This parable has been on my mind lately.
"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."" - Luke 18:9-14 ESV
Parables are interesting things. They are stories designed to illustrate one point. They aren't accounts of events. If you read too far into them you may miss the point. Verse nine says that Jesus told this story to 'some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt' to drive home one idea.
Still. 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' rings in my head. This man won't get 'close' he stands far away and says this.
We need mercy but we also need proximity. The Pharisee was close but far away in his thinking and that is so dangerous.
This is a story and it illustrates a point. Don't judge with contempt because God doesn't think that way but as I sit here I see a place available that neither of the men in the story had. A close place where mercy has been and is received.
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace..." - Ephesians 2:13-14a ESV
The tax collector went home and back to his life but we have a new home and a new life.
I cry for mercy today also. I need it but I am not beating my breast. I do lift my eyes. My thoughts are not introspective. I worship because I know there is mercy for me. There was mercy and there Is mercy.
Jesus' blood has brought me near. Knowledge of my depravity is gravity but I am not stuck on the ground. I worship and fly in an aerodynamic of faith.
Thank you for mercy God! Thank you. Let contempt be far from us as we draw near. We don't want to be close but miss your heart and we don't want to be far away because of introspection. Draw us. We want to see your glory. We worship you. You are near to us now and we are so grateful.
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Showing posts with label Parables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parables. Show all posts
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Thursday, July 28, 2016
The Inconvenient Mission
I am reading Luke chapter 15 this morning...
"So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." - Luke 15:3-7 ESV
This is the first of three parables. Next He speaks of a lost coin. Then after that is the famous story of the prodigal son.
Have you ever lost your car keys? Is it fun? No, It is a few minutes of panic and then if they are not found it is who knows how much time of compromised wranglings to either get into the car or find an alternate means of transportation.
What about losing a wallet, a will or an important document? The lost coin parable lines up with that one.
Then the parable of the prodigal lines up with a family dispute that ends in a person leaving (perhaps in an angry way) and not talking to the rest of the family for an extended period of time. Fun Fun Fun.
Let's be honest. All three of these things are huge inconveniences in the natural realm. They are drains on time and productivity. The 99 sheep aren't getting cared for. The lady of the house surely had other plans besides searching for a coin all day. The father wanted a happy peaceful home.
This chapter is really about souls not stuff and the recovery of souls will always have degrees of inconvenience. Jesus focuses on the eventual rejoicing we will feel when what was lost is found and we do well to have that focus also.
People, like sheep, need experiences that mature them. Coins need to be put in secure places. Families need to work things through and not live in quiet unhappiness. Souls need to be saved.
Evangelism is important. There will be rejoicing because of it. I think about my day today and as a man I want it to be productive. The last thing I want to do is go looking for my car keys or wallet. At the same time I know that people are lost and they need to be found. Like the prodigal son before he left home discontent is simmering under the surface. People want out but can't find a way out so they just cope from day to day.
Jesus is all about finding lost things. I know people who talk about how much they love soul winning. They talk to people everywhere and hand out tracts where ever they go. They have million redemption stories. I am glad for them and have had brief seasons like that but for the most part I find soul winning inconvenient.
I hate it when a sheep goes missing. It messes up my day.
Then I read this and reorient again. If my prayers are for a day without inconvenience then I am missing out because God has an inconvenient day planned. He is looking for sheep. He is under the couch with the housewife looking for the lost money. He is the Father who has two very different sons who is filled with longing for both of them to truly know him and not just live far away or close but in ignorance.
God, We need your mind. Shift our hearts. Fill us. Evangelism is not likely to become more convenient. In a team it can be social and fun but our profit is a payout of joy later. We want to be where You are. We want to think like You think. Give us divine appointments today and give us a flexible generous mind that is willing to step off our path to be with You on your mission.
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"So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." - Luke 15:3-7 ESV
This is the first of three parables. Next He speaks of a lost coin. Then after that is the famous story of the prodigal son.
Have you ever lost your car keys? Is it fun? No, It is a few minutes of panic and then if they are not found it is who knows how much time of compromised wranglings to either get into the car or find an alternate means of transportation.
What about losing a wallet, a will or an important document? The lost coin parable lines up with that one.
Then the parable of the prodigal lines up with a family dispute that ends in a person leaving (perhaps in an angry way) and not talking to the rest of the family for an extended period of time. Fun Fun Fun.
Let's be honest. All three of these things are huge inconveniences in the natural realm. They are drains on time and productivity. The 99 sheep aren't getting cared for. The lady of the house surely had other plans besides searching for a coin all day. The father wanted a happy peaceful home.
This chapter is really about souls not stuff and the recovery of souls will always have degrees of inconvenience. Jesus focuses on the eventual rejoicing we will feel when what was lost is found and we do well to have that focus also.
People, like sheep, need experiences that mature them. Coins need to be put in secure places. Families need to work things through and not live in quiet unhappiness. Souls need to be saved.
Evangelism is important. There will be rejoicing because of it. I think about my day today and as a man I want it to be productive. The last thing I want to do is go looking for my car keys or wallet. At the same time I know that people are lost and they need to be found. Like the prodigal son before he left home discontent is simmering under the surface. People want out but can't find a way out so they just cope from day to day.
Jesus is all about finding lost things. I know people who talk about how much they love soul winning. They talk to people everywhere and hand out tracts where ever they go. They have million redemption stories. I am glad for them and have had brief seasons like that but for the most part I find soul winning inconvenient.
I hate it when a sheep goes missing. It messes up my day.
Then I read this and reorient again. If my prayers are for a day without inconvenience then I am missing out because God has an inconvenient day planned. He is looking for sheep. He is under the couch with the housewife looking for the lost money. He is the Father who has two very different sons who is filled with longing for both of them to truly know him and not just live far away or close but in ignorance.
God, We need your mind. Shift our hearts. Fill us. Evangelism is not likely to become more convenient. In a team it can be social and fun but our profit is a payout of joy later. We want to be where You are. We want to think like You think. Give us divine appointments today and give us a flexible generous mind that is willing to step off our path to be with You on your mission.
--
Friday, February 19, 2016
The Rocky And Thorny Ground
I'm still chewing on the parable of the sower in Luke chapter eight.
"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience." - Luke 8:11-15 ESV
Parables are interesting things. They are very good to chew on because the meaning of the parable is deep and lasting but if you play with them to much they will break because they have a central meaning and it can be lost if you focus on the wrong things.
Someone could say, 'We are not farmers. Does He want us to be farmers? Is farming a more spiritual profession?'.
Whole groups of people have gone in directions like this. Jesus used Earthy illustrations and so people surmised that Jesus preferred rural activities and therefore they must be more spiritual but that is a stretch. Grace is white collar and blue collar. Grace is God's method for dealing with all people.
Robertson McQuilkin calls a parable one of the 'figures of comparison' in his book 'Understanding and Applying The Bible'. Figures of comparison are a distinct form of literature. Like a question or a command it has a primary usage and that must be known in order for it to be understood correctly.
The disciples understood that what they were hearing was a riddle of some kind. Jesus goes deeper and explains...
"And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' " - Luke 8:9-10 ESV
So, I want to avoid how 'others' would interpret Jesus' words about the seed and the ground and find the way that is 'given'. The grace way. The gift way.
On the wayside the seed gets trodden down before it takes root. On the rocky ground things begin in joy but never progress. If there are thorns the plant grows to a certain point but never produces fruit. Only the good ground has fruit.
We talked about wayside ground but today I'm looking at rocky and thorny ground. Rocky ground is shallow and thorny ground has three aspects in the Gospel of Luke.
"...they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature..." Luke 8:14b
That is distilled further in Matthew.
"As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." - Matthew 13:22 ESV
Grace understanding is good soil. The seed is given and the understanding is given.
If our understanding is shallow we will like what we hear but it won't take root because we have a system underneath that is incompatible with growth and maturity.
Thorns are unlike rocks. They are allowed to grow. They happen and they have benefits attached with them. Those benefits are deceitful ones but pleasurable for a season.
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." - Jeremiah 8:20 ESV
It is a sad lament. Jeremiah said this of Israel. Opportunities were wasted in their window of opportunity and there was no spiritual food to satisfy the hunger that was to come upon them.
God has good seed but do we have good soil?
Grace. Grace. Grace. That is what is needed.
My effort will fix nothing. God's grace is everything. Truth is given as a gift. I don't want to be shallow or distracted. There is to much at stake. The harvest season is only so long and what is planted today is needed for tomorrow.
God help us. Help us to handle the truth with care. Cause us to receive the truth with depth. Teach us grace. We want the principles to turn into application in our lives. We want to live the message. We want the fruits of the Holy Spirit to abound in our lives. Thank You God. You are the farmer and we are your field. Thank You God.
--
"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience." - Luke 8:11-15 ESV
Parables are interesting things. They are very good to chew on because the meaning of the parable is deep and lasting but if you play with them to much they will break because they have a central meaning and it can be lost if you focus on the wrong things.
Someone could say, 'We are not farmers. Does He want us to be farmers? Is farming a more spiritual profession?'.
Whole groups of people have gone in directions like this. Jesus used Earthy illustrations and so people surmised that Jesus preferred rural activities and therefore they must be more spiritual but that is a stretch. Grace is white collar and blue collar. Grace is God's method for dealing with all people.
Robertson McQuilkin calls a parable one of the 'figures of comparison' in his book 'Understanding and Applying The Bible'. Figures of comparison are a distinct form of literature. Like a question or a command it has a primary usage and that must be known in order for it to be understood correctly.
The disciples understood that what they were hearing was a riddle of some kind. Jesus goes deeper and explains...
"And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' " - Luke 8:9-10 ESV
So, I want to avoid how 'others' would interpret Jesus' words about the seed and the ground and find the way that is 'given'. The grace way. The gift way.
On the wayside the seed gets trodden down before it takes root. On the rocky ground things begin in joy but never progress. If there are thorns the plant grows to a certain point but never produces fruit. Only the good ground has fruit.
We talked about wayside ground but today I'm looking at rocky and thorny ground. Rocky ground is shallow and thorny ground has three aspects in the Gospel of Luke.
"...they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature..." Luke 8:14b
That is distilled further in Matthew.
"As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." - Matthew 13:22 ESV
Grace understanding is good soil. The seed is given and the understanding is given.
If our understanding is shallow we will like what we hear but it won't take root because we have a system underneath that is incompatible with growth and maturity.
Thorns are unlike rocks. They are allowed to grow. They happen and they have benefits attached with them. Those benefits are deceitful ones but pleasurable for a season.
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." - Jeremiah 8:20 ESV
It is a sad lament. Jeremiah said this of Israel. Opportunities were wasted in their window of opportunity and there was no spiritual food to satisfy the hunger that was to come upon them.
God has good seed but do we have good soil?
Grace. Grace. Grace. That is what is needed.
My effort will fix nothing. God's grace is everything. Truth is given as a gift. I don't want to be shallow or distracted. There is to much at stake. The harvest season is only so long and what is planted today is needed for tomorrow.
God help us. Help us to handle the truth with care. Cause us to receive the truth with depth. Teach us grace. We want the principles to turn into application in our lives. We want to live the message. We want the fruits of the Holy Spirit to abound in our lives. Thank You God. You are the farmer and we are your field. Thank You God.
--
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