Do I read and study the Bible, and pray, and listen to sermons as though these things will transform me? Or do I go through the motions passively, just waiting for something to happen?
Unfortunately, all too often I read passively and just figure that the cumulative effect will somehow make a difference. And perhaps it will. And of course God can work in great ways even without my effort. And yet…
“If you seek [wisdom, insight, and understanding] like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” (Prov. 2:4-7, ESV)
Solomon says that the fact that God gives wisdom is the very reason that we should diligently seek it. We give up so much in order to find money. We sacrifice greatly to find hidden treasure of various kinds. That’s how we should search for wisdom. Do I?
Each time I open the Bible, I should search diligently. I should bring all of myself to it and place myself next to the best I can understand of it. I should be fervently asking, "What wisdom do I need? How is my thinking not like God’s thinking? How are my affections unlike His?" Not because I ought to, but because, according to Solomon, that is where and how the springs of life will become mine!
Of course, the hope is not that this is simply a human endeavor. Clearly the power to bring about real change and real hope is the Spirit of God using the Word of God to do a work in me. And, according to Solomon, that is the very reason to search the Word diligently!
Of course there are many techniques for prayer, and many strategies for personal Bible reading, and many styles of preaching, but the underlying approach is the same: God is the source of wisdom and insight and understanding; therefore, I search diligently and deeply pursue it from Him through His Word!
Once I settle this underlying thinking, then it is significant to explore the possible strategies, trying different things, learning from people further down the road in this journey of seeking after God. Until I settle it, the techniques are unlikely to be very helpful. Once I settle that, many techniques could be very fruitful.
Father, forgive my laziness. Please change my heart to be like Solomon described, seeking you like someone searching for buried treasure, being confident that in you and your word, I will find life-giving wisdom, insight, and understanding!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Unable to be a disciple
Luke 14:33: So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
These are incredibly challenging words. We struggle to understand them because they seem so different from Jesus’ open invitations to people to come, those who are thirsty and weary, those who are weak and lowly and outcast. This call sets an impossibly high barrier. Unless I give up all that I have I cannot be his disciple!
Just before this statement (14:25), Luke tells us that there were huge crowds following. Certainly here is an example of winnowing them down, of finding out who the true disciples were. The true disciples are the ones who love God more than family, and more than their own lives. The pseudo disciples are those who fail, or who would fail, to give up anything that Christ demands of them. They would follow unless it involved breaking a relationship in their family, or leaving another relationship. They would follow unless it meant leaving their career. They would follow unless it meant giving up a dream they hold dearly. All of those who would follow “unless” *cannot* be Christ’s disciple.
Jesus gives two illustrations: a man building a building, and a man going to war. Neither one begins without figuring out the cost of the whole project, or if he does so, he looks foolish (as in the case of building a tower) or he is destroyed (as in the case of war) if he gets part way in and discovers he cannot complete the task he started. Humanly speaking, people who start an endeavor without looking ahead to the rest of that endeavor are foolish, and they should be ashamed if they discover part way in that they were never really willing to do what it would take to complete the task.
In effect Jesus said, “Before you happily join with me, think through what it entails.” In short, I think he is saying in this section, “To be my disciple, I must have ultimate authority in your life. You must give up everything else. The claim that anything else has on your life must be broken.”
Of course God doesn’t take all of these things away from us usually. Job’s experience is not what most experience. But I expect that everyone will experience significant sacrifice in following. God is God. As such, He sees things differently than we do, and He has different priorities than we do. When our values and our priorities are different from God's, then we must be willing to let go of what we claim and follow His way instead.
In effect, everything we have must shift from ownership to borrowing. I don’t have a right to keep anything that I have before God. Everything is something that he lets me manage for a time, but it isn’t mine, and I shouldn’t complain if he takes it away.
Immediately after this challenging statement, Jesus talks about useless salt, salt without taste that is now pointless. The natural connection is that someone who claims to be a follower of Christ who has not given up everything is like salt without saltiness. That person, in some sense, is useless to God as a disciple of Christ.
It is startling to think that many if not most of the people in the crowd were useless as disciples. Of course, Jesus was seeking to turn them into disciples. He wanted them to be those who counted the cost. But as they were, they were like salt without saltiness. They would hang out with Jesus until it got hard, or until it cost them too much, or until something more interesting or satisfying came along.
So what do I still claim ownership to? Whatever it is, I need to confess my attachment to it to God, and ask Him to give me the courage to give it to Him. Do I trust Him enough for that?
Certainly I am a product of my culture in that I want my opportunity for self-fulfillment. I want to be able to do what I think I am most gifted to do, what I most love to do. Do I love God more than my own self-fulfillment? That is a painful thing to hand to God and say, “Even if that never comes, I will still serve you.” For some it might be staying in an unfulfilling marriage because of God’s command to do so. For others it might be leaving an inappropriate or unhealthy relationship. For some it might be sacrificing to meet the needs of someone in their care or someone they encounter. For some it might be giving up their own possessions to serve others. For some it might be truly being a servant who is unappreciated and unrewarded.
Whatever it is, Jesus says, “You cannot be my disciple if you do not renounce all that you have.”
And of course, this is obvious! It cannot be otherwise! Jesus is God. If I don't recognize Him as God, how can I be one of His? To marry someone, we vow to renounce all others, to be committed to this one person alone in marriage. God demands the same thing: If I say He is God and I am His disciple, how can put limits on His authority? As soon as I say that, I say that He isn't my God. If I say, "I'll follow you unless you cross this boundary or demand this of me," He is no longer my God.
Father, forgive me for being so weak in the face of sacrifice. Please be patient with me. Please change me so that I am willing and able to give up all. Teach me to see that the choice is between being with you, and having something else. Teach me to say with the Psalmist, “Apart from you I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:2)
What gives me the courage to proceed is that I fully believe that there is nothing that is worth having if it means not being with God. But when we step back from submitting to God as God, we are useless in His hands, like salt that is good for nothing but to be thrown out.
What also gives the courage to proceed is that I fully believe that God is truly good. Those who sacrifice to follow Him will eventually be richly rewarded with the fellowship of being with Him! And that is what means more than anything else.
These are incredibly challenging words. We struggle to understand them because they seem so different from Jesus’ open invitations to people to come, those who are thirsty and weary, those who are weak and lowly and outcast. This call sets an impossibly high barrier. Unless I give up all that I have I cannot be his disciple!
Just before this statement (14:25), Luke tells us that there were huge crowds following. Certainly here is an example of winnowing them down, of finding out who the true disciples were. The true disciples are the ones who love God more than family, and more than their own lives. The pseudo disciples are those who fail, or who would fail, to give up anything that Christ demands of them. They would follow unless it involved breaking a relationship in their family, or leaving another relationship. They would follow unless it meant leaving their career. They would follow unless it meant giving up a dream they hold dearly. All of those who would follow “unless” *cannot* be Christ’s disciple.
Jesus gives two illustrations: a man building a building, and a man going to war. Neither one begins without figuring out the cost of the whole project, or if he does so, he looks foolish (as in the case of building a tower) or he is destroyed (as in the case of war) if he gets part way in and discovers he cannot complete the task he started. Humanly speaking, people who start an endeavor without looking ahead to the rest of that endeavor are foolish, and they should be ashamed if they discover part way in that they were never really willing to do what it would take to complete the task.
In effect Jesus said, “Before you happily join with me, think through what it entails.” In short, I think he is saying in this section, “To be my disciple, I must have ultimate authority in your life. You must give up everything else. The claim that anything else has on your life must be broken.”
Of course God doesn’t take all of these things away from us usually. Job’s experience is not what most experience. But I expect that everyone will experience significant sacrifice in following. God is God. As such, He sees things differently than we do, and He has different priorities than we do. When our values and our priorities are different from God's, then we must be willing to let go of what we claim and follow His way instead.
In effect, everything we have must shift from ownership to borrowing. I don’t have a right to keep anything that I have before God. Everything is something that he lets me manage for a time, but it isn’t mine, and I shouldn’t complain if he takes it away.
Immediately after this challenging statement, Jesus talks about useless salt, salt without taste that is now pointless. The natural connection is that someone who claims to be a follower of Christ who has not given up everything is like salt without saltiness. That person, in some sense, is useless to God as a disciple of Christ.
It is startling to think that many if not most of the people in the crowd were useless as disciples. Of course, Jesus was seeking to turn them into disciples. He wanted them to be those who counted the cost. But as they were, they were like salt without saltiness. They would hang out with Jesus until it got hard, or until it cost them too much, or until something more interesting or satisfying came along.
So what do I still claim ownership to? Whatever it is, I need to confess my attachment to it to God, and ask Him to give me the courage to give it to Him. Do I trust Him enough for that?
Certainly I am a product of my culture in that I want my opportunity for self-fulfillment. I want to be able to do what I think I am most gifted to do, what I most love to do. Do I love God more than my own self-fulfillment? That is a painful thing to hand to God and say, “Even if that never comes, I will still serve you.” For some it might be staying in an unfulfilling marriage because of God’s command to do so. For others it might be leaving an inappropriate or unhealthy relationship. For some it might be sacrificing to meet the needs of someone in their care or someone they encounter. For some it might be giving up their own possessions to serve others. For some it might be truly being a servant who is unappreciated and unrewarded.
Whatever it is, Jesus says, “You cannot be my disciple if you do not renounce all that you have.”
And of course, this is obvious! It cannot be otherwise! Jesus is God. If I don't recognize Him as God, how can I be one of His? To marry someone, we vow to renounce all others, to be committed to this one person alone in marriage. God demands the same thing: If I say He is God and I am His disciple, how can put limits on His authority? As soon as I say that, I say that He isn't my God. If I say, "I'll follow you unless you cross this boundary or demand this of me," He is no longer my God.
Father, forgive me for being so weak in the face of sacrifice. Please be patient with me. Please change me so that I am willing and able to give up all. Teach me to see that the choice is between being with you, and having something else. Teach me to say with the Psalmist, “Apart from you I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:2)
What gives me the courage to proceed is that I fully believe that there is nothing that is worth having if it means not being with God. But when we step back from submitting to God as God, we are useless in His hands, like salt that is good for nothing but to be thrown out.
What also gives the courage to proceed is that I fully believe that God is truly good. Those who sacrifice to follow Him will eventually be richly rewarded with the fellowship of being with Him! And that is what means more than anything else.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Laughing at God
When God told Abraham his plan to give Abraham a son by Sarah, “Abraham fell on his face and laughed.” (Genesis 17:17) And when she heard the plan, “Sarah laughed to herself.” (Genesis 18:12) To doubt God’s Word is an offense to God. It is amazing that in this, a center point of the record of God’s work with His people, the heroes of faith questioned God. It is this tradition into which Zechariah the priest falls. And Mary, Jesus’ mother, stands in contrast. They questioned God while she believed Him.
Do I doubt God’s power? I’m afraid I do at times. Or perhaps more accurately, I think of Him as being irrelevant. He is out there. I am in here. I am suffering through a challenging time and He ‘sits idly by’ (see Habakkuk 1:3, 13).
Perhaps the ambiguity of the word is very appropriate. The ESV has a footnote that says it could mean, “Too wonderful.” In fact, that is how the identical word is translated in Zechariah 8:6.
Here Abraham was 99 years old (see Genesis 17:1). Obviously he had been distraught for years over not having a true heir, a true son. It seemed apparent that this thing was ‘too wonderful’ for God. Whether or not he could do it was somewhat irrelevant. He hadn’t done it.
Father, teach me to have confidence in two things: first, that you can do all things, and second, that you care deeply and are involved in the world such that no good thing is unlike you to do. These things aren’t too wonderful. It is just like you to do great good. Will you do this great good that I want done today? Perhaps not. But not because it is too wonderful. You delight to give good things to your children (see Matthew 7:11).
Let us not laugh at the thought of God doing great things in His way.
Do I doubt God’s power? I’m afraid I do at times. Or perhaps more accurately, I think of Him as being irrelevant. He is out there. I am in here. I am suffering through a challenging time and He ‘sits idly by’ (see Habakkuk 1:3, 13).
Perhaps the ambiguity of the word is very appropriate. The ESV has a footnote that says it could mean, “Too wonderful.” In fact, that is how the identical word is translated in Zechariah 8:6.
Here Abraham was 99 years old (see Genesis 17:1). Obviously he had been distraught for years over not having a true heir, a true son. It seemed apparent that this thing was ‘too wonderful’ for God. Whether or not he could do it was somewhat irrelevant. He hadn’t done it.
Father, teach me to have confidence in two things: first, that you can do all things, and second, that you care deeply and are involved in the world such that no good thing is unlike you to do. These things aren’t too wonderful. It is just like you to do great good. Will you do this great good that I want done today? Perhaps not. But not because it is too wonderful. You delight to give good things to your children (see Matthew 7:11).
Let us not laugh at the thought of God doing great things in His way.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Of pearls, pigs, and parables
Luke 8:10: 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.”
Jesus made puzzling statements regarding the purpose of parables. We often talk about how these earthy, everyday stories made the truth readily apparent to people, making it easier for them to pay attention, hear the main point, understand it, and retain it. Yet Jesus seems so say that he used parables so that people would not understand! What is happening?
It is interesting to note that Luke says that the disciples didn’t understand this parable of the four soils as Jesus told it. They had to ask Jesus what it meant. They asked, and Jesus readily told them. There is no indication that Jesus decided who would hear and who wouldn’t. That is, as in the parable, the seed seems to be spread broadly on 'good' and 'bad' soil alike. Rather, those who heard the additional explanation were those who stayed around to learn more, those who asked the question.
Luke 8:15: It seems that they are typified by Jesus’ description of the good soil.
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.
It seems that Jesus chose to give more explanation to those who held on to what they were given and wanted to understand it more, and they sought that understanding at least in part by talking with Him. What little they got, they held on to it and tried to get more.
In contrast, those who didn’t understand initially (presumably most everyone) and yet didn’t seek to learn more (that is, they didn’t act like the disciples) went away without understanding more. Perhaps they had hardness like the path such that they didn’t care about what they heard or didn’t care about learning more. Or perhaps they didn’t want any trouble (like the rocky soil) and so wanted to be cautious about getting close to a radical teacher. Or perhaps they had other cares in life (like the thorny soil) and so wanted to get back to other things instead of contemplating the message.
Elsewhere Jesus said:
Matthew 7:6: Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
If people didn’t value what little they had, what good would it do to give them more? If you throw a small coin to a pig, it will try to eat it rather than consider its monetary value. So throwing something with greater monetary value (like pearls) would only increase the problem. If you give a dog valued food, it will just eat it, ignoring its value. So giving it the holy 'showbread' would only make the matters worse.
The best predictor of how people will respond to more truth is how they have responded to the truth they have received. Jesus taught in such a way that people got a ‘teaser,’ a part of the truth. This was, in a very positive way, the bait or the lost leader. If they wanted to know more, Jesus readily provided it. If they did not want to learn more, they were free to walk away from this small portion that was given.
In terms of application, this raises at least two different issues. The first is how I relate to the truth that I have, and the second is how I interact with other people (e.g., in evangelism and discipleship) and how they respond to what truth they have received.
So how do I relate to the truth I have received? It is ever so easy to hear truth and then walk away, to read the Bible yet not wrestle with it, to be convicted about sin and then to justify my action. Those people who are like the good soil, upon encountering truth, hold it fast in their hearts, and don’t let it go, until it bears fruit. They try to understand it, asking questions, processing it. They try to figure out what to do with it. They overlook problems with the messenger and take seriously the message. So how do I respond to hearing the truth?
The second application is how I interact with others as I endeavor to share truth with them. Jesus did not force people to respond or even to listen. He gave them some truth, and he gave them an opportunity to respond to that truth in faith, or not. If they responded to that truth well, he provided additional opportunity, albeit sometimes with hurdles that helped demonstrate how determined they were (e.g., his rebuff of the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30). Consequently, in both evangelism and discipleship, it seems that a good strategy is one in which truth is provided to people along with the opportunity to seek more truth. If they seek more, more can gladly be provided. Of course one can enact this strategy in a hard-hearted and arrogant way, which obviously would be wrong. It seems that Jesus did it in a compassionate way, even weeping over Jerusalem when that city rejected the truth that was provided to it.
So how do you listen to truth? And how do you endeavor to make it known to others?
Jesus made puzzling statements regarding the purpose of parables. We often talk about how these earthy, everyday stories made the truth readily apparent to people, making it easier for them to pay attention, hear the main point, understand it, and retain it. Yet Jesus seems so say that he used parables so that people would not understand! What is happening?
It is interesting to note that Luke says that the disciples didn’t understand this parable of the four soils as Jesus told it. They had to ask Jesus what it meant. They asked, and Jesus readily told them. There is no indication that Jesus decided who would hear and who wouldn’t. That is, as in the parable, the seed seems to be spread broadly on 'good' and 'bad' soil alike. Rather, those who heard the additional explanation were those who stayed around to learn more, those who asked the question.
Luke 8:15: It seems that they are typified by Jesus’ description of the good soil.
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.
It seems that Jesus chose to give more explanation to those who held on to what they were given and wanted to understand it more, and they sought that understanding at least in part by talking with Him. What little they got, they held on to it and tried to get more.
In contrast, those who didn’t understand initially (presumably most everyone) and yet didn’t seek to learn more (that is, they didn’t act like the disciples) went away without understanding more. Perhaps they had hardness like the path such that they didn’t care about what they heard or didn’t care about learning more. Or perhaps they didn’t want any trouble (like the rocky soil) and so wanted to be cautious about getting close to a radical teacher. Or perhaps they had other cares in life (like the thorny soil) and so wanted to get back to other things instead of contemplating the message.
Elsewhere Jesus said:
Matthew 7:6: Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
If people didn’t value what little they had, what good would it do to give them more? If you throw a small coin to a pig, it will try to eat it rather than consider its monetary value. So throwing something with greater monetary value (like pearls) would only increase the problem. If you give a dog valued food, it will just eat it, ignoring its value. So giving it the holy 'showbread' would only make the matters worse.
The best predictor of how people will respond to more truth is how they have responded to the truth they have received. Jesus taught in such a way that people got a ‘teaser,’ a part of the truth. This was, in a very positive way, the bait or the lost leader. If they wanted to know more, Jesus readily provided it. If they did not want to learn more, they were free to walk away from this small portion that was given.
In terms of application, this raises at least two different issues. The first is how I relate to the truth that I have, and the second is how I interact with other people (e.g., in evangelism and discipleship) and how they respond to what truth they have received.
So how do I relate to the truth I have received? It is ever so easy to hear truth and then walk away, to read the Bible yet not wrestle with it, to be convicted about sin and then to justify my action. Those people who are like the good soil, upon encountering truth, hold it fast in their hearts, and don’t let it go, until it bears fruit. They try to understand it, asking questions, processing it. They try to figure out what to do with it. They overlook problems with the messenger and take seriously the message. So how do I respond to hearing the truth?
The second application is how I interact with others as I endeavor to share truth with them. Jesus did not force people to respond or even to listen. He gave them some truth, and he gave them an opportunity to respond to that truth in faith, or not. If they responded to that truth well, he provided additional opportunity, albeit sometimes with hurdles that helped demonstrate how determined they were (e.g., his rebuff of the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30). Consequently, in both evangelism and discipleship, it seems that a good strategy is one in which truth is provided to people along with the opportunity to seek more truth. If they seek more, more can gladly be provided. Of course one can enact this strategy in a hard-hearted and arrogant way, which obviously would be wrong. It seems that Jesus did it in a compassionate way, even weeping over Jerusalem when that city rejected the truth that was provided to it.
So how do you listen to truth? And how do you endeavor to make it known to others?
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