Friday, February 01, 2013

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Friday, February 01, 2013  I Continued Teaching with Many Parables: Part Three 

Page 190-191         Luke 16:1-17, 19-31

Jesus’ parable is about how Israel, the manager in the parable, had not been a good steward of her calling to be a light to the world. Jesus’ teachings made it clear that Israel’s days were numbered; she was in danger of losing God’s favor. The Pharisees responded to this problem by trying to become even more strenuous in their keeping of every dot and tittle of the law. Jesus’ response was that if you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep on getting what you're been getting. Jesus’ story suggests that perhaps it is time to throw caution to the wind and try something else.

The face of the Christian church has changed considerably in the last fifty years. Like the Pharisees in Jesus’ parable, the mainline denominations have become so self-centered and caught up in their own traditionalism that they are keeping out of their churches the very people Jesus called them to seek and find. As a result, the work of growing the Kingdom has been taken up by newer, independent churches, which have thrown off the traditional ways, and have found new ways to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to a lost and dying world.

By his teaching on faithfulness, which follows this parable, Jesus makes clear he is not throwing the baby out with the bath water. Jesus affirms the teachings of the Old Testament, and shows that with the coming Kingdom of God, which was announced by John the Baptist, there is a new way of incorporating God’s ways into our lives. Jesus was speaking to a culture that was caught up in performance-based acceptance. Your worth was determined by what you did and how well you did it. Ultimately, your worth was determined by your wealth, which came primarily through the ownership of land. Jesus was announcing a new Kingdom, where a person’s worth was determined by God’s unconditional acceptance. Material wealth is no longer needed to validate the value of our lives; it can now be used to share God’s blessings with others. God’s unconditional love and acceptance creates within us the desire for our lives to be marked by fidelity to God in all of our relationships.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is not about life and life after death. Nor is it a moral tale about riches and poverty, although there are clearly some inferences we can take and apply to our lives. The Pharisees were like the rich man in the parable; keeping the poor in their place. Did you notice how the rich man knew Lazarus’ name and tried to boss him around even from the next life?

Jesus said the Pharisees were like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son who was not not moved with compassion even when his “brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ (Luke 15:32). Jesus is teaching us that thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven, means that today we are building for Kingdom values to be in place on earth.

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Monday, February 04, 2013         I Continued Teaching with Many Parables: Part Four   

Page 192      Luke 17:1-10