others.