Luke 13.23-24 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will
those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through
the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
(ESV)
What motivates a person? What causes them to do what they
do, and think what they think? These are burning questions to me. I know why
some do what they do – I think. They
do things which to me are predictable and therefore I form an opinion of why
they do what they do. But the problem is: I’ve not access to the inside of
them; I don’t really know what’s going on. I think I know but I don’t know for
sure.
Recently, a man spoke at our church gathering and told
us: don’t judge people, get to know their story. That made sense to me (a consummate
judger). I don’t know people the way I think I do and the opinions I form are
really just prejudices that come from within me based on my own world-view,
experiences, and beliefs. I really don’t know people.
That’s not to say I can’t be around them – how silly! Of
course I’m to be around them; how can I not? But where I need to be careful
when I’m around them is when I begin to form those opinions by how they look,
how they talk; how they behave.
A “someone” in Luke
13 had a burning question: Jesus, will those who are saved be few? I could form
an opinion about that if you give me a couple nanoseconds. I’d say that person
was shallow, misinformed, afraid, or uncertain. Truth is: I don’t know those
things. I’d know some things maybe if the “someone” was a friend of mine and we
had relationship with each other.
The reality was “someone” (whoever he or she was) had a
burning question and they sought an answer from Jesus. People all around us
have burning questions. We might even have some too. The question is: where do we go to get answers?
As I was driving home this Saturday afternoon past I was
listening to a radio program where several Church leaders were talking about
the relevance of the modern Church in the modern marketplace (another word for:
our culture). One of the speakers
said this: Christianity is not about
imposition but about proposition and people need to understand that. I
think believers need to understand that. I THINK I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
And when those who have burning questions are dealing
with impositions they might be more reluctant to ask the burning question and
form their own opinions about Christian beliefs and this Christian God who
seems to be unflinchingly imposing His will upon us all.
Jesus, in You, may I live in the propositional lifestyle
where I attempt to befriend and persuade rather than jumping to judging and
feeling as if I need to cram my beliefs down someone else’s throat. Lord, You
answered “someone’s” question; You told them the truth. May I be watching and
listening and like You, do the same. Their questions represent a need and may I
be used to meet some of those needs – amen.
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