A New Wise Saying

01.21.13

Luke 21.19 19 Stand firm, and you will win life. (NIV)

There is an expression that gets thrown around that goes something like this: if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. When we’re feeling especially wise we use phrases like that one. Another is: too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. And then there’s the good old standby: can’t see the forest for the trees. I occasionally like to use all three especially when I want to play my Will Rogers-card and be the folksy common-sense purveyor. Shallow perhaps, but winsome and wise and folksy nonetheless…

But Jesus wasn’t being winsome and wise. He was at times, but never to put on some kind of air that He was cute: Jesus was always dead serious and absolutely truly genuine. He didn’t put on airs that He didn’t have. He flatly told His followers in Jerusalem that day that their beautiful Temple was going to be razed and not one precious stone that adorned it would be left for anyone to admire. (During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.) In 70 AD Titus, the Roman general, besieged and captured Jerusalem and razed it, along with their Temple.

Jesus was explaining to His followers that tough times were in the horizon; times that were going to include, the razing of Jerusalem, the invasion of foreign armies, and more than anything else: the persecution of the Church, the harassment and killing of the followers of Christ. He told them their biggest enemies would be their fellow Jews who didn’t accept His Messiah-ship or the tenets of the Kingdom of God. And Jesus said, “Stand firm, and you will win life.”

If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. Stand firm in your belief that God is who He says He is, and you will win life. Anything else will be the loss of everything else. Maybe that will be my new wise saying: belief in just anything will result in the loss of just everything.

I am called to stand firm. I am called to trust Jesus when it all goes to crap. And go to crap it will. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 21.10-11) The greatest threat will be giving into the temptation to conform to the culture du jour to escape the trials that stand on the horizon. Many will attempt to be “un-affiliated” in order to cause the wave of turmoil to wash around them but not wash them away. One Jesus says we’re going to be called to choose sides and anyone who isn’t for Him is against Him (Luke 11.33). “Stand firm, and you will win life.”

I am called to choose and choose I will. I want to win life – that’s a prize worth fighting for. So despite the culture and the empty promises of what is important now, Jesus tells me “Stand firm Paul and you will win life.” It calls for radical belief that resists the push and pull of earth-life which tries its damnedest to dictate what the priorities are. And in a materialistic and politically correct culture that may be hard to do, but Jesus promises: Stand firm and you will win life. Jesus is bigger than any current culture…

The Accepted Order

01.19.13

Genesis 48.20 20 He blessed them that day and said, “In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. (NIV)

Jacob’s father Isaac loved his son Esau more that he loved Jacob, but Jacob was God’s choice. At the end of his life Jacob was getting his house in order and his beloved son Joseph brought his two sons to obtain their patriarchal blessing from Grandpa Jacob. The accepted order would be that Manasseh would receive the greater blessing because he was the older of the two sons. Joseph expected Manasseh to receive the greater blessing but Ephraim was God’s choice.

God’s choice is not our choice. God’s blessing is given to whom He chooses in the order in which He chooses. God doesn’t do always what we expect Him to do. I don’t know why God choose Ephraim before Manasseh but I do accept it because it doesn’t surprise me that even with His own, God does what God does. And it is righteous and good.

God accepts the one who comes to Him and asks for His help. The one who truly asks, is the one who truly believes. And the one who truly believes then begins to live by the accepted order of how things work in the Kingdom of God: God calls all the shots. God exalts whom He wants to exalt and puts down whom He chooses to put down. It hasn’t a thing to do with what we amount to on earth; it only amounts to His choosing and His order.

The rub for us is we have a tough time melding our order with His Order; sometimes the pieces just don’t want to fit…for us. It calls for great grace for a father to stand and listen that the older will serve the younger when his mind is already made up in the other direction. Joseph may have gone home that night and told his wife about it and shakes his head, “I just don’t get it!” But Joseph didn’t need to get it as long as God is in charge.

Our part in all this is to live a God-directed life. Our part is to be so loving, cooperative, and trusting that we accept humbly and gratefully whatever God chooses to do. Someone may get the promotion over us – and we bless them outwardly… and inwardly. Someone may get a bigger slice of the pie and we find ourselves rejoicing that our plate comes back empty – and that theirs is full. The Kingdom doesn’t operate the way we see fit – only the way God has seen fit.

My part is to know, and do, what is acceptable at that point: when the Kingdom takes a turn I didn’t see coming. My job is to bless the Lord, o my soul and forget none of His benefits (Psalm 103). My job, in the strength and presence of the Holy Spirit, is to withstand the human tendency to control things – and the human tendency to grumble inwardly. The Kingdom has no place for grumblers. God knows what He is doing and I need to simply rest in that thought and enjoy wherever the ride goes from there…

Lord, grant me that I would understand that I am to trust You no matter what, amen.

Never Neither

01.18.13

Luke 18.8 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” NIV

Luke 18 begins with a parable traditionally known as the Parable of the Persistent Widow. The widow needs justice from an oppressor and seeks it from a judge who really wants nothing to do with her. But she is more determined in her oppression than the judge is in his office – her plight is motivates her more than his bureaucratic position does him: she’s serious; he’s bored.

So, the widow persistently checks in with him asking, have you done anything yet? At first her pleas are no big deal, she’s mostly ignored. But what saves her is her persistence and the fact that she refused to be put off. And after a while, the judge finally says: ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ He’s had it, and gives her what she wants just to shut her up. She’s granted justice. Even though the system was stacked against her, God saw to it that she got her justice.

Jesus said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” In other words, God loves to hear from His kids who cry out to Him – the question is, will they cry out or will they give up?

The persistent widow got justice from an unjust judge because she was persistent. She knew he had the power and authority to act on her behalf and though he treated her like crap (widows in those days were pretty far down the food chain) she kept at him to do what he was put into power to do: keep oppressors from unjustly oppressing. She may not have respected him but she understood the office. She could have given up. She could’ve thrown her hands in the air and given up: the system is fouled and faulty and doesn’t work. (Many today have that attitude about our own system of government.) Maybe we could learn from the persistent widow: hound these guys until they do what they’re supposed to do! Just sayin… But she didn’t give up because she understood her tactic. And she understood the power of persuasion. She knew if she kept at it, she’d get what she wanted. She never gave up.

So are we persistent in our battles of faith or do we throw in the towel and give up? We needn’t be persistent with God because He is never neither bored nor unconcerned. God will bring about justice! Ah, but will His chosen ones persist? Will they believe in Him despite all odds? Will they keep on trusting Him when things don’t appear to be going their way? The persistent widow knew what it took – do I? She stood her ground – will I? She believed – will I? A Christian who will pray when all seems not to be going their way will be rewarded for faith at the end of the day and will secure all they need through the power of stay. Will I stay, will I pray?

Father, You are never neither bored nor unconcerned: You are active and involved in our lives. Lord, may I learn from the persistent one who stood her ground and fought for what she knew was right. May I encourage my brothers and sisters to do the same – Amen.

Valuing the Honorable

01.16.13

Luke 16.18 18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (NIV)

We must be careful when we read the Bible that we don’t misinterpret what is written. Today, in my reading I ran across a small passage of Jesus’ teachings labeled in my Bible: Additional Teachings. Like Luke didn’t have anywhere else to put these teachings so he crammed them in here.

In Luke 16 right in between Jesus’ parable of the Shrewd Manager and the Rich Man and Lazarus, we find these words: “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Right before this Jesus said: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”

And almost as a “for instance” He says, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” In other words, just because you break a commitment, doesn’t mean God does. What people value highly [can be] detestable in God’s sight.

The foreground story in Luke 16 is about our use of money and what lengths some will go to protect their financial security. So Jesus’ point, is we will go to great lengths to make and keep money but we won’t keep our far greater commitments: like marriage. And He underscores this by saying: The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. (Vv. 16,17) In other words, the Law is still the Law no matter how we choose to interpret it or live by it: if a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he commits adultery. If someone else marries a divorced woman, he commits adultery – that’s what the law stays and that’s how we’re to live.

We have more of a relaxed attitude toward making and breaking commitments: God never does. The invitation of the Kingdom of God is simply: live the way God does; say what you mean and mean what you say. Keep your commitments out of a sense of love and devotion, and look for creative ways to keep love and devotion strong. Breaking commitments is as bad as adultery.

The shrewd manager dishonestly looked for ways to protect his future: gifts with benefits. Money can become a god if we’re not careful. The Law doesn’t change just because our values do; obey what is written, and keep our commitments. In our efforts to care for ourselves, keep in mind that there are the poor; and in our good times and days of plenty, we mustn’t forget about them.

We will be held to how we’re supposed to live, and we’re supposed to live loving and obeying God, and loving and serving our fellow man. I think about these things today and God is reminding me to value what is honorable in His sight…

Think About This

01.14.13

Luke 14.34,35 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (NIV)

Whenever Jesus used the term: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear”, I think He meant, “think about this…” I have never heard of saltless salt; I don’t know of such a thing. All I know is, if it’s salt (NaCl), it’s salty because of its taste. And NaCl is good for many things including seasoning, healing, and preserving. Salt is also good for curing as well. And salt can also be used as an herbicide. Ain’t much growing where salt is spread. Think about it.

But if salt, a naturally occurring compound, loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? The answer: it can’t. Once salt loses its taste and purpose it is fit for nothing… not even the garbage. There is nothing I can do to add to my discipleship, but there is much I can do to take away from it. Heat is not the opposite of cold; cold is just the absence of heat. Light and dark are not equal opposites, dark is just the absence of light. There is no such thing as an un-salty Christian, only he who denies the truth.

The question then: can we lose our saltiness? Or, can we add to a salty stew to make it less so? Can we dilute to lessen the effect of salt? Can salt be swept away? Can salt lose its effect? What happens in the life of a believer when they become diluted? What happens in the life of a believer when they lose their effectiveness, or they simply get swept away? 

Salt is salt, and Jesus’ point was: you can’t make salt anything other than what it already is. However, salt can be removed and salt can be diluted and though it still remains salt, it becomes less effective. A Christian is a Christian unless they live in such a manner as to lose their saltiness: their effect, their flavor, the power to heal and preserve. And Jesus is saying that salt that has been diluted no longer has its effect…the same applies to the one who claims to believe but lives as if he doesn’t.

Our lives as Christians will bring flavor, seasoning, healing, curing, and preserving if we live as we are intended to live. But as we allow the things of this life to invade our peace and to rob and replace our joy, we risk becoming diluted and ineffective.

But, if we live according to the King’s presence, then our lives remain as they we always intended to be: salty, effective, flavorful and useful. I used to say, one can’t un-become what they’ve been created to be. And that’s true – however, one can become distracted, diluted, and different if one deviates from a determined destiny and devolves into dissolution. The end result is ineffectiveness and ineffective employees usually find themselves looking for other work…

Lord, may I be seasoned with grace to live in the light of Your face; to bloom and grow in my place and by being salty, to add to this world: taste. Use the circumstances of my life to remind me that I have a purpose, and that without some care and caution, I can lose the effect of what I was created to be. Amen.