Following Jesus - The Unmerciful Servant/How does our sin compare?

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:23 - 35




If you are anything like me, you sometimes have an internal dialogue that goes something like this;

"I can't believe she did that! I mean, I know that I do things wrong, too, but that's just nasty. Plus, at least I try to do the right thing. Look at all the people she's hurting! When I mess up, at least the only person I hurt it myself..."

Now, I have to confess, the more I see myself from God's perspective, the less I indulge in conversations like the above. Having a fifteen year old daughter who knows me better than I know myself also helps in this area. The temptation, though, to compare my sin with the sin of others and make sure I come out favorably is strong. It is also one of the things that can make forgiving others more difficult.

Be honest now, doesn't it feel less sinful to cheat the government or McDonald's out of money than it does to cheat your best friend? Isn't it easier to lie to a stranger than to your wife? It is possible to speculate that the unmerciful servant considered his huge debt to an already unspeakably wealthy king as less of a wrong than his friend's small debt to him, someone without wealth. After all, doesn't the king make his money through taxes from the people? The servant's large debt is just a drop in the bucket. $20.00 would really come in handy. Besides, friends pay back friends.

It is clear to all of us that the consequences of different sins vary in severity. I would much rather someone be rude to my daughter than to wound her physically or take her life. The tendency is to judge the wrongness of certain sins according to the severity of the consequences, or potential consequences. This makes sense when it comes to human justice. Jail time for robbing a convenience store should be less than for taking a human life. Society allots punishments according to a standard that is generally agreed on by members of the society. Still, we are prone to desire leniency for ourselves. Harsh drunk driving penalties make perfect sense to the parents of teens learning to drive. For the one who routinely drives drunk, the penalties indicate that someone is making a big deal out of nothing. The drunk driver, though, will agree that first degree murder penalties should be severe.

I believe that it is a part of the sin nature within us all, that we have a blind spot when it comes to our own sin. For most of us, the issues aren't as large as drunk driving verse murder. We struggle with sins that seem smaller, and can lure us into believing that our failure to meet the standard of Jesus is much more benign than it is.

Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. Indulge in sin, and the payment you will receive is spiritual death and destruction. Galatians 5 highlights the acts of the sinful natures, and sins such as hate, jealously, selfish ambition and being drunk keep company with orgies, witchcraft and idolatry. God sees sin differently than we do. Sin destroys. Jesus, in this parable, is equating our sin debt as humongous, while the individual sins that we are asked to forgive in others are small in comparison. I understand that the consequences of the sins committed against us can be devastating. I have found myself, on too many occasions to count, crumpled in a wounded pile because of the sin and betrayal of others. There are sins that could be committed against me that I cannot imagine being able to forgive. I have been left speechless in the face of what people have had to endure because of monstrous, horrific sin. I do not write this lightly. In fact, I write this only because I have complete faith in the wondrous freedom that God offers us when we walk in His ways.

'It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Refusing forgiveness to another means refusing forgiveness for ourselves. We have been set free from our own sin, and it was not so that we could be enslaved to resentment, anger, rage and hatred because of the sins of others! The unmerciful servant was set free from his debt, but he left the castle an enslaved man, and when he met his friend, he behaved as an enslaved man, which led to him becoming, in reality, an enslaved man again.

It may be scary to see ourselves as we truly are, but we must allow Jesus to show us our true selves, from His eyes of love. We will at once be shamed by the reality of our sin debt, and full of joy at the pure, unadulterated love in His eyes as the reality of our canceled debt sinks in. The power of God within us can literally change our anger into love, our pain into something wonderful, our forgiveness into a gift that changes our world.

Following Jesus - The Unmerciful Servant//Has The Gift Been Received?

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:23 - 35


It should be easier to forgive others in light of how much believers in Christ have been forgiven. But it isn't. When I am hurt, I struggle to forgive. While the pain may be in my heart, the battle is in my head. The arguments, justifications, memories, and angry words are in my head. I think most of us are like that. When we lie awake at night, it's because we are thinking. It's hard to turn our brains off when we have been hurt. So, what are we thinking? What was the unmerciful servant thinking?

We can't really know exactly what he was thinking, as the scripture doesn't tell us. We can speculate, though. One thing that I have always suspected lies in the fact that the servant begged the king for more time to pay off his debt, while the king actually canceled the debt. I don't know whether it was arrogance, pride or desperation that led to the promise to repay the debt, because it was an impossible one for him to pay. It just wasn't going to happen. No doubt he desired to pay it off. Having to borrow money can be painful enough to the pride. Not being able to pay it back is so much worse. Is it possible that he did not catch the word "cancel" coming out of the king's mouth? Or that he understood that the king was canceling the debt, but still intended to pay it back? Maybe he didn't want to accept charity. Maybe it made him feel small and weak. Maybe he had a "Real men pay their debts" bumper sticker on his donkey. Whatever the case, it is obvious that he did not leave the castle with any sense of gratitude, which means that while he was given a huge gift, he somehow did not receive it.

So, he's walking down the road making plans to pull in a few debts himself, gather a bit of money, maybe start making payments to the king. When he meets up with a fellow servant who owes him a few bucks, the collecting starts. His friend doesn't have the money and begs for more time, for mercy. The unmerciful servant is unrelenting. Who has more time? He has debts to pay! To the king! For goodness sake, he's still shaking from the thought of being sold to pay his debt! And if he has to pay back his debt, so does his friend. There is no time for mercy, no room for kindness.

Now, I don't know that this is what he was thinking. But I see that this is what some of us think. We come to Jesus with an awareness of our sin debt, we know what we have become, what we have done. Jesus gives us full forgiveness, our debt is canceled, washed away, leaving us clean and whole, in full relationship with Jesus. We may walk away with a sense of relief and love, but then things get weird. We are told that we are fully forgiven by the mercy of God, but then we are given a list of rules to follow, and we realize there is an expectation that we do things. Tithe. Stop swearing. Take our turn in the nursery. Lengthen our skirts. We may experience disapproval by the church if we do not do these things. They are expected. We thought we were signing into a relationship with Jesus that was based on His love for us, but we find that it seems we actually signed into a way of doing things that would please God...to earn His love? No, they say that's not why we do the things we do, but it seems like it. They say our faith should show itself in works. We get that. But we just met Jesus, and our faith is small. Shouldn't the focus be on growing our faith? Could we just spend a little time with Jesus, like a honeymoon or something?

In any case, the work begins and confusion can set in. If we are good workers, we feel good about ourselves and may begin to feel like God really approves of us. If we struggle, we sometimes sense resentment from certain members of the church. We see that the majority of their contact with us is designed to resolve our issues, not to be our friends. We can't get together with the more mature Christians for coffee and fellowship without it becoming a counseling session because the thing that seems to stand out about us is not our hopes and dreams and loves and fears and joys, but our failure to do what we're supposed to be doing. Sometimes it is our own pride that leaves us determined to earn our way to God. Yes, He offers it freely, but we are able to earn it. We need to at least try. After all, doesn't God help those who help themselves?

This doesn't happen to all of us, but it can happen. And when it does, we leave the church as the servant left the castle, believing that we have just been given another opportunity to earn what we owe. The gift has been given, but not received. The result is anger, resentment and a lack of kindness and mercy to others who owe us a sin debt.

The initial meeting with Jesus, like the servant's meeting with the king, is to deal with the sin debt that interferes with our relationship with Him. We can't be close to Him because our sin keeps us at arms' length. God forgives our sin totally, and the relationship is begun. It is full, complete, unrestricted and unhampered. It's literally starting the relationship at the marriage altar. We are the bride, He is the Bridegroom. Nothing can separate us from His love. From there, we certainly need to get to know this wonderful new Person in our lives, but nothing we do from here on in will be any more effective than anything we could have done in the past to earn God's love and forgiveness.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:9 - 10

The stuff that we do for God is done out of gratitude, love and a sense of purpose. It is like the servant who had been forgiven a large debt frequently showing up at the castle to tend the roses outside the king's bedroom because he knows the king loves the scent and beauty of the flowers. It is done not to earn forgiveness, but to celebrate it!

When we fully grasp our freedom because of what Jesus has done for us, the celebration begins. It is important, if we are struggling to forgive others, to ask God to show us if, in our hearts, we have really received the gift of forgiveness that He has given. It would be a tragedy to live out our lives with this glorious gift left in a back closet, still unwrapped. Once we receive it, truly and fully, it gets much easier to offer the same to others. We may need a reminder once in a while from God, to be graceful and merciful. But when He speaks, it will be a reminder that will result in quick attitude, mind and heart changes.

If you have come to Jesus Christ and asked Him for forgiveness for your sins, make sure you have fully unwrapped the gift of forgiveness! Throw the wrapping paper in the air with joy, twirl around the room with the ribbons hanging from your hands! Show your gift to anyone who is interested. Illustrate the wonder of the gift by giving them your forgiveness freely, as a sample of the gift outstretched in God's hand. Never stop celebrating, never stop thanking Him, never stop reveling in the awesomeness of it all. By doing this, you ensure that the next time someone needs your forgiveness, your cup of joy and mercy will be so full it will splash over on them before they are finished asking!

Following Jesus - The Unmerciful Servant

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:23 - 35

Once again, Jesus is blowing open the boundaries of something that most of us would rather be kept boxed. Forgiveness. The thing is, here He is explaining why.

A king calls in a servant who owes him ten thousand talents. This is a huge amount of money. Millions. It's more than any servant would ever be able to pay. Because the servant can't pay it, the king is going to sell him and his family and all his belongings to recoup his losses. The servant begs for time to pay the king back, an empty promise if ever there was one. There is no way he can do this, but in times of great stress, promises are easy to make, if hard to keep. The king had pity on him, and canceled the debt.

Canceled the debt. That's an easy point to miss. He didn't let his servant go in hopes that he would get paid back. He knew it wouldn't happen. Imagine the feeling. The huge weight of debt and destruction is lifted. The servant went from a destroyed life to one of hope as the debt that has been hanging over him for so long is gone.

How would you feel in his place? As you left the palace, what would be going through your mind and heart? Would you be shaking from gratitude and excitement? Would you be eager to go home to tell your family the good news? Would you be joyful, relieved, even tearful?

We can tell a lot about a person and what they are feeling by the way they behave. And this is the way the servant behaved. He went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii, the equivalent of maybe twenty dollars. When his friend could not pay him, the servant grabbed him, roughed him up and had him thrown into debtor's prison until he could pay the money back.

Of course, the king hears about the incident, as kings are wont to do, and iss outraged. He can not understand how, having had such a large debt canceled, the servant could go out and show no mercy to one who owed him so little. He throws the unmerciful servant into prison to be tortured until he could pay back all he owed, which was effectively, for the rest of his life.

Then Jesus adds the clincher.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

How could it be, that one who had been forgiven a debt so large could still feel justified in punishing one in debt to him? What was he thinking? We really don't have to go too far to get more insight into this. For many of us, it's as close as our own hearts. We shake our heads at the unmerciful servant, but we have all been forgiven huge sin debts. We've experienced the beginning of the story first hand if we have asked Jesus to forgive our sins, to cancel our sin debt. Jesus is talking to us, about us. If we have experienced the first half of the story, then we need to look at how we have done in the "forgiving others" part. This is important, because our King knows what's in our hearts. And the consequences, when the King sees us being unmerciful to someone who hurts us while He has shown such mercy to us...well, Jesus paints a picture of the consequences that should make us shudder.

There's no point in thinking that we can glide past the castle and escape the eye of the King, who, after all, loves us. The king in Jesus' parable cared for his servant so much, he canceled the debt without even being asked to. This is about a king who loves all his servants.

If we really look at it, it's all very practical. It should be easy to forgive each other when we have been forgiven of so much. I believe, as in many spiritual battles, this one begins in the mind. We become deceived and confused because of lies we believe, and the result is disastrous. Our wills and anger are strengthened by what we choose to believe. Freedom comes with confession of the lies, a desire for yet more forgiveness for allowing ourselves to be deceived, and a renewing of our minds through God's power in us.

Tomorrow I will address some of the lies that we can fall into, some things the unmerciful servant might have been thinking that led to his actions. This is important stuff, because we, like the unmerciful servant, have access to more freedom than we can imagine. That's if we don't mess it up on the way home.

Following Jesus...Forgiveness

"In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. " Ephesians 1:7-8

Forgiveness is a hard thing. Sometimes we are afraid that if we forgive, the other person will "get away with" their actions. It's as if forgiveness and justice don't go together. We have an inherent need for justice, and worry that by forgiving, we are over-looking the offense. Add to this the fact that we are hurt, and forgiveness is a hard thing.

Forgiveness is also hard for God. Remember the price that He had to pay to provide it. If we ever wonder if God understands how hard it is to forgive, we simply need to look at the cross, and imagine that pain of a father watching his son being beaten, tortured and crucified. God is just. God is fair. And fairness demanded a payment for sin. The cross is the powerful evidence of God's mercy and justice. If we trust God to handle our sin, and receive His gift of salvation with gratitude, we can also trust Him to handle the sins of others. Are we afraid that He might be as merciful to others as He is to us? His mercy is for everyone or it is for no one. The cross of Christ encompasses the sin of the world. He is dealing with it, He is addressing it. The difference between the way God deals with sin and the way we do is that His ways are always redemptive. That means that the underlying motive behind everything God does is to save people from their sin and to bring them back into a relationship with Him.

When my daughter was small, I spent a lot of time explaining the point of discipline to her. I wanted her to know that I was not punishing her. Punishment is payback. An eye for an eye. Discipline is designed to teach, motivate, and restore. The lines between the two can get blurry, and I needed her to see that my goal was to help her be the kind of child that she wanted to be, and to keep her relationships with her parents and friends intact. Discipline was not about earning forgiveness. Forgiveness was immediate, and in fact I made a point of trying not to deal with her wrongdoings until I had forgiven her. Otherwise, I could easily slip into punishment-mode, and I didn't want that. Discipline encompassed the entire process of setting boundaries, implementing consequences at broken boundaries, discussion and teaching, and always, reconciliation. It was redemptive discipline, designed to create and guard relationships.

I believe God works like this too. In fact, I learned it from God. He's the Master Parent. God never asks more from us than He is willing to give Himself. He blows the boundaries of giving sky-high. And then some.

Following Jesus - The Unmerciful Servant//Are You Mistaken?

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21 - 22


Peter was being generous. One thing that is important to notice here is that Peter is asking about forgiving people who have sinned against him. This means people who have intentionally hurt us, who have chosen to do or say something that is morally wrong, wounding us in the process. He is not talking about mistakes, those accidents, trip ups, stumbles and messes that happen because we are human and fallible. Telling a woman one has just met that she is a fat, ugly cow is sin. Asking her when her baby is due when, in fact, she isn't pregnant, is a mistake. Mistakes happen when we don't know enough, aren't physically strong, capable or quick enough or can't remember enough.

We live in a world that can get pretty harsh with mistakes. Accidentally bumping into someone on the street will get you at least a angry look, and sometimes a flurry of angry words as well. Even in the church, we can be an easily irritated, grumpy, demanding lot. Someone is too slow, in the wrong check-out counter or highway lane, gives the wrong change, uses grammar the wrong way, accidentally damages our property, and we get angry. We don't like to call it anger. So we call it our "pet peeve". It's a way to fool ourselves into thinking our attitudes about others are more benign than they really are. Let's face it, sometimes we get downright venomous about other peoples mistakes. One only has to look at the entries on a few social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter to see people venting with hot, ugly rage about people making mistakes.

The assumption behind all this anger is that we don't make mistakes, so how can other people be so "stupid"? I think another factor is that we inevitably assume negative motives to other peoples mistakes. The guy who cut us off on the highway was purposely insulting us. The cashier who gave us too little change was trying to rob us. The person who bumped up against us wanted to hurt us. We can't really know if our assumptions are true or not, but they give us permission to give full vent to the anger inside of us. Consequently, we miss opportunities to be graceful, and to show gratitude for the abundant grace that we have been given.

The single most effective way that I have found to lessen irritation and refrain from anger when someone hurts me mistakenly is to keep in mind how fallible I am, how many mistakes I make, how much forgiveness I have received. Understanding how lousy I am at many things makes me kind to those who are at least trying. Even when I am good at something, I can be graceful to others who aren't because I know that they excel differently than I do, and I may need grace from them. It may sting to admit that we are fallible, but it only stings for a short time. The anger and resentment at the mistakes of others burn holes into our souls.

Jesus and Peter are talking about forgiving people who purposely mean to hurt them. Jesus' answer, seventy-seven times, (or in other translations, seventy times seven), indicated infinity. Always. Every time. If that is the case, then how much more should we be willing to forgive those who accidentally hurt us?

Being a fallible person living among fallible people is "grace-school". It is where we learn to love unconditionally and radically. Every error is an opportunity to be kind, a chance to touch someone with God's love. Even if they never hear your vent, someone else will. What do our children learn when they hear us tearing apart someone who inconvenienced us by their mistakes? How can our friends relax around us when they know that you may be venting about them, next? Christ followers know that there is no pain like the pain of anger and bitterness in their hearts. And there is no joy like the joy of offering peace and kindness to others. God is so patient with us. If we are brave enough to ask Him to show us how many mistakes we make, how many people we hurt, we might find that we have plenty of reason for grace to others.

Recently my fifteen year old daughter and I were talking about one of the most difficult periods of our lives, when her dad and I divorced. My daughter told me that there were things about her dads behavior and why he left that she wasn't told at the time, and only learned later. She shared how confused she had felt at the time. I honestly thought I had kept her informed, and had dealt with these issues with her. I think what happened was that in my desire to protect her from being hurt, I told her what was happening but I did it in such an abstract, euphemism-riddled way that it was not clear to her, as a 11 year old. In trying to protect her, I failed her and caused her more pain. She was so gracious to forgive me, though. When I think of things like that, my daughter allowing God to love me through her, offering forgiveness and love to me, how can I do less for others? We all make mistakes, and as hard as we try, we will make more tomorrow. Anger and condemnation crumples the soul and make it all the more difficult for people to do better.

If we cannot be graceful towards the mistakes of others, how will we ever be able to forgive those who hurt us through sin?

Following Jesus - The Unmerciful Servant

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

"Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:21 - 35

It starts with a question again. Such is often the case with a Rabbi and his disciples. The disciples listen and ponder, asking questions about things they struggle to understand. It is also possible, human nature being what it is, that questions were asked in order to show how much the questioner already knew. When Peter asked, how many times should I forgive my brother, and suggested seven times might be appropriate, he was being generous. Numbers often have special meanings in the Bible. The number one signifies the beginning, The One; number three signifies the Godhead, the three in one; and the number seven signifies perfection, completeness. Peter was offering a very generous picture of forgiveness. He had been there with Jesus when Jesus taught crowds of people in what is famously called the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5 - 7. He heard Jesus refer to the Old Testament teaching of reciprocal payment for wrongs done, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

At the time, Jesus said to them, "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." The entire sermon on the mountain to a multitude of people was a revolutionary teaching. The Old Testament addressed sin as it needed to be addressed in a time when full forgiveness was not yet available. The OT taught the people of Israel what sin costs. And it is pricey. The price has not changed, by the way. To pay for knocking someone's tooth out in a fight by having one of your own teeth knocked out is cheap compared to the fact that the price of sin, ultimately, is death.

We kind of like the OT way of dealing with sin, though, don't we? Especially...okay, pretty much only when it applies to other peoples sin. What if, when you pocketed the extra $20.00 the cashier accidentally gave you in change, it automatically came out of your bank account, the $20.00 you stole and an extra $20.00 for payment for the steal? What if every time you lose your temper with your child or spouse, shooting verbal bullets with devastating results, your boss does the same to you when you get to work? What if every bit of gossip that leaves your mouth is met with a bit of gossip about your life? Ouch.

Jesus' sermon on the mountain stings only if we are looking at other peoples sin. And let's be honest, it is much easier to be aware of what other people are doing to us than it is to know what we are doing to others. We can have a tendency to amplify the sins of others, while minimizing our own. I remember working with a woman who routinely pocketed samples of the product that we were making on the job site. To her, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, and she actually got angry at me for not wanting to do the same. One day, her lighter was stolen from the lunch room. She was horrified. She grumbled about how the other workers were "a bunch of thieves". I knew her well, and felt close enough to her to point out the discrepancy in her views. She maintained that "it's not the same thing!" It was humbling to realize that I am prone to do the same thing, and to look just as foolish to God.

Peter was being generous given what he had been taught, all of his life, about forgiveness. He was graciously pushing the boundary of forgiveness to the very edge of the neighborhood. I can almost see Jesus smiling at him, at his effort to be generous, at his desire to be extravagant in the manner of the Rabbi he loved. Jesus loves our efforts to meet Him where we think He is.

"Open your arms, your heart, your faith as wide as you can, child. And then let me stretch you farther than you could even imagine!"

Did I just lie to God??!!

Yesterday I wrote that I was going to start a series of posts on The Unmerciful Servant today. I lied. Okay, it wasn't so much a lie as a premature announcement. I am going to be writing about The Unmerciful Servant, probably tomorrow (See? I'm learning to be cautious with the announcements). Today, I want to write about something that happened when I was talking to God yesterday morning. I am enjoying being able to write a series of blog posts on one subject, but every once in a while something happens that requires a bit of an interruption in the flow of things.

So, yesterday morning I was lying in bed talking to God about my upcoming day, and some issues He and I have been having. I have mentioned my problem with gluttony. To be clear, gluttony is eating more food than the body requires. It's that simple. It has nothing to do with quality of food. It is greed, for quantity. Its rally cry is "I want more." The human body does this wonderful thing to let us know when we should eat, and when we should stop eating. We get hungry. Stomach-growling, hollow, empty hungry. And then we get full. Politely, "still able to bend over and touch our toes" full. Wanting to eat is not being hungry. Hunger does not present itself in the mouth or throat. Feeling like eating is not hunger. Hunger is a purely physical thing. Eating without being hungry, or eating past the point of politely full is gluttony. And I struggle with this.

I alternate between obeying God and only eating within the boundaries of hunger and fullness, consequently losing weight, and disobeying God which more mostly involves eating past hunger and gaining weight. Lately, I have been obeying. I pray every morning for strength to obey God, and I was doing this yesterday morning. I told God that I wanted to obey Him, that I loved Him and wanted to please Him more than anything. Then I had a thought. Do I? Do I want to obey Him in this matter, more than anything? If I don't, He knows it. If I don't, I am lying to Him, to His face, and He knows it. I froze at the very thought of it. In my prayers, in my mind, I just stood and looked at Him. Stunned. And to be perfectly honest, the thought that went through my mind was, I think I am trying to deceive God. Only, the word that came to mind was a bit harsher than that and involved bull manure.

In Jeremiah 17:9 - 10, the prophet Jeremiah asks, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

God has an answer, "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

God knows whether or not my heart's desire is to truly obey Him, or whether I am just wanting to avoid the consequences of not obeying Him. If I was obeying Him out of love, then the obeying is enough. I wouldn't be so focused on being free from the consequences of disobeying. I would be satisfied with the fact that my obedience pleased Him, without wringing my hands in anticipation of the reward.

I was stunned. And a little ill. I did the only thing I could think of doing. I went to God for help. Over the years, I have learned to go to God for pretty much everything. It's a hard habit to break. Not that I want to break it, mind you. And so, even when the screw up directly involves God, my first instinct is to go to Him for help. It's a good instinct. I told Him that I didn't think I was being honest with Him. I actually asked Him if I was being honest with Him, as He know my heart better than I do. There are some things, though, that He likes us to find out for ourselves. I told Him that I think I really, really do want to please Him, that I do love Him, and do want to obey Him, but that I didn't think I wanted to obey Him more than anything. Then, I asked Him to help me to want to want to obey Him more than anything. No, that's not a typo. God is the master heart changer. I know this for a fact. And I know that my wanting to want to please Him more than anything is evidence of my love for Him, and He honors that.

I did realize that I need to listen to my words more when I pray, and to make sure that I am honest with God. There is no point in lying to Him. He knows the truth. So, who am I lying for? Myself, that's who. I'm not trying to deceive Him, by convincing Him that my heart's desire is to please Him above everything else. I am trying to convince myself that I am better than I am, that I love more than I do, that I am, in my faith, where I actual am not. That's just silly.

What is the point of having a God that loves me beyond belief, wants the very best for me, and knows everything, including the way to the very best, if I repeatedly trip myself up by lying about where I am in the journey? It hurts God, it hurts me, and I'm pretty sure it messes with the other people in my life, too.

It's actually kind of silly. I felt like a two year old, caught with chocolate all over my face, adamantly denying that I had gotten into the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Thankfully, I have a Lord who looked me in the eye, pulled out a face cloth and dealt with my deception in a firm, loving fashion while gently cleaning me up.

I am grateful.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan and Mercy

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise" Luke 10:25 - 37


Who was the neighbor? The one who showed mercy. It's hard not to notice that the expert in the law didn't actually choke out the words, "The Samaritan". Baby steps. He did know the answer, though.

Mercy is an interesting word. It means kindness, compassion, but with a twist. Mercy is kindness and compassion, undeserved. Kindness and compassion, in spite of. Kindness and compassion, when anger and vengeance might be expected. Mercy is being kind and compassionate to one who in no way deserves our kindness and compassion, either because we have no relational obligation to them, or because they have sinned against us. In fact, mercy is not giving someone the punishment that they do deserve. Interesting.

When my daughter was small, I read in a Christian parenting magazine that, in order to teach her what mercy meant, I should occasionally not discipline her when she deserved it. Of course there were prerequisites. She needed to be sorry for what she had done, she needed to know what the consequences were and she needed to understand why I was not implementing the consequences. I talked about the concept of mercy with her over the course of the next couple of weeks. One day we were in a grocery store, and I had made the rare overture of offering her a treat at the end of the shopping if she behaved herself during the shopping. She didn't behave herself. By the time I was finished filling my cart, I was tired, frustrated and had spoken to her several times about her whining and begging for me to buy things. As we waited our turn in the checkout lane, it occurred to me that it would be a good time for a lesson in mercy. So I turned to her and asked her what she wanted for a treat. Her eyes lit up and she immediately began to scan the goody rack in front of us. Then she stopped. She looked up at me. She grinned, and said, "Hey...you're giving me mercy, aren't you?" She threw her arms around me, looked up into my eyes and thanked me. Then she apologized for her behavior earlier. She picked out her treat, and in the car on the way home we had a really neat talk about mercy, how good it feels to receive it and how it makes one want to be merciful to others.

It was more than a good teaching moment. Grace and I have had repeated opportunities to show mercy to each other. I often benefit from the fact that she is a deeply compassionate, merciful young woman. She did not become this way because of me. She became this way by her own desire to be merciful and by her relationship with a God whose very Presence in her life is a supreme act of mercy.

Being merciful is definitive proof that we love someone unconditionally. Even when consequences must be implemented, mercy remains kind and compassionate. I have disciplined Grace many times since that moment at the grocery store. Sometimes mercy is removing the consequences, but to be honest, consequences can be an expression of mercy. Consequences teach the connection between deeds and outcomes of deeds. Lessons are learned this way. It does us no good to always be protected from the consequences of our actions, and God does not often do this for us. I will say, though, that God has protected me from the full force of the consequences of my actions. The wages of sin are death. Through Christ, I am set free from the death that awaits my sin. By His sacrifice, I am made clean. Compared to that, the consequences I might face here on earth are manageable. But mercy also shows itself in compassion while consequences are being suffered. For the merciful, the words "I told you so" must die before they ever reach our tongues.

Parents and spouses can be especially prone to this. We see the mistakes. We can predict the outcomes. We may even have "told them so". When the hammer falls, it can be hard to muster up some compassion. Self-righteousness comes so much easier. When someone is suffering the consequences of their actions, and shares their suffering with us, often the best thing to do is keep quiet. Words are not required. It is usually a time to listen, to understand, to share the pain. Even if the person cannot see the connection between their present pain and their past actions, mercy and compassionate love in the midst of the pain will go a long way to opening their ears and hearts to anything we might have to say later. The point to remember is that it is not about you. It is not about what you knew would happen or what you think should be done now. Mercy says, "You, first." If need be, "You, second, third and fourth" as well. Love your neighbor as yourself.

The entire parable of the Good Samaritan is about mercy. Love. People. We've been here a long time, looked at it from many different angles. When a scripture passage begins with someone asking Jesus how to inherit eternal life, and ends with Jesus saying, "Go and do likewise", I think that makes it an important place to linger. It seems like Jesus is asking a lot in this passage. It seems like the bar is placed pretty high. And it is. This is not a comfortable passage. Living it out will not be comfortable. One of the things I often get from Jesus' teachings is that comfort is not a big priority to Him. Good thing, too. He was facing the cross, after all. I do think, though, that following Jesus brings more than comfort. It brings peace. It brings joy. And it brings a love that is passionate, relentless, unconditional, unstoppable, unbelievable.

Next, I think I will be writing about the parable of The Unmerciful Servant. If our desire is to be a disciple of Jesus, it is vital that we understand His heart for us, and for those around us. Discipleship begins in the heart. It begins for a reason. As we say good-bye to the Good Samaritan, we may be daunted by the sheer boundlessness of love that Jesus is asking us to give. As we will see from the unmerciful servant, there is a reason why Jesus expects so much from us. And there are consequences for turning from His path.

Until tomorrow, stay merciful.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

"And who is my neighbor?

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Luke 10:29 - 35

In normal, everyday times, it is not often difficult to know what to do in any given situation, even if it is difficult to actually do it. The test of a person's mettle comes in difficult, dangerous times. In challenging times, it can be as hard to know what to do as it is to do it once it becomes known. It is easy to criticize the priest and the Levite for passing by the dying man on the road to Jericho. They were both religious leaders, both should have known what to do and both should have been strong enough to do it. They weren't, though. To Jesus' listeners, the idea that a Samaritan would be willing and able to do what a Jewish religious leader was not must have been galling, in the least. In a boundless neighborhood, though, religious leaders are neighbors, too. Most of us have had too much experience with walking/driving/moving past needy neighbors, clutching filled-in agendas, with a well thought out stream of excuses whirl pooling in our minds. We don't look at these characters in Jesus' parables in order to condemn anyone else. We study them in order to better understand and judge ourselves.

The thing is, the road to tough times passes through quiet mundanity. And it is in the normalcy of life that we build up our muscles for dealing with broken people on the side of the road. The Samaritan did not suddenly become a great guy while traveling in dangerous territory and stumbling upon proof of thieving activity in a crumpled heap on the side of the road. Who I am in a crisis is a reflection of who I have chosen to be outside of a crisis. If I spend my life focused on myself, even serving others for the reward to myself, I will have a hard time putting myself aside when trouble hits. And if I'm not sure about my motives for doing good deeds, I just need to look at my heart reaction when my good deed is not noticed, especially by the recipient. What if there is no reward? Even more, what if the reaction from the recipient is negative? Am I angry? Disappointed?

If I am truly serving in God's name, then the gifts I give are given for free, just as God gives to me. The good Samaritan brought his charge to an inn after ministering to his wounds, stayed with him overnight, paid his bill and promised to come back to pay any extra expenses he might have. Then he walked away. He gave without expecting anything in return.

Yesterday I asked you to remember the original question. Today, remember Jesus' finale - "Go and do likewise."

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan, Exploding Borders

"Who is my neighbor?

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Luke 10:29 - 35

In Jesus' day, if you were Jewish and needed help, one of the last people you would want it from would be a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans despised each other. Religious differences led to disagreements, competing doctrines and eventual hatred. A Jewish person would go out of his way to avoid going into Samaritan territory, and was not allowed to talk to or in any way interact with a Samaritan. Jesus had already shown a disturbing tendency to ignore these religious, racial and cultural divides by talking to a Samaritan woman in John 4 about her life and faith.

By making the hero of his parable a Samaritan, Jesus was sending a very distinct message to his listeners, especially the religious leaders and "experts in the law". When asked about the borders of God's neighborhood, Jesus points to the farthest extremity and maintains that it starts there. Everyone from the Samaritan to your back door is your neighbor. In a world that was defined by it's borders, to a people who lived by the boundaries of who was acceptable, Jesus was blowing out the walls. If a Samaritan could be your neighbor, why, anyone could be your neighbor. And Jesus was saying, love your neighbor as yourself. Want for them the same as you want for yourself, with the same passion and intensity that you want it for yourself. Work to advance and please and encourage and lift up your neighbor as you do for yourself, as you want others to do for you.

Labels can be useful. There is something in us that automatically labels people according to what we see, hear and experience from them. To be honest, this helps us to move through our worlds with greater ease. When I walk into a store, it is helpful to me to be able to see who works at the store, and therefore may be able to help me should I need it, and who is a customer like I am. When choosing someone to care for my child, when choosing a mate, when choosing a mechanic, it is always helpful to be able to "read" people, to tell what someone might be thinking, how effective someone might be at the task required, to know how trustworthy someone might be. We all do it. The problem comes when we rely on our labels and own judgment too much. We need to recognize our limits in this area. Things are not always as they seem. People are not always as they seem. We have judgment for a reason, but it is not infallible. If we allow fear to overcome us, we begin to weed out people, dismissing them on the very possibility that they may hurt us. We put people into categories that we never mean to release them from. Muslims become terrorists, Christians become rule-following freaks, pro-choice people become baby-haters, pro-life people become women-haters, bikers become criminals, women become weak, men become bullies...we stop talking to each other, asking questions, letting people reveal themselves to us.

Our worlds become very small, and soon we are only comfortable with people who are like us, people we trust. Then the question that begs to be asked is, can we trust ourselves? To be honest, my worst enemy is myself. My daughter was raised in contact with people who used and sold drugs, swore profusely, and did many other immoral things. So, which sin does she struggle with? Gluttony. Guess where she got that from? Me. Thankfully, she also inherited from me the idea that our neighborhood is boundless. (I inherited it from God.) She inherited the belief that God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) That means, while everyone else was still...is still...a sinner, Christ died for them.

When we as people, as families, as churches, try to lock ourselves in behind walls in order to be safe, what we end up doing is locking ourselves in with our own sin. I have watched beautiful, brave, beloved friends struggle through drug withdrawal and have fallen on my face before God in shame at my own weakness. When I eat less, my body sings a happy song. I feel great, immediately. Drug withdrawal is a nightmare of physical/emotional/psychological pain. Gluttony is one of those sins that most often gets locked inside the church with the people, to the point that we joke about gorging ourselves at our potlucks. This should not be. If we spent more nights up cradling broken people in our arms until they fell asleep exhausted from the pain, we would find our own sin less amusing.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Our labels are weak protection. They are tools, but not tools to build our salvation on. Remember the original question? Luke 10:25 ~ "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus is putting the use of labels in it's place. And He is saying, you will save no one, you will inherit nothing, you will gain nothing, you will win nothing by using faded, worn out labels in your service to Me. The word neighbor loses it's meaning when it applies to everybody. So, ultimately, Jesus is saying that the way to inherit eternal life is to love. Love. Everybody, all the time, for eternity.

Sounds impossible? You bet it is. The rule-followers are going to kill themselves trying. Christ-followers know that it is only by giving control of themselves over to the Spirit of God will they ever be able to love anyone, anytime, at all. After all, when an ocean of love is pouring into a child of God, some is bound to leak out and splash on the world around us.

Count on it.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

"Who is my neighbor?

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. A Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"

A man, presumably a Jew, traveling down a dangerous passageway between Jerusalem and Jericho, is attacked, beaten and robbed. We are not told the point of his journey. We do not know why he was on this road. We do not know if he was a good man or not, if he was hardworking or not, if he was faithful to God or not. All we know is that after the robbers leave him, he has nothing. Not even his clothes. Penniless, physically close to death, humiliatingly naked, lying in the dust waiting to die. Powerless. Filthy. Defiled. Broken almost beyond repair.

It is interesting that Jesus sees no need to delve deeper into the man's character. Does he even deserve help? Without his clothes, who could tell what kind of man he was? Maybe he was a robber himself, deceived and betrayed by his fellow thieves. Who knows? It's Jesus' parable, so Jesus probably knew. But He didn't say, and we can assume by his silence on the matter that it is of no consequence. There are only two things that Jesus needs us to know about this fellow. He is there and he needs help.

We like to know more, though. We like details. The amount that we are willing to give is directly related to how much we approve of the facts behind the need. There is always an underlying question in our hearts. Do they deserve it?

There is a young man in our lives that we love very much. My husband and I have taken him into our hearts and are mentoring him, as much as he will let us. Recently he was in a situation that served to reveal to us the depth of his difficulty with relationships. In the process, he deeply hurt a dear friend of ours, in ways that were outlandishly callous, disrespectful and rudely uncaring. We love him, and were not completely surprised at his behavior. I felt angry with him, though. His behavior was unacceptable, and I suspect he will do everything that he can to avoid taking responsibility for it.

My husband and I were discussing how to best help him now, in the light of his behavior. The question of what he deserves is not the issue. Of course he does not deserve help, especially not after what he has done. But we love him, and God loves him, and so the only question that remains is how to help him in a way that will produce more positive results, that will not interfere with God's natural working out of the consequences of his sin in his life. Essentially, we need to stay out of God's way as the consequences of his actions come down on him. We need to make sure that he understands our love extends to our friend that he hurt, that we also are hurt for her.

The real challenge for us, or for me anyway, is to keep my heart humble and clean before God. I need to make sure that self-righteousness does not raise it's ugly head and that I don't pull away from him in an effort to "punish" him for his sins. I want to say, "Listen, buddy, you're on your own". In many ways, we do have to pull back from the hoops we used to jump through to help him, because part of the problem is a disturbing sense of entitlement. But we must do it because it is a viable part of the solution, not out of anger and vengeance. The fact is, the more we know about a situation, the harder it can be to serve without pride and self-righteousness. The harder it is to plug into God's plans and will, because He is almost always more inclined to grace and mercy than we are. He is a just God, and but His justice is redemptive. It is meant to bring about salvation, healing, wholeness, reconciliation with Him and with others. Punishment desires only to inflict pain for pain received. God is merciful. (Hosea 6:6)

I believe in tough love. I also believe that the operative word there is love. The term "tough love" gets thrown around a lot these days to justify attitudes and words that are anything but loving. Tough love may have to close the door, but it sits, crumpled and weeping on the other side. Tough love hurts the lover as well as the loved one. If we walk away from a "tough love" incident or conversation feeling right, strong, accomplished or satisfied, there was probably not much love involved. Tough love may say, I can't help you right now. The love part, though, will spend the rest of the day/week/month in prayer because our loved one is struggling and our hearts and minds can't help but be with them. This is not guilt. It is not about us at all. It is about them. Our tough love may cause them pain, and as necessary as that pain may be, we weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. God knows that it is not easy. He is the Master of tough love!

We may think that these things are so complicated. Situations are multi-faceted, relationships are tricky, the truth can be hard to find, do we meet felt needs vs real needs and then who decided what needs are real? The real challenge, though, is within our own hearts. Christ-followers follow Jesus' example and would gladly ignore details if they could. Who is this guy? What's his story? Does he deserve help? For a Christ-follower, as for Jesus, the passion to reach out in love is so strong that even when details must be addressed, they are an irritation, a speed bump that has to be navigated before they can eagerly get to work. It's not that they throw out wisdom, but the passion and love is so strong that the details can feel like a bit of a nuisance.

The one thing the Christ-follower never forgets is that Jesus loves her, has always loved her and always will love her. She lives daily in the light of a supernatural, powerful, eternal love that she in no way deserves, or ever will. It has never been about that, between her and Jesus. His love just is. And, as it is for her, it is for others. Everything that she does for Him is an expression of her love, a celebration of His love, but never an earning of His love. There is freedom and joy in this. When that joy pours into the lives of broken, wounded travelers, great things happen.

Stay tuned...

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

"Who is my neighbor?

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Luke 10: 29 - 35

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho, in Jesus' day, was a dangerous passage. It was locally known as "The Way of Blood" because of the violence inflicted on travelers from robbers. What had happened to the traveler in Jesus' parable, presumably a Jew, had happened to countless others and Jesus' listeners knew it. It is often in our "dangerous" times, when we feel threatened and our lives, our lifestyles, our faith, our marriages and children may be in peril, that we are most tempted to turn from the path of Jesus. We read this story and frown at those who walked past the wounded traveler, but how many of us push our children behind us and soldier on past the wounded, lonely, hurting people in our world because we "don't want any trouble"?

And really, who does want trouble? Isn't that one of the things that bothers us about minorities and teachings that oppose Christianity in our schools? Our children hear things and come home asking questions that we don't want to answer and we are angered. Trouble. Difficult people move into our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, and soon things begin to look like difficult people are there. Trouble. Hurting people come to us for help, but they don't have the grace to be quietly, politely hurting. No, they have to yell and cry and maybe even swear and try to escape their pain in ways that we don't approve of. Trouble.

Who wants trouble? Nobody, that's who. But Jesus, and those who follow Jesus, love people more than they hate trouble. Christ-followers are moved into action by the pain of others, and because of this nothing looks like trouble to them. Christ-followers welcome the opportunity to teach their children to be Christ-followers who love and respect people no matter what beliefs they hold. They aren't threatened by other beliefs. They are too caught up in loving people who have other beliefs. Christ-followers see evidence of difficult people and rejoice in the opportunities to show care for someone.

Christ-followers have caught on to an amazing truth - the best way to avoid trouble is to get busy embracing people. Christ-followers protect their children by teaching them to love, first God and then others. You want to help your daughter remain pure until marriage? Don't teach her to focus on herself and what's right for her. Teach her to love others, including the boys in her life, and to honor their purity. Once she loves people, she'll be loath to do anything that will interfere with their relationships with God, especially not for a few moments of pleasure. Teach young men to honor and love others, including the young women they care about. Is it trouble to care for your family, to tuck your babies into bed, to rub your spouses' back? If the answer is no, that is because you love them. It's amazing what love does to our perception of trouble.

One of my dearest memories of my daughter, Grace's childhood, is having tea with a friend at our house. I have a permanent picture of the moment in my mind, because it is to me, the ultimate picture of the heart of God. Gracie was little, maybe three or four. She was a picture of innocence, all pink and blond and sweet, dimpled adorableness. She was sitting across the table from a man who many would consider her exact opposite. Jerry* was a biker. He sold drugs and lived a lifestyle that showed in the darkness under his eyes, the shaking of his hands. He was covered with tattoos, sported the classic biker guy earring, ponytail, bandanna and leather jacket. He was as rough as Gracie was soft, as dark as Gracie was light, as old as Gracie was young. They sat across from each other at the table, and he chatted to her with a gentleness that moved my heart. Gracie chatted back happily. They drank tea from floral china cups, and Gracie giggled as Jerry tipped the cup to his lips, making a point of sticking his pinky upward in a fine British air. It was sweet and lovely.

Was I worried that Gracie may "pick up" something from Jerry, a bad attitude, a stray curse word? Absolutely not. Gracie already had something that would insulate her against the darkness. She loved. To her, Jerry was a person, not a sinner, not a biker, not a pusher. Do we really believe that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world? (1John 4:4) Do we believe that the fullness of the Holy Spirit is in us and in our children? God was as much God in my four year old as He was in me. God is love, and gives wisdom to anyone who asks (James 1:5), and Christ-followers know that love and wisdom go a long way to take the sting out of trouble.

No one wants trouble. Christ-followers just want some things too much to worry about it.

*names have been changed to protect the precious

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

"Who is my neighbor?"

"In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Luke 10:30 - 35

Jesus often used stories and parables to illustrate important concepts. The wonderful thing about using parables is that they enable the listeners to come to the appropriate conclusion themselves. Jesus doesn't have to sum it up for them because the story has made it clear. He is, essentially, not telling them what is true, but allowing them to see the truth themselves, to proclaim to themselves and others, "Ah, this is true!" Jesus' method of teaching displays great wisdom, humility and patience. Jesus did not just know the truth. In John 14:6, He says that He is the way, the truth and the life. He is truth. And yet, rather than always proclaiming the truth to His listeners, He at times patiently leads them to discover it themselves. He knows that when we see something ourselves, we are more likely to understand it on a deeper level. The lesson Jesus is teaching here needs to be received and kept on a deep level. It is foundational in the Christian faith. He knows that if His disciples and followers don't get this message, they will not get Him. And if they don't get Him, they will be lost.

God often uses life situations to illustrate His truths for us. When we are invited into the personal lives of others, we need to understand the great honor and trust bestowed on us, not just by the one welcoming us, but also by God. It is too easy to sit someone down and say, "This is what you must do." A wise pastor once said that we do not break the laws of God, we illustrate them. When we do something that we know we shouldn't do, the consequences of our actions begin to flow from our lives and remind us just why it was wrong in the first place, if we are honest with ourselves and choose not to blame others for the messes we are in.

When that river of consequence is flowing, it is not (I repeat, not) the time for a follower of Jesus to come in and say their own maddeningly self-righteous version of "I told you so." I write this adamantly. If you cannot resist the temptation to crow about your superior wisdom and knowledge to one who is broken and sinking in pain from their mistakes, you need to remove yourself from ministry and deal with your own sins of pride and arrogance. God opposes the proud (James 4:6), and I believe that God is especially fierce when He sees the pride of the church member crushing the spirit of an already broken and wounded seeker.

Jesus could have lectured, He could have preached, He could have sermonized. Instead, He shared a story, asked a question and then left the issue with God. God forbid that people should make choices in their lives, should repent and change their ways, to please us, to fit our timing. We are servants of God, and we work on His schedule. Jesus trusted His Father, and knew where His work ended and the Father's began. There is a wonderful peace about Jesus' teachings. Despite the fact that He had but three years to prepare His followers for His death and resurrection and the birth of the church, He didn't seem hurried or frantic. He didn't push or cajole. He knew that willing hearts would connect with the truth told simply and lovingly. Proud, resistant hearts would reject the most direct application. The result was between God and the listening soul.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

"Who is my neighbor?"

If we were to be truly honest, we would admit that we have all asked this question, in various forms. We've talked about loopholes, about defining the boundaries of certain principals so that we can know that there are indeed limits to how far we have to go. In general, boundaries are a good thing, except when applied to concepts that Jesus means to be boundless. Love is a boundless concept. This does not mean that behavior in relationships are boundless. Relational boundaries are not limits on love, but on behavior. In fact, relational boundaries are an expression of boundless love, if enacted with a loving heart.

The relationship between King Saul and David in 1 Samuel chapters 16 - 26 is a good example of boundless love and devotion expressed in clear, loving boundaries. King Saul becomes jealous of a young David. David is strong and brave on the battle field and popular among the people. He is also a devoted follower of God, and faithful to his king. Saul, overcome by jealousy and evil spirits that torment him, tried to take David's life. Repeatedly. David tries everything he can think of to convince his king that he is not a threat, that he loves and desires to serve Saul.

In chapter 24, David sneaks up to King Saul when he enters a cave that David and his men are hiding in, and cuts of a bit of Saul's robe. Even this struck David as shameful, and he says to his men who had encouraged him to kill Saul and be done with the issue forever, "The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him, for he is the anointed of the Lord." David honors Saul's position as king and loves him. Later he shows the bit of Saul's robe to Saul, trying to convince him that he doesn't want to harm him. After all, if he did, he could have cut off more than a bit of robe. Saul ultimately remains unconvinced. A similar situation happens again in chapter 26, when David gets close enough to Saul to kill him, as his men are encouraging him to do, but he refrains. He only wants to prove his devotion to his king.

David sets firm boundaries on his interactions with King Saul, because of Saul's irrational behavior. He does not allow King Saul to hurt or kill him, and while he respects and honors the King's authority over him, he will not obey if it means his life or the lives of his men. His love and honor demand that he not retaliate, that he treat King Saul with respect and integrity. His love is boundless, and expresses itself in boundaries set to prevent King Saul from committing terrible sins against God. He trusts that the God that commands boundless love will care for those He boundlessly loves. God will be David's protection. And the first thing that God is protecting is the eternal David, David's heart and soul and relationship to God.

There is no doubt what is in David's heart in these verses. I am less sure of my own motives, and that is as it should be. Boundless love does not ask, who is my neighbor? Boundless love knows that God's net of love is wide and reaches everyone. Boundless loves says, who do I get to love today, and in what ways can I show love to them? Loophole loves asks, who do I have to love today, and how far does that "love" have to go?

Who is my neighbor? Welcome to a neighborhood without borders, a endless supply of people. Welcome to discipleship w/Jesus, 101. Welcome to the parable of the Good Samaritan...

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

Jesus is so cool. As His disciple, I want to grow up to be absolutely exactly like Him, and one thing I look forward to being is cool like Him. I mean cool, like wise and self-controlled and able to not bellow, "Are you SERIOUS?" at people when they say certain things. He knew what was in the heart of man, knew what people were thinking, and knew when the words coming at Him were rooted in pride, deceit, selfishness, or sheer stupidity. And always, He replied with cool wisdom. Still does, by the way.

In Luke 10:27, the expert in the law has informed Jesus that the law says that the way to inherit eternal life is to love God with all one's heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. Jesus' answer is simple, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." This is where the cool comes in. Jesus knows that the question is to test Him. He knows that the Pharisees and teachers of the law disapprove of His time spent with sinners. He knows that the Pharisees have forsaken love for God and have replaced it with self-righteousness and pride. He also knows that as much as the expert in the law will absolutely trust his own ability to "do this and live", he will never be able to actually "do this and live". Still, he calmly and coolly offers it forward. Do this and live.

The expert then, wanting to justify himself, asks who his neighbor is. The passage doesn't explain what he wants to justify himself from. It is easy to say that one loves God. And as easy as it is also to say one loves people, it is usually more obvious to others when one actually doesn't. One thing is sure. The expert knows what loving is, and he knows that he hasn't been loving to everyone, and he is pretty sure that there are boundaries that allow for unloving behavior to some people. Where there are boundaries, where there are rules, there are exceptions to the rule, there are loopholes.

Rule-followers are experts at loopholes. Today's rule following Christians often look into the Old Testament for loopholes that work on Jesus' radical call to love the world unconditionally, passionately, selflessly. One person recently defended an anti-immigrant attitude on the fact that in the OT, God tells the people of Israel not to have anything to do with people of other faiths and nationalities. This, despite Jesus' call for His disciples to go to the ends of the earth as His witnesses in Acts 1:7 - 9. God's efforts to keep Israel out of the outside world effectively proved to them that even if physically separated from those who reject Him, they could still not keep from rejecting Him.

In Mark 7, Jesus addresses the fact that it is not what comes at a man from the outside that makes him unclean, but what is inside of him. Keeping immigrants out of our country will do nothing to keep us from evil, because, as Jesus said, the evil we struggle with is inside us. Is this not evident in the way we clutch our 'stuff", our rights, our jobs, our comfort, our freedom, for fear that our stuff will be taken away? This, despite Paul's call in Philippians 2 to have the same attitude as Jesus did, who being in very nature God (with all the rights, privileges, comforts and stuff), did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. Put me in an ivory tower and lock me in, and you lock my sin in with me.

Nowhere do rule-following Christians look more fervently for loopholes than in the area of loving others. One woman said to me, "I love God. It's people I can't stand." We cannot love God if we do not love people. Don't believe me? How much could you love and adore me if I hated your beloved child? Are you not so identified with your child through your love for him that my hatred would flow right through him to your heart? I could not love you and not cherish your child, whom you love. We cannot love God while we despise His beloved ones. And His beloved ones include the world. There's no use slipping back into the OT to justify our evil attitudes. Jesus said what He said, and it could not be any clearer. In some Bibles, it's even in red ink. Impossible to miss. Jesus came to fulfill the law, to complete it with power and love. The law revealed what was needed to live forever, but could only provide death at it's breaking. Jesus provides what is needed for eternal life, and for obeying the law. There is now no excuse, no loopholes, no justifying ourselves and our sin. There is only confession, repentance, and forgiveness.

Do this and live. The expert in the law doesn't catch the coolness of the phrase. Jesus is patient. He is waiting. He knows where this is headed, and knows they need to get there. There is life in His words, His parables. He is setting the expert up for a lesson that could transform his life, and the lives of all who listen.

We need to learn to listen to Jesus.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

"What is written in the Law?" He (Jesus) replied. "How do you read it?"

He (the expert in the law) answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:26-27

What does the law say? This is a significant question, because the law of God is true. It is just. It is fair. It is good. Psalm 119:174-175 rejoices in God's law; "I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me."

Even as the answer, the right answer, is coming out of the expert's mouth, though, the problem with the law presents itself. The expert didn't see it. It is hard to see certain things when one is an expert. This is one of those "You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children" moments from Luke 10:21. Many people would see the problem, people humbled by the messes in their lives, their lack of education, money and opportunities, the daily struggle to put one foot in front of the other to get to tomorrow. But others miss it entirely.

The problem with this answer is that as easy as it is to say, it is monumentally hard to do. For today, let's just look at the first part. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. Notice all the "alls" in there? I think of God reading this, as I write about how hard it is to love Him, and I fill sick inside. It's not Him. It's us. I know He knows this, being all knowing and totally secure in His Godhood. I can't help but think, though, that it must hurt Him. His love is eternal. His pain over our lack of love must match the hugeness of His love, right?

It's not Him. It's us. He has every right and reason to ask for our undying, uncompromising, passionate, head-over-heels, forever love. He is glorious, powerful, all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, ever present and profoundly dedicated to us, His creation. He loves us. John 3:16 tells us the extent of His love; "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Today is Good Friday. Today is the day that God's giving hit it's absolute pinnacle. Today is the day that should make the careless quoting of the words, "Love the Lord your God..." die in our throats. This much? Do we love Him this much? With everything? With our all?

"I love you," is so easy to say. Close your eyes and see Jesus on the cross. Hear His cry, Father, why have You forsaken me? Hear His whisper, Father, forgive them... Know that He could not let you be lost to Him. Not then. Not now. Not ever. He wasn't a victim. He was ultimate power choosing pathetic weakness to display earth-shattering, mind-numbing, super-strength love for us.

The problem with the commandment, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, is that we don't love God enough. We love other things more. We love our own comfort. We love our own happiness. We love our own freedom. We love ourselves (and if you would argue that you do not love yourself, the very fact that you are arguing and honoring your own opinion rather than God's, proves that you do). Our love does not stack up to God's Good Friday love. That is the problem. And Good Friday is the solution. Jesus' death on the cross provided the sacrifice that we need. We cannot inherit our way into Heaven because we cannot keep the law. It's a lovely law. We just can't do it. Good Friday evidenced the love that saves us. Easter morning evidenced the power that made it possible. God loves us enough that He sent Jesus to die for us, and He is powerful enough that death could not hold Jesus down.

Once we recognize that words are not enough, we have a God that not only requires our devotion to Him, but is willing and eager to empower us to devote ourselves to Him. Our prayer should always be, "Lord God, if I ever utter the words, 'I love You', to you without integrity and truth, please let them die in my throat, to be replaced by, 'Forgive me Lord'. Today is a good day to say to God, "I want to love You more."

May it be, Lord. Amen.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

Questions. We ask them in order to find out things, to understand more, to get answers. The questions that we ask, though, sometimes reveal more information about us than they do for us.

The expert in the law asks, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (vs 25) The Scripture says that he asked this to test Jesus, and from this we know a bit about his motives. Aside from that, though, his question reveals much about his heart and attitude towards God. For one thing, he still believes that he is up to the task of earning eternal life. "What must I do...?" If I just know what to do, I can do it. God is holy and just and His demands are high, but if I just knew what to do, I know I can keep up, I can hit the mark, I can be good enough. So, what do I have to do?

Imagine a husband on his wedding night, sitting by his new bride, looking deeply into her eyes and asking, "What do I have to do to keep you with me?" Doesn't that just sound...wrong? If she is emotionally healthy and honest, she looks at him and frowns, "Keep me with you? Really? You mean, like paying the mortgage to keep from losing the house, paying the bills to keep the electricity and phone on or feeding the cat to keep him from taking off?" There are two reasons for treating someone in a loving manner. We can treat someone with love because we actually love them, and want them to be happy and secure. We want to please them, and take joy in their happiness and comfort. We value and honor them, and will sacrifice our own comfort and pleasure in order to bring them happiness. Or, we can treat them in a loving way for selfish reasons, because they make us feel good and bring us pleasure and we want to keep them around to continue pleasing us. Essentially, we treat them well to keep them with us.

The husband who asks, "What do I have to do to keep you with me?" is asking a much different question than the one who asks, "What do I need to do to bring you joy, to make you happy, to help you to feel secure?" Likewise, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" is a much different question than, "What must I do to please my Father God, to bring Him pleasure, to make Him happy?" And not "happy with me?". Just, happy.

The expert's question shows arrogance on many levels, but on two in particular. Firstly, he assumes that whatever needs to be done to inherit eternal life, he is able to do it. And secondly, he is only looking out for himself, concerned with his salvation. This is a risky endeavor when you are asking about the Eternal One, The Lord God Almighty. You'd think a person would want to offer a, "Wow, You're pretty amazing, God!" before getting into, "So, what can You do for me? How am I going to benefit from this interaction, this relationship?" Coming before God with an agenda of selfishness and self-centredness is a futile endeavor. We cannot fool Him. He knows the intents and motives of our hearts. Our relationships with Him are love relationships, and He wants our love. It is easy to say we love God. Do we really think that He is fooled so easily?

One way we can know if we truly love someone or are in the relationship because of what they can do for us is to examine our reactions when they cannot or will not do for us what we want them to. If you want her to make you happy, and she is too tired or busy or cranky to make you happy, does that anger or irritate you? Or are you concerned for her, and do you seek to ease her burden because you don't want her to feel overwhelmed? If we parent so our children can, by their behavior, show us off as good parents, we will feel anger, irritation, sometimes even loss of interest in the child when they behave badly or don't excel in certain areas, failing in their purpose of exalting us. And when we follow God in order to bring blessings into our own lives, we will feel anger when God does not give as we see fit. We may even reject Him. We will certainly complain about Him, and grumble to Him.

Our words reveal our motives. The expert in the law made clear his motives. But Jesus is wise. And graceful. For this, we can all be grateful.