"If anything can go wrong,

it will.

And if nothing can possibly go wrong,

it will anyway."

You recognize that as

Murphy's First Law.

And you recognize Murphy

as the well-known practitioner of pragmatism

whose observations,

which he states as laws,

deal with so many

of the practical, every-day areas of life.

We find them humorous because

while they are so obviously overstatements,

yet in a remarkable way

they ring true to our experience.

1) Like the statement,

"Every job takes more time than you have."

Who of us in our hurried existence has not discovered that?

2) Or the principle that seems reportedly

to get demonstrated when you're working around the house:

"Every object will fall so as to do the most damage."

3) Or the one that goes into operation

when you get in line

at the check-out counter at the grocery store,

"The other line always moves faster."

4) Or again the law that governs bureaucracies:

"When all is said and done,

more will be said than done."

Murphy's Laws,

you see,

are simple,

they're obvious,

and they are eminently practical.

They describe life

without rose-colored glasses.

They tell it like it is.
And the way it is

is that something always seems

to work against us,

some force ready

to undermine our efforts.

We strike out on a new venture

with high hopes and great enthusiasm,

but ere long something happens

to challenge our purpose,

to thwart our plans,

to obscure our vision,

and finally to keep us from reaching the goal.

That's just the way life is.
And Murphy,

realist that he is,

understands that.

Which,

by contrast,

is the very reason that people

through the centuries

have had trouble with Jesus

and the Christian faith.

The age-old complaint

against Christianity

is that

it is not in touch with reality,

but is overly idealistic.

It tells us

how things ought to be,

but,

unfortunately,

it's not the way things are.

Oh, no one can question

the loftiness of Jesus' concepts,

the eloquence of teachings,

and the marvelous heights

to which they call us.

As a model for human behavior,

no one can compare

to the Christ.

The problem is that

in the rough and tumble

of daily living

his way isn't practical.

Who can achieve it?
Maybe somewhere,

sometime in the next world

Christ's way will prevail,

but in the here and now,

if the issue is what works,

and the choices are Jesus or Murphy,

is there any question

who will get the majority vote?

Murphy has reality on his side.

Jesus is a radical idealist.

Well,

do you understand

this morning

that it is precisely at this point,

on this issue,

that what it means to be a Christian

comes most sharply into view?

Before the year is over,

we will have a national election,

we're already hearing a lot these days

about the next national election,

and the candidates

are beginning to line up,

an election of

unprecedented importance

in our national life,

we're told.

But the only vote

that will ever finally matter

in your life and mine

is the one we cast in this other election---

the one that determines

what for us is reality!

And to be a Christian

means casting our vote for Jesus.

It is to make the conscious choice

that Jesus Christ,

and no one or nothing else,

will be our standard for reality

and our authority for truth.

A Christian is one whose

ultimate commitment

is to Christ

and his way.

For the Christian

Jesus Christ is Lord!

There's a biblical name

for what I'm talking about.

It's called

the Kingdom of God.

And it was the focal point

of Jesus' whole life and ministry.

You recall that he said

there are two ways

one can go in this world:

1) there is the natural way,

the way that

human wisdom, reason and logic dictate;

it's going with the flow.

2) And there is another way,

God's way,

the way that sometimes seems inimical

to our well-being,

but because it is God's way,

it is going to last forever.

The first way,

said Jesus,

is easy,

and, because it follows

our natural inclinations,

it's popular

and the majority take it.

The trouble is that

it doesn't go anywhere;

it's a dead-end,

and those who go that way

will ultimately fall.

The other way,

which Jesus referred to as

"narrow,"

is the way of the Kingdom.

It's the way Jesus came

to demonstrate and make real.

And while often

it may seem foolish and impractical,

it alone lasts forever

and leads to our highest fulfillment.

And the chief business

of every human being

finally

is to choose that way.

Remember how Jesus put it?

"Seek first the Kingdom of God

and his righteousness

and everything else

will be yours as well."

That's what faith means.
Faith is choosing

the craziness

of following Christ,

making him our measure of reality,

and living out his way

in our daily lives.

Which is exactly what

the Apostle Paul

was affirming in the Scripture lesson

that was read a few moments ago

from his letter to the Romans.

is perhaps

the greatest theological treatise

ever written,

the distillation of Paul's thought.

1) Paul begins softly,

as if only the violins are playing

telling of the Creator God

whose majesty and power,

manifest throughout universe,

ought to awaken faith and obedience

in every human being.

Tragically,

it doesn't happen.

Humankind rebels against God,

and the rebellion is universal.

2) Paul now brings in

the oboes and flutes

as he tells how God's purpose for human life

is thwarted by that rebellion,

which brings down the judgment of God,

and results in separation from God---

a separation that human beings

are powerless to overcome.

No amount of effort

to make things right with God

through worship, religious ceremonies,

food works, or heroic obedience,

can ever bridge the gap

between human beings

and their Creator.

But God's ultimate purpose

for humankind

will not be forever thwarted.

3) The music

begins to soar

as Paul affirms that

God longs for all his children

to live in intimate fellowship with him,

and that what is impossible

for us humans to accomplish

God does for us.

For,

in Jesus Christ,

God breaks into history,

manifesting his nature

as unconditional love

and offering salvation

as a gift.

No longer do men and women

have to live

in the futility

of trying to

win their way back

into the favor of God.

God offers

divine forgiveness and reconciliation

as a gift

received by faith

and faith alone.

The New Testament word is

"grace,"

undeserved love,

and it is extended

to every human being.

4) Now

the trumpets are playing,

the drums rolling,

and the cymbals crashing

as Paul affirms that

because of the grace of God,

because we are brought into harmony

with our Creator through faith,

a totally new reality has entered into the world.

New freedom and power

are released into human life.

What men and women

could never do before,

they now have the capacity to do,

for the motivation for living

is no longer trying to earn God's favor,

but gratitude, thankfulness

for what God in Christ

has done for us.

And that sets us free

for a new kind of living.

Isn't that what Paul is affirming

in the twelfth chapter of Romans

where he writes:

"I appeal to you,

my brothers and sisters in Christ,

by the mercies of God

to present your bodies

as a living sacrifice..."?

Paul sees

the only appropriate response

to God's grace

as our lives in gratitude

given back to God---

a thank offering.

From now on,

for the person of faith,

life is not a matter of

"oughts"

and "shoulds"

and "have tos".

Rather, its,

"What can I do

to say thanks

for God's great love?"

And the answer to that?

Oh, Paul

spells it out

clearly and unequivocally

in Romans.

What you can do

to be a different kind of people!

Remember how he put it?

"Do not be conformed

to this world

but be transformed

by the renewal of your mind,

that you may prove

what is the will of God,

what is good and acceptable and perfect."

In other words,

it is not enough

for Christians

to be like everyone else,

to let what others are doing

determine what our standards will be.

We have a higher authority

than the crowd---

Jesus Christ,

and we go his way.

The words,

"Be transformed by

the renewal of your mind,"

is Paul's way of saying that

our minds,

not our emotions,

not our fears

about what others will say,

should determine our judgments

about right and wrong--

minds sensitized by Jesus Christ.

We follow Christ!

There is a better way of living

than the majority know anything about.

And Christians live that way,

not to save their souls---

God's already done that

as a gift---

but to demonstrate

their gratitude.

But Paul does not leave it there.

Lest it all seem

too vague and theoretical,

he gets very specific

in pointing out

what will be different

about Christians.

1) The world says

think of yourself

and your own needs;

you've got to watch out for #1.

Paul says

think first of others.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice

and weep with those who weep."

In other words,

get out of yourself

if you really want to live,

because that's Jesus' way.

2) The world says

always be seen

with the right people.

Paul says

don't be haughty,

but associate with the lowly.

3) The world says

assert yourself;

don't take a back seat to anyone.

Paul says

don't think of yourself

more highly than you ought to.

"Outdo one another in showing honor."

4) The world says

don't let anybody walk over you;

if somebody's about to hurt you,

protect yourself.

Paul says

"if your enemy is hungry,

feed him,

if he is thirsty,

give him a drink."

5) The world says

you've got to destroy everything evil.

Paul says

"overcome evil with good".

Do you see it?

Totally different ways to live---

one the world's ways

and the other Christ's way!

And what marks a person

as a Christian

is the choice

to follow the craziness

of Christ's way.

But hold your hat!

I have yet to mention

the craziest difference of all.

It's there in Paul's list---

in fact

it's in every New Testament writers' description

of what it means to be a Christian.

The world says that

the way to live

is to get more things,

to amass, to accumulate,

and to hang to what you've got.

Paul says

Oh, no it isn't.

Christ's way is to give,

and give generously.

If a person is a Christian,

he will be generous!

Now, I know what some of you are thinking:

"Well, now we've finally

gotten down to it.

What you have been saying all morning

has just been leading up to this---

money-talk.

Finally,

it always gets down to that

in the church,

doesn't it---

money?"

if it does, it's wrong.

To talk about money

in the church

is a violation

of what ought to be

the focus of religion.

When religion

is pure and undefiled,

it deals with spiritual matters,

not something so mundane as

what we do with our possessions.

Oh, what a perversion of truth it is!

And how far it misses

what the Bible teaches!

Check it out

in the New Testament---

in practically every listing of the qualities

that are to mark the lives

of Christ's followers

there is the word

"generous."

And if a pastor is faithful

to the Biblical message,

there is no alternative

but to talk about that.

It's an imperative

because giving,

not getting,

is God's way.

It is the very essence of God,

who constantly pours out

his blessings on humankind,

and whose nature

is supremely manifest

in Jesus' life of self-sacrifice.

And if it is God's way,

it has to be the way

God's people live.

Generosity!

Now, I hope you understand that

that's the only word

the New Testament ever uses

to describe how Christians are to give.

For the follower of Christ

there are no laws that prescribe

how much a generous person will give.

Nowhere does the New Testament say that

a Christian must give 10%

or a tithe.

That is an Old Testament law.

The Hebrew people were required

to give 10% of

everything they received

as an acknowledgment that

they understood that

God is the ultimate owner of all things.

The problem with laws

is that they get twisted.

We use them for our own ends,

and the end usually is

to get us off the hook.

Once you've done

what the law demands,

you see,

you're free.

You can say,

"I've done my part.
Now I can do what I please

with the rest.

See, God,

I've been faithful to you.

Now you must be faithful to me

and bless me.

You owe it to me."

That kind of

quid pro quo attitude

has always afflicted us humans.

Jesus rejected

all forms of legalism.

He understood that

God never owes us anything.

The issue in life is

what we owe God

for his unconditional love

that reaches out to us.

And Jesus' answer was that

we owe God our gratitude,

and the more we understand that,

the more generous we will be.

Do you remember the scene,

recorded in the gospels,

when Jesus was a dinner guest

at the home of Simon the Pharisee

and a woman came up,

bathed his feet with her tears,

and then poured over them

a flask of costly ointment?

Simon,

you recall,

was incensed that

Jesus would permit

such a shameful display of emotions

and such flagrant wastefulness

from a woman

who had a notoriously bad reputation.

But Jesus blessed her,

saying that her generosity

reflected her love;

she loved much because

she had been forgiven much.

Oh, that's why there is no law

about giving in the New Testament.

and replaced by a principle:

great gratitude

means great generosity.

how much we must give

and no one defining

what generosity means.

I don't see how anyone

who claims to be a Christian,

who through Christ

has been brought into

right relationship with God

and given the eternal life

as a gift,

and who is truly grateful,

can be content to give

less than the law required.

any follower of Jesus Christ

can think that an amount less than

what they spend for entertainment
or a golf game
or a night out at a restaurant
or watching a Wildcats game

qualifies as generous.

How much should you give?

How much is generous?

The only answer

that the church

has any right ever to give

is this:

How grateful are you

for God's unconditional love for you?

How thankful are you

for divine forgiveness freely extended,

for blessings too numerous to count,

for God's unseen presence that never lets us go?

And how much must you give

for your gift

finally

to represent you

and your commitment to Jesus Christ?

Some years ago,

following an appeal in church

for a great and worthy cause,

a woman came to her pastor

and handed him a check for $50,

asking at the same time

if her gift was satisfactory.

The pastor responded,

"It is if it represents you."

There was a moment

of soul searching thought,

and then the woman asked

to have the check back.

A day or two later

she returned

handing the pastor

a check for $500

and again asked the same question,

"Is the gift satisfactory?"

The pastor

gave the same answer as before,

"If it represents you."

As before,

the truth seemed to be

driving deeply,

and again the woman

took the check back and left.

Later in the week

she came again with a check.

It was for $5,000.

As she placed it in the pastor's hand,

she said,

"After earnest, prayerful thought

I have come to the conclusion that

this gift does represent me

and I am happy to give it."

Finally,

that's all God asks of any of us---

that our giving represent us,

our love and devotion,

our whole selves given in loyalty to him.

joyfully, willingly, eagerly,

because no matter how other people live

and what their loyalties are,

we follow Jesus Christ.

We are Christians.

And while the world

may think us crazy,

yet for Christ's sake

we are ready to be different

in the most telling way of all---

the generous way we give!