Just Taking Up Space

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

January 3, 2020

Just Taking Up Space

Page 201

Luke 13: 1-9

Do you remember the story of Job? Do you remember how Job’s friends explained why bad things were happening to Job? They said it had to be because there was sin in Job’s life. In Israel, 2,000 years ago, the people still lived by this simplistic cause and effect view of life. This would be especially true if someone were killed in the act of worship; they would blame the victim. Certainly the person must have committed some awful sin to be executed in this way.

Jesus said no; the people died at the hands of a brutal Roman Governor, not the judgment of God. Then Jesus told his followers, who were also Galileans traveling to Jerusalem, a similar fate may await them. I suspect the crowd following Jesus thinned out at that time. Jesus’ point is that unless the people repented and embraced Kingdom values, the Roman oppressors would continue to brutally put down any suspected rebellion.

Jesus wanted the people to know that ultimately, they should fear the judgment of God. The parable of the fig tree is Jesus’ way of saying there is a date certain for which God’s judgment will come. In this story that Jesus tells, the fig tree was just taking up space in the garden. The owner was asked to give the fig tree one more year; “If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.”

My Takeaway: God doesn’t want his children to live in fear. He does want us to be ever mindful that he saved us to bear fruit for His Kingdom.

Sē’lah

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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.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also 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.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.