the words of Jesus

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RECONCILIATION

[The restoration of friendship and fellowship after estrangement]

(Luke 15:6&7) “…..Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says. ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

A couple of days ago, I was sitting with my wife in the afternoon watching a Hallmark movie.  The story was about a young lady who had obsessively followed after her career forsaking her high school best friend and high school boy friend.  Years after high school, she returned to her home town.  As the story progressed, she came to recognize her failures regarding her friends. Through repentance and apologies her high school friends forgave her.  So the story ended with the restoration of friendship and fellowship after a period of estrangement.

Why am I sharing my reaction to this story?  At the end of the story, I was quite emotional.  Sometimes this is attributed to me being a male over fifty; however, the emotions were real even though I was watching actors in a movie.  It seems to me that humans love to see an act of reconciliation.  I certainly do.  I experience joy and gladness when people overcome their differences and are reunited.

Take for example the feelings you experience when you lead someone in a sinners prayer.  The few times I have had the opportunity to lead someone to the Lord, I experienced joy, gladness, and even elation when they received Jesus.  I was sharing in a person’s reconciliation with their creator.  An amazing and wonderful event was taking place.

Our scripture from Luke is part of Jesus’ parable about the Lost Sheep. He points out that in heaven there is an emotional, joyful response to a person’s reconciliation with the Father.  God loves his children, and for each of us isn’t it wonderful to know that on our day of salvation all heaven rejoiced at our reconciliation.

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE

(Colossians 3:12-14) Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

It is always good to remind ourselves as God’s chosen people, how we should act, remembering that we are holy and dearly loved.  In all humility, we remember what Jesus sacrificed for us. We have surrendered ourselves to him, and he has lavished on us holiness and love.  In return, we strive to do what pleases him by following his instructions.  Jesus put it this way, “A new command I give you: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34).”

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THE NARROW WAY

(Matthew 7:14) But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I was standing on the trail watching the approaching hikers coming from the direction I planned to travel.  As they approached, I asked them how the trail looked back in the direction from which they’d come.  Each one looked weary and haggard, and most of them didn’t give me any useful information.  Finally, an older gentleman stopped and smiled at me.

“Are you looking for information?” He asked.

“Yes, I replied.  I’d like to know what’s ahead.”

 He invited me to sit down on a nearby rock.  Compared to the other travelers he looked surprisingly fresh.  We sat down, and he began to share his knowledge of the trail.

“I’ve traveled this way many times.  In the beginning, I just relied on my own abilities.  It was always grueling.  I made it through, but I always had some type of injury.  The difference came when I met a man who changed my way of thinking.  He actually changed my whole life.  He showed me a better way.  I was amazed when he showed me an alternate trail.  It seemed so obvious.  I was embarrassed that I’d missed it. The alternate trail was narrow, but it was much easier to traverse.  Every time I came to a fork in the trail, he was right there to direct me.”

He paused to see my reaction.  I must admit I was excited by the thought of an alternate trail.  The one I was traveling on seem to lead to nowhere.

“Would you like to meet this man?” He asked me.

“Yes! I would.  I’d like to discover this narrow way.  Where can I find him?”

The older gentleman smiled, “He’s right here; let me introduce him to you.”

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JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

(Colossians 2:8-10 MSG) Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk.  They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything.  They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spiritual beings.  But that’s not the way of Christ.  Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly.  You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.  When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too.  His power extends over everything. 

It is very common for people to intellectualize Christianity.  But no amount of study or discussion can give a person what Christ has to offer.  When you come to him, when you open yourself to him, then you’re on the road to understanding how God planned your redemption, and from that premise, you have the foundation to study and discuss the wonders of God’s world. 

No matter how intelligent a person considers himself or herself to be, their reasoning is flawed in comparison to the one who created the universe and all it contains.  It makes sense to first seek- out this all powerful and loving being we call God.  For knowing God is the beginning of wisdom (see Proverbs 9:10).  I began to make sense of this life when I surrendered my will to God and received Jesus as my savior.  I was given understanding that was unavailable before God gave me his Holy Spirit.  Then the words of the Bible became illuminated. The Holy Spirit guided me as I read , and I began to understand God’s truth. 

(1 Corinthians 1:20)  Where is the wise person?  Where is the teacher of the law?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

Jesus is the source of wisdom and knowledge. It all begins with him.  Clear thinking isn’t found in the words of man, but it is found in the words of God’s son. For those who desire to have wisdom and knowledge, you will find them in Jesus.

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FORGIVENESS OF SIN (3)

(Colossians 1:19-22) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (His Son), and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

Isn’t it interesting that God’s plan of redemption is for all things both in heaven and on earth?  The Old Testament (Isaiah chapter 11) talks about what it will be like when God’s plan is completed.  He says things like “the lion will lay down with the lamb” indicating that there will be peace for all of God’s creation. We get to experience some of what is to come when we receive the peace that Christ brings to us through salvation.

Through faith in God’s Son we have become holy in God’s sight.  We are without blemish and free from accusation before God.   Jesus made this possible.  God our Father never intended to be without us, and he has gone to great lengths to bring us back to himself.  The guilt that we lived with when we were lost in our sins has been paid for.  We are free!  Our sins have been forgiven.  Praise to Jesus our Lord and Savior.

The conclusion of God’s plan is still to come.  This will include a new heaven and a new earth without evil.  We will live in the full presence of God.  However, there is still time for those who don’t know God to take advantage of the redemption that Jesus provided for all mankind.  We, his children, are given the opportunity to share the good news of our redemption with those who are still lost in their sins.  Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (See Matthew 9:37&38)

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THE PITFALL OF GREED

(Luke 12:15) Then he said to them, “Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Jesus follows this statement of caution with the parable of the foolish rich man (verses 16-20).  He tells of a rich man whose fields yielded an unexpectedly abundant harvest.  His barns were inadequate to handle the harvest, so he tore them down and built bigger ones.  Here he is thinking he’s got it made, but his time was up, and he died that very night. 

Jesus concludes the parable in verse 21, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.  The message translates this verse, “That’s what happens when you fill your barn with self and not with God.”  Jesus often directs his teaching to the matter of focusing on material wealth rather than God. He knows our weaknesses, and how easily we can fall into the pitfall of greed.

Our culture is filled with the “I need more syndrome”.  We are continually trying to fill the bottomless pit of want.  Solomon warns us in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.” Jesus wants us to pursue the life that comes from trusting God with our needs.  Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

God offers us a better way.  By focusing our lives on him and trusting him with our needs, we can avoid the merry-go-round of greed.  We will be disappointed by spending our lives accumulating wealth and material possessions.  There is never enough to satisfy.  God’s way brings satisfaction.

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BE MERCIFUL

(Jude 22-23) Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

The Church, the Body of Christ, has throughout the ages frequently missed the basic tenet of being merciful.    On the other hand the Church has been an instrument of mercy in society since its beginning.  It’s been a mixed bag.

 In Luke 6:35-36 Jesus says, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  God has shown us mercy, and he desires us to be merciful.  I believe our ability to be merciful depends on our ability to receive mercy.  Humility is the key.

To receive mercy, I must first recognize my need for mercy.  When I know that I have sinned against God, there is then the recognition of the debt I owe to God.  Secondly, I need to humble myself and become aware that there is nothing I can do to repay this debt.  God is willing and has made the way to grant me mercy by forgiving my debt.  I don’t have to work for it.  It’s free.  That is hard for me because in my pride I want to do something to earn forgiveness.  However, by holding on to this idea of earning forgiveness, I will never even understand mercy.

Now you can see why it’s a mixed bag for the Church.  Our pride often gets in the way.  In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says to the Pharisees, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  And again in 12:7, “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”  The Pharisees were caught up in a ritual of sacrifice that fed their pride allowing them to condemn others rather than show them mercy.  They were trying to pay their debt to God on their own merit.  They were blinded by pride and did not understand mercy.   Therefore, they could not extend mercy. 

Mercy proceeds from a humble, forgiving heart.  This is God’s nature, and his heart toward us.  By surrendering my will to God and allowing myself to be forgiven, I take the first step in understanding mercy.  I feel the burden of gilt lifted and the exhilaration of being free.  But, I must remember that I’m free and not fall prey to the lie that I must do something for this freedom.  That lie feeds my pride.  I must remain humble. Then in humble gratitude, I live under God’s mercy.  A life that is continually bathed in mercy emanates mercy. 

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Love and the Ten Commandments

If you truly love someone you will treat them well.  You will honor them, and you will certainly not murder them.  You will not cheat on them, steal from them, lie about them, or covet what they have.  At least, if you love them, you will surely try. 

To accomplish this, you’ll have to be patient, kind, not envious, and not work to look more important than the person you love.  I can’t imagine that you’d be rude to them or easily angered by them.  When they‘ve wronged you, you’d forgive and forget.  You’d protect them, trust them, and hope the best for them.

You may have guessed that what I’ve done here is to connect the Ten Commandments, found in Deuteronomy 5:7-21, and Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.  The Ten Commandments are not just rules to contain us, they are truly about love.  The first four commandments are about loving God.  The remaining six are about loving each other.  The Ten Commandments are about love.  As a matter of fact, if you don’t love God or your fellow humans, why would you even try to adhere to the Ten Commandments?

Jesus summed it up this way: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).”   

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OBEDIENCE

(John 15:9-12 MSG) “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me.  Make yourselves at home in my love.  If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love.  That’s what I’ve done – kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.  I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.  This is my command: Love one another the way I have loved you.”

The idea of obedience has always left a bad taste in my mouth.  I am leery of anyone who wants me to “obey” them.  From my earlies years, I have found ways to skirt around obedience.  As I was contemplating my approach to obedience, I was taken aback by the sudden realization that disobedience is what got us humans into trouble from the very beginning.  “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:11)  I think it is time for me to reevaluate the concept of obedience. 

In John 15:9-12 Jesus makes a clear connection between love and obedience.  If I keep his commands I’ll remain in his love.  Then the reverse is true.  If I don’t keep his commands, I will separate myself from him and set myself outside of his love.  If I choose disobedience then separation and loss of love is also my choice.  If I want to be like God and love like he loves, Jesus tells me that obedience to his commands is the key.  I then have a love relationship with him that flow out of me to others.

I remind myself that when Adam and Eve first disobeyed God, they brought sin and death into the world.  I indulge that devastation when I disobey Jesus’ command to love one another.  Obedience from this vantage point gives me a whole new perspective, and it nurtures in me a true desire to be obedient.  Unfortunately, a change in perspective is only a start, but it’s good to get started.  To change my heart takes the Lord working in me.  He and I have our work cut out for us.

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  GOD’S PEACE

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Nothing can bring you peace like a personal relationship with Jesus.  The closer you get to him the more peace you have in your life.  I believe this is very true.  When Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, he was comforting them, but there is also in these words the challenge to believe them.  Faith is required to attain his peace.

When we surrender ourselves to God and trust him with our lives, he gives us peace.  His peace is spiritual, and it transcends the influence of the physical world.  In Romans 8:6 we read, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Another way of looking at this is that the flesh looks at troubles from a finite perspective.  The peace that Jesus gives is from an eternal perspective.  He said, “I do not give to you as the world gives.”  In verses 28&29 He continues, “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’  If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.  I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.”  Jesus was teaching his disciples to look at the bigger picture, the eternal picture.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  God’s peace is spiritual.  For believers his peace permeates our souls.  We can’t explain it, and unbelievers can’t comprehend it.   Peace is a gift that God gives to his children.  When troubles come, we have confidence that his peace will be there. With his peace, we also have the hope and comfort that it brings.