Home to his Father

“He got right up and went home to his father. “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20, The Message)

The (sadly in some sense too) familiar story of the prodigal son is one of my favorite portions in the Bible.   What need do we have to look for a better picture of grace than the portrait drawn here by Christ himself?  A profligate, wastrel who has squandered everything he was ever given (he inherited it).  A descent into the depths of misery.  A return to his wealthy father, expecting only to be hired as a servant.  But what is this?  My father, the dignified elderly man (in the culture in which this story is told an elderly father, patriarch of the family, would never run to greet anyone, more less a prodigal son) running! out to meet his long lost, but always remembered son?  The son welcomed back, not as a servant, but as the son he is (and always) was.  Grace upon grace.

How did it all start?  What set everything in motion?  He got right up and went home...to his father.

You are a prodigal?  Get up and go home, your father is waiting, eagerly.

It's Resurrection, Resurrection, always Resurrection

“I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn’t be the end of me? Not on your life! It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there’s no resurrection, “We eat, we drink, the next day we die,” and that’s all there is to it.” (1 Corinthians 15:31–32, The Message)

How concisely Paul gets to the important point here.  All that we do, say, and claim stems from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  No resurrection?  No salvation.  We are still in our sins.  What drove Paul from early in the morning until late at night; what allowed him to endure persecutions, shipwreck, beatings, and wild beasts, was that fact that Christ was raised from the dead and so Paul was not working in vain, nor wasting his life.

Whatever God has called us to do in this life, it must be grounded in the same fact in which Paul's life was grounded:  resurrection.  Otherwise, eat, drink, and be happy, for tomorrow you shall die (and rot).

Strangers to Grace

““You’ll protest, ‘But we’ve known you all our lives!’ only to be interrupted with his abrupt, ‘Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don’t know the first thing about me.’ “That’s when you’ll find yourselves out in the cold, strangers to grace. You’ll watch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets march into God’s kingdom.” (Luke 13:26–28, The Message)

Christ's response to the question: Master, will only a few be saved?

He doesn't answer their question (leaving it for theogians to argue about until literally the kingdom comes), as usual Christ redirects their question in an unexpected and uncomfortable way.  The ones who asked and who certainly expected that they would be saved were challenged.  "Don't assume you are getting into the kingdom, Christ says.  There will be many who do assume this and they will not get in.  Even though they say they know God, they do not know God. 

At first glance these are chilling words.  One asks the question, "Am I such a person?"  As I think about it, however, I see the compassion and grace in these words.  Christ does not speak in such a way to scare his listeners, to give them sleepless nights, and fearful days.  He says this so they will pay close attention to their lives, so that they don't find themselves strangers to grace.

You should not be offended by a person who carefully explains safety equipment and its use when you  go mountain climbing, even when experienced.  The guide is concerned for your safety, so he doesn't assume anything.

Christ is calling even those who follow him not to complacently assume that they are in because he does not want them to be strangers to grace.

Will we listen to him?

Bankrupt Without Love

“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, The Message)

Love is a central tenet of the Christian faith.  I think sometimes it is easy to forget this.  People tick us of; they take advantage of us; they are different from us; they are unlovely and needy (which when one thinks about it is a pretty good description of us in God's eyes); so it's easy to find excuses not to love them.

Of course what we find in Christ is exactly the opposite (which is why the Church might find it so hard to welcome him now, he just wouldn't act like we think he ought to).  Christ seems to have gone out of his way to love the unlovely; the Zaccheus's, the Mary Magdalene's, the Samaritan woman.

It's often a struggle to be like Christ.  When it comes to love, as Mother Teresa once said, we need to look at people as if they were Jesus.  Love will flow naturally from that.

Cultivating God-Confidence

“Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.” (1 Corinthians 10:12, The Message)

Cultivate God-confidence, Paul tells the Corinthians.  There is simply no way to do this apart from faith and trust.  We cannot cultivate confidence in God by trusting ourselves or waiting for God to tell us why.  Confidence in God comes when we trust first and then see him move.  This isn't easy, nor is it natural, but then neither is growing a plant. 

Cultivation takes effort whether you are growing a garden or growing in God-confidence.

Don't Become Misers of What You Hear

““No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way.” (Luke 8:16, The Message)

   "Be careful that you don’t become misers of what you hear. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”” (Luke 8:18, The Message)

Christ to a crowd of listeners.  "What you are receiving from me is a message that I mean to be passed on to others.  Don't become misers of what you hear."  A miser is one who has treasure that he hoards.  He doesn't spend it; he doesn't share; he just hoards it. 

We do not want to be misers with the treasure of the eternal gospel.  The gospel does no good when we confine it to our hearts alone.  It is meant to be preached; it is meant to be shared.

May we freely pass on the gospel freely shared with us.

Quietly Worshipful; Noisily Grateful

“They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, “God is back, looking to the needs of his people!”” (Luke 7:16, The Message)

The reaction of the people at Nain when they witnessed Christ raise the widow's only son from the dead.  What an amazing event.  The poor widow undoubtedly goes from despair to elation in an instant.  The crowd can't believe what they'd witnessed—surely it was a place of holy mystery—and they react.

The Message paraphrases it as They were quietly worshipful then noisily grateful.  Quiet in regards to their worship of God who demonstrated his great and timely power.  What results?  What always results when God's people see God move in incredible ways.  They were noisily grateful. 

It's a good pattern don't you think?  Quiet worship and grateful noise.

Respond with the Energies of Prayer

“When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person.” (Luke 6:28, The Message)

From a human standpoint it's rare that we respond to someone who is giving us a difficult time with prayer, or as The Message puts it with the energies of prayer.  We want to respond alright, but usually in a tit for tat way, compounding evil with our version of "good" which is evil. 

How much better to respond to difficult people with the energies of prayer for them.  Will this change them?  Perhaps.   It will definitely change us.

We are the Messiah's Misfits

“It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around.” (1 Corinthians 4:9–10, The Message)

The Messiah's misfits.  It is an appropriate way to think of ourselves (along with Paul).  We have no home in this world. Everywhere and always we are at odds with the world's values.  We love people, but we must hold up a mirror to their sins.  Who wants to hear that message?

Yes.  We are misfits.  Happy misfits. 

Job and Mary

   Job:        Stones wear smooth, and soil erodes as you relentlessly grind down our hope

Mary:     I’m bursting with God-news;  I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.

Job:         Why don’t you just bury me alive  get me out of the way until your anger cools?

Mary:      His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him.








(All quotes from The Message)


I find this fascinating juxtaposition between Job and Mary in my Bible reading this morning.  Job is so seemingly pessimistic and Mary so optimistic.  Can they really be talking about the same God?


Of course they can. The two situations are radically different; Mary has just been informed that she will bear the Messiah; Job has lost everything he has, including all of his children.  Circumstances have a lot to do with our interaction with God.  Who wouldn't be questioning God if they were in Job's position?  Who wouldn't be praising God if they were in Mary's?

Some observations:

1. God's ways are mysterious.  Job was not being punished by God because of his bad behavior and Mary wasn't being rewarded by God because she was the only woman in history good enough to bear the Messiah.  Who can explain this?

2. It is okay to question God; it is okay to struggle.  Job is filled with questions until the very end of the book when God still doesn't answer Job's questions about pain and suffering.  God simply gives Job a glimpse of who he is.  Or, as Job put it: 

“You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”” (Job 42:4–6, The Message)

Notice that Job is not punished for all of his questions; indeed, at the end of the book he is given double everything that he had before (see observation 1).

3. God is God in good times and in suffering.  Job and Mary were addressing the same God.  He was no different in Job's suffering than he was in Mary's blessing.  The same God who gave Mary blessing allowed pain and anguish in Job's life.  

All of this reminds me of Lucy's conversation with Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Lucy referring to Aslan (allegory of God):  "He's not a tame lion."  Mr. Tumnus:  "No, he's not a tame lion, but he is good."

Oh that we would soak in that truth.  God is not a tame lion, but he is good.

God's Ultimate Miracle and Wisdom: Christ

“While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one.” (1 Corinthians 1:22–24, The Message)

Everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to have their own way to get salvation.  The Greeks were looking for wisdom, if the message was wise and profound, they would listen.  The Jews were looking for the miraculous, do some demonstrations of God's power and perhaps you were from God.  We moderns are looking for a god who takes us on our terms, in other words, we want a genie who will obey us. 

What everyone gets—what everyone needs!—is Christ, the Crucified.  The Message connects Paul's statement on Christ back to his comment on Jews and Greeks.  You want a miracle?  God's ultimate miracle is Christ.  You want wisdom?  God's ultimate wisdom is manifested in Christ.  You (moderns) want a genie?  You're not going to get one.  You must take God on his terms, and that is Christ crucified.

Strength is for Service, not Status

“Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status.” (Romans 15:1, The Message)

I love how the message ends this admonition from Paul:  Strength is for service, not status.  Those who are strong in the faith are not called to point that fact out so that everyone will notice.  They are called to use it in service of our Master, Jesus Christ.  They are to lend a hand to those who falter. 

Are you strong for status, or strong for service?

Stay at Your Post, Watching

“So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I’m saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch.”” (Mark 13:35–37, The Message)

Christ speaking to the disciples about his return.  What strikes me here is that we are to be doing our duty while we watch for Christ's return.  No quitting our jobs and going out to the desert to wait; no dropping all responsibilities and preparing for Christ's return.  We are to watch, yes; but we are to watch at our posts.

As a Marine, the way that The Message frames this appeals to me.  Every Marine had 11 general orders the second of which was: To walk my post in a military manner, keeping always on the alert and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing. So I understand what it means to stay at my post and watch.  It means to do what God has called me to do; be a husband, be a father, be a grandfather, do my job to the best of my ability, serve in my church, but meanwhile I'm watching because Christ is going to return. 

Maranatha!  Come quickly, Lord, and heal this brokenness.  You will find me at my post doing my duty.

Making Somebodies of Nobodies

I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved. Rom 9.25 Paul explains in Rom 9.25 that God will make somebodies of nobodies. He is talking about us there. We were nobodies—God was under no obligation to draw us to faith; he is the potter; we are the clay—however, God delights in taking a nobody and making him a somebody. This is a mystery and Paul keeps it a mystery. He does not explain why God does what he does, only that he does what he does. It is at this point that we must rest our seeking because God does not feel it necessary to explain his choice to us. His choice is something we rest in, not something we question. I'm grateful and happy that God took a nobody like me and made me his child; a somebody.

Acting Cozy with the Riffraff

Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?” The Message brilliantly captures Christ's passion for sinners here where he was accused by the Pharisees of acting cozy with the riffraff.  Why did they accuse him of this?  Because he was having supper with a collection of disreputable guests.  It's hard to escape the thought that our reaction to Christ would have been the same as the Pharisees.   The whole point of Christ's ministry was to go after the lost, the spiritually blind, the sinners, the riffraff.   Is your heart so constrained by Christ that others accuse you of acting cozy with the riffraff.  You are probably on the Christ-honoring path.

God's Promise: Pure Gift

This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift. Rom 4.16; The Message Love the way The Message frames Rom. 4.16: God's promise arrives as pure gift. This is hard to wrap my brand around because while we preach grace as followers of Christ, we live out law. We secretly want God's promise to arrive through our good works, but it will never come that way.  It arrives as pure gift from God.   You can't work for a free gift; you can only receive it.