Is Your Head In The Clouds? (Lk. 9:28-42)

Is Your Head in the Clouds?

(Luke 9:28-42)

We all love to escape from reality sometimes and we each have our unique method of doing so.  As a child I would play basketball, hour after hour by myself, pretending I was in the NBA.  Watching movies, playing video games are some of my current methods.  Some people so desire to escape reality because of the pain of their past that their methods are much more damaging, like drinking alcohol, doing drugs etc.

God can also be a method, a crutch, someone to help take the trouble away.  This seems like a good method but it can become extreme, leading to spiritual whoredom.  Basically we treat God like a prostitute, He is just being used to make us feel better, and that is it.  No commitment involved, no mutual relationship, we just come to Him when we need a fix.

We see this here in Luke 9:28-36, Jesus taking, Peter, John, and James along to the mountain to encounter God.  They see Jesus transfigured, they see Moses and Elijah, how glorious, a mind boggling experience.  Peter's response was a bunch of babble about building a memorial.

Many of us are Jesus junkies we are all about an encounter with God, not bad, but if that is it, something is not right.  It is like going into marriage thinking that it is all about sex.  Responsibilities now must be shared, life has to be lived, the honeymoon always comes to an end. 

In this passage God responded to Peter's babble by simply saying this is my Son, listen to Him.  Meaning obedience to His voice was what mattered most, not just a worship experience.  If we were as passionate about listening and obeying His voice as we are with worship experiences this world would be a far better place.  

So few Christians believe in the power of God and many of the ones who do keep the power to themselves and those that happen to walk through their doors.  It is something left for church services rather than a daily experience with God.  If we would just open our ears to God daily we would encounter God through power evangelism to the world.  It would no longer just be a worship experience but part of our life lived out everywhere to everyone.

We see in Luke 9:37-42, when they came out of the mountain and faced the world, they didn't take what they experienced on the mountain with them.  The disciples were ineffective in praying for a boy needing deliverance.  Jesus was angry telling the disciples you lack focus, (your heads are in the clouds), so Jesus again had to step in and do what they should have been capable of doing.  I get so frustrated myself as a parent when my kids still act irresponsible, not being able to handle things they should know how to do.

Worship experiences are not something we are to build a shrine around.  They are not what we are to seek out alone.  We are to encounter God for the purpose of being empowered to greater service.  If we seem so spiritual in our worship yet in our daily practical life God is not evident, we have become a spiritual whore, our heads are in the clouds, we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good.