Lenten Devotions - Day 20
“I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand.” Matthew 13:13
We consider stories as vehicles for communicating and teaching. We think of them as interesting ways of teaching lessons, morals, history, and patterns for living. A good story captures the imagination, awakens the senses, and introduces us to worlds, characters, and ideas we might otherwise never know. They engage, enlighten, and cajole us with truth—a truth they sometimes they hide.
We don’t normally think of Jesus’ parables in terms of hiding truth. We think of them as making God’s truth clear and accessible. We want to see in them that the gospel message is readily accessible for any and all, if they would simply listen to Jesus’ words. There is more than that going on in Jesus’ parables, however. As Jesus taught the crowds, he also challenged them to listen and invest some time and energy in understanding God. He did not want to declare too much too openly. Truth, gospel truth, requires more than knowledge. It requires the commitment to understand, to seek, and to live.
Simply put, Jesus did not want everyone to understand what he said. This was not a question of keeping secrets, so much as protecting those who were not committed. They would be held accountable for what they understood. If they did not understand, they had less for which to answer.
Degrees of accountability don’t make a lot of sense to us. We are more often focused on the black and white contrast answers of the gospel. Either one is saved and going to heaven, or one is unsaved and cut off eternally from God’s presence. Jesus does not clarify much in terms of the meaning of degrees of accountability for those rejecting God. He does address much more specifically degrees of reward in opportunity for service for those who accept God’s offer of grace and reconciliation. In the meantime, we are left with the side of Jesus’ parables as enigmas to unravel.
There is work involved in understanding God. There is commitment required of those who would know God and live in relationship with the Almighty. There is a challenge of dedication to seeking to find God, even as God reveals his character and identity in Christ Jesus. As some have stated, grace is not free, as it cost God an extremely high price. So access to God is not free to us, in that it requires a determined effort to understand the implications of the gospel and apply them to our lives.
We do not earn grace and salvation. Neither are we served a platter of understanding God that requires no chewing and digestion. The gospel and word of God is not an IV drip of nutrients plugged directly into our veins. The words of Jesus require that we invest energy and effort into comprehending God’s will and applying it to our daily living.
What are you ready to invest in your relationship with God? On some level, we will get out of that relationship what we put into it.
Set aside some time to regularly reflect on God’s will for your life. Establish a pattern according to Paul’s words that Timothy study to show himself approved and ready to serve God.
“Lord, help me accept my responsibility to know you and apply the demands of the gospel to my life. Remind me daily of my need to learn from you.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
We consider stories as vehicles for communicating and teaching. We think of them as interesting ways of teaching lessons, morals, history, and patterns for living. A good story captures the imagination, awakens the senses, and introduces us to worlds, characters, and ideas we might otherwise never know. They engage, enlighten, and cajole us with truth—a truth they sometimes they hide.
We don’t normally think of Jesus’ parables in terms of hiding truth. We think of them as making God’s truth clear and accessible. We want to see in them that the gospel message is readily accessible for any and all, if they would simply listen to Jesus’ words. There is more than that going on in Jesus’ parables, however. As Jesus taught the crowds, he also challenged them to listen and invest some time and energy in understanding God. He did not want to declare too much too openly. Truth, gospel truth, requires more than knowledge. It requires the commitment to understand, to seek, and to live.
Simply put, Jesus did not want everyone to understand what he said. This was not a question of keeping secrets, so much as protecting those who were not committed. They would be held accountable for what they understood. If they did not understand, they had less for which to answer.
Degrees of accountability don’t make a lot of sense to us. We are more often focused on the black and white contrast answers of the gospel. Either one is saved and going to heaven, or one is unsaved and cut off eternally from God’s presence. Jesus does not clarify much in terms of the meaning of degrees of accountability for those rejecting God. He does address much more specifically degrees of reward in opportunity for service for those who accept God’s offer of grace and reconciliation. In the meantime, we are left with the side of Jesus’ parables as enigmas to unravel.
There is work involved in understanding God. There is commitment required of those who would know God and live in relationship with the Almighty. There is a challenge of dedication to seeking to find God, even as God reveals his character and identity in Christ Jesus. As some have stated, grace is not free, as it cost God an extremely high price. So access to God is not free to us, in that it requires a determined effort to understand the implications of the gospel and apply them to our lives.
We do not earn grace and salvation. Neither are we served a platter of understanding God that requires no chewing and digestion. The gospel and word of God is not an IV drip of nutrients plugged directly into our veins. The words of Jesus require that we invest energy and effort into comprehending God’s will and applying it to our daily living.
What are you ready to invest in your relationship with God? On some level, we will get out of that relationship what we put into it.
Set aside some time to regularly reflect on God’s will for your life. Establish a pattern according to Paul’s words that Timothy study to show himself approved and ready to serve God.
“Lord, help me accept my responsibility to know you and apply the demands of the gospel to my life. Remind me daily of my need to learn from you.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
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