From the time of Jesus himself there have been those who would claim to be God’s Messiah. These self-appointed saviors have always been able to draw a crowd and to get people excited. Even those steeped in the good news of Jesus can find themselves being confused by the messages of these frauds because they use the right words and call upon the deepest emotions in their efforts to build their own kingdoms. The scriptures encourage the people of God to always be wary of those who would profess to speak a new or different word in Jesus’ name and to faithfully test the spirits that are at work to be certain that they are in fact the spirit of God.

Such wariness and testing will be of particular importance in the difficult days that are ahead in almost every arena of life. There will be many who, though they may not claim to be a messiah, will in fact claim that they have a monopoly on God’s word and will. The world seems to be in an age of extremisms, with extremists of every stripe and variety. Though one might be tempted to say that each individual is free to hold his or her own opinion, this is only true as long as no one else is hurt or oppressed as a result. Unfortunately extremists are often of the opinion that others should not be allowed to hold any divergent ideas and if anyone does that can be cause to do them harm, all too often in God’s name.

It is important in the days ahead that those who profess faith in Jesus as the Savior do not abdicate their critical thinking processes in favor of following the path of the crowd, often the path of least resistance. Jesus calls upon his followers to be voices for peace and reconciliation in a broken world. Jesus calls upon his followers to be as concerned about those whom the world rejects and ignores as he was. Jesus calls upon his followers to have as much compassion for those who are in need as he did. It may take effort on the part of believers to be sure, but let Jesus be the real measure by which those who would speak for God in these days are measured.

Column: Across the Pastor’s Desk, by the Rev. Don Rose, Mansfield Lutheran Church