Am I Worthy?

Am I worthy of being the recipient of God’s love through Jesus Christ?   This may seem a silly question a minister of all people should ask himself, but it truly an important question all of us have to answer.

I heard the line “Am I Worthy?” in a Western movie with Lee Marvin about a group of Americans who are hired by an American railroad mogul to retrieve his kidnapped wife from a Mexican renegade. In this scene, a Mexican farmer, who is helping the Americans in a foreign land, is approached by the Mexican renegade and his band of “bad guys.”  The Americans, with their weapons ready to fire from a train car, watch as the man directs the Mexican bandits away from the Americans.  For his efforts, he is beaten and trampled by horses of the bandits as they ride away.  With the “bad guys” out of the scene, the Mexican man struggles to stand with his arms straight out from his body like a cross facing the Americans and asks, “Am I worthy?”  With the magic of Hollywood, the man recovers quickly in a few scenes later and helps the Americans with their task at hand.

This was good stage directing.  Paul, in his writings to encourage the early Christians, wonders if he is worthy. Very knowledgeable about the Jewish traditions when employed by the Romans, he committed many sins against Christians to say the least. With his conversion, he became a new person, and worked to make God’s kingdom a reality for others.  As a minister, I have to be humble enough to ask the same questions Paul did of his life. The call to be a minister, and a minister for children, was a difficult decision to make in a way because, like Paul, I had to become a new person worthy of the post.
In His ministry, Jesus had parables that often put the Pharisees in a bad light, such as the one about the Pharisee and the tax collector. Even back then, tax collectors had a bad reputation, but Jesus said the worse of the two was the Pharisee, the one who knew God’s law and taught it to the Jews.

That man had status, power, and wealth, but it was an earthly rank. The fact that Jesus said he was the Son of God made the Pharisees even more angry or jealous, and clearing the Temple of sinful people didn’t help their view of Him. The kingdom Jesus proclaims is not here on earth.  It is in Heaven.

Modern religious leaders have fallen from grace for their sins because the power of God they felt initially in their work became a power they perceived as their own. They were not worthy, just as the Pharisee.  In my work, I sometimes struggle to meet the needs of my family, the church, and the youth I serve all at the same time. Wild horses can knock me down, and I want to be able to stand up, with my arms straight out, and ask the Lord, “Am I Worthy?”

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

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