A pointed parable

All Sorts

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It’s one we’re all very familiar with.  It’s the best of its kind for motivating random acts of kindness and/or inducing random fits of guilt!  But I would suggest, it’s misused for these purposes.  And mostly, we’ve missed the point.

The story I refer to is of course, The Good Samaritan (Luke 10). This parable is held over the heads of Christian and non-Christian alike as an example of ultimate good neighborliness.   As if this is how we ought to act, so let’s get at it–find someone in need and help them!  Countless ministries have adopted this Samaritan as their mascot, at least in name. But have we missed the actual point of this well-known parable? 

Of course, the title we give it is entirely tradition. Nowhere in the text is this roadside rescuer called a ‘Good Samaritan’.   In his day (had he existed) I suppose many a Jew would have sat up and taken notice at the oxymoron of the thing.  Was there such a thing as a good Samaritan?  They were the hated half-breeds, shunned by every ‘good’ Jew…  Ironic that Jesus specifies that this angel of mercy was in fact a Samaritan,  while the Jewish actors in the story were the ‘bad guys’.  His audience must have squirmed. 

Which brings me to my point—the lawyer– the one for whom this story was composed.  We will miss the real point of it without starting at the beginning, before the story unfolded, with the conversation that preceded it.  This lawyer stood up to challenge Jesus with a tough question. “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answered with this man’s profession in mind:  “What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?”  And this expert answers perfectly (though I paraphrase): Love God with all that you are…and Love your neighbor like you do yourself.  He got an A+ for that one!  Good answer.  So Jesus proceeds to answer his question.  What must he do to inherit eternal life? You know the law, now “do this, and you will live.”  (Lk.10:28)

Sounds simple, but…who has ever lived up to this kind of love? It was, of course, an impossible bit of doing. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.” Rom.3:20 If the lawyer were honest, or at least humble, he would have admitted he was ‘toast’, not eligible for eternal life.  But no, he goes on ‘desiring to justify himself’ pursuing a legal loophole to sneak through, and asks: “Who is my neighbor?”

And this is the context for the parable that Jesus unpacks.  This is not a story about how we should live, or how to be a good neighbor.  It’s a story exposing the impossibility of ever meriting eternal life!  And it is custom-made for the lawyer.  For though this lawyer may know the law– what is fair, what is deserved, what is required.  He is about to come up short in another department.  Religious training and dedication may make a person ‘pretty good’ but not good enough to qualify in the good neighbor category Jesus sets out here. Nope, the priest and the Levite weren’t even up to it. 

Possibly, the lawyer figured he’d be able to extend some sort of token ‘love’ to a finite set of persons who reside in his vicinity, but Jesus opens the category of ‘neighbors’ to include life-long enemies, underserving scoundrels, helpless victims who will never be able to pay back anything, and he shows love to be costly, over-and-above what is minimally required.  Interruption, expense, inconvenience, and all of these in a  prolonged way, this is the character of the neighborly love called for.  This is mercy, and it’s exactly what the lawyer’s good training had not prepared him for.

And once again Jesus has taken a trick question and gone right to the heart of the interrogator, showing him what he is lacking, and what he is in need of.  What do lawyers specialize in? [No, this is not a joke] The law, right? They are sticklers for justice—meting out what is deserved. But loving one’s neighbor requires something more—it demands mercy.

And when it comes to mercy, this lawyer may as well be the roadside victim himself.  Despite appearances, he is in fact beaten, helpless, and bound to die unless Someone stops to show compassion.  No amount of self-justification will do, this man is in need of mercy.

And of course, this is exactly what Jesus has done, for all of us. He is the truly good Samaritan.  While we were yet enemies, He came upon us in our trouble and gave of Himself to save our lives.  And it’s only going to be through Him living out His life in us that we will ever qualify as ‘good neighbors’.  I am not naturally merciful, nor generous, nor gracious.  I tend to carry guilt for all the possible kind things I could do but don’t.  I am not a great neighbor in many respects. But this is where I stake my claim on the Gospel. It is for sinners that Jesus died and it is for such as I that He lives to infuse His kind of life through me.  And little by little God’s making of me all he intends.  I’m His project and the results are guaranteed:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,  for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Rom.8:29

Or as Spurgeon has put it:
“Let it never be forgotten that what the law demands of us the gospel really produces in us.”

He’s not  asking me to go out and determine to do ‘good’. But he is wanting me to see how much mercy I’ve been shown.  And I suspect that reflecting on how good He’s been to me will produce a more merciful heart in me.  And that beats any amount of motivation guilt can ever muster!  Mercy begets mercy. 

–LS

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die– but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom.5:8

“…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Gal.2:16

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Rom.5:10

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P.S. I must add one more thing!  Have you read the Old Testament equivalent of the Good Samaritan parable?  I came upon it this morning in my Ezekiel reading.  God is the Good Samaritan. The people of Israel the helpless ones in the ditch:

“And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’  I made you flourish like a plant of the field…” Ez.16:6

Nowhere will you find a more poignant story of the love of God for the helpless than here.  It is beautiful, and heartbreaking, a reminder never to forget from whence we’ve come, and to whom we owe all that we are.  Don’t miss it.

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Rom.11:36

A New and Living Way

All Sorts

I have started reading Ezekiel this week. It does not exactly lend itself to ‘devotional’ blogging.  After reading the first six or so chapters I was depressed for the rest of the day.  Hormones maybe, but disturbing reading to be sure. 

First there are all these bizarre ‘living creatures’ with wings that turn out to be cherubim, and levitating wheels full of eyes  that accompany them…Above this surreal imagery is an expanse ‘shining like awe-inspiring crystal’ (1:22) and above that a throne on which sits One with ‘the likeness of a human appearance’.  Ezekiel seems to be grasping for words to describe this glory—gleaming metal, fire, and brightness like a rainbow will have to suffice.  But this he says was ‘the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.’  And his response was to fall on his face awaiting instruction. 

His job assignment is a bleak one.  First he is to listen with heart and ears open to what God will say, then He is to go to the exiles, his own people, and speak to them: ‘Thus says the LORD God…’  whether they choose to hear or to ignore what he says.  And the implication is that they will in fact refuse to hear.  They are a rebellious people.  His job will be more than just words; his life will become an object lesson to show the people of Israel the judgments coming on them—the siege, the starvation, pestilence, war and exile. It will cost him personally to be God’s messenger.  But it is his calling. 

The next chapters (I’ve gotten to chapter 14 so far) are taken up with briefing Ezekiel on the nature of his audience and their coming judgment. Their guilt is ‘exceedingly great.’(9:9)  Injustice and bloodshed have become commonplace because the people assume that God has forsaken the land and does not see them. They are oblivious to the jealousy they have provoked in their greatest Lover. They are mindless of his broken heart over their whoring (Is.6:9).  His anger, His wrath, His unpitying resolve will unleash judgment on them till only a remnant remain.

This is not the character of God we prefer to think about.  Atheists and mockers love to run with passages like these and fault God as immoral and wicked to act so harshly.  Even believers sometimes steer away from these passages and make a differentiation between the God of the Old Testament, and that of the New.  We find this behavior irreconcilable with our concept of ‘love’.  It’s certainly more comfortable to read I Corinthians 13 or Psalm 23, for example, and talk about only the ‘nice’ aspects of God’s love.  It is believed that this is what people need to hear and they will gladly ‘believe’.

But the book of Ezekiel makes another point.  The infidelity of man cannot exist beside the glory of God.  While Ezekiel watches he sees the likeness of the  glory of God depart the temple (Ez.10).  His glory will not stay in their temple so long as they pursue other gods. God’s love has not failed.  But His people are unfaithful and have scorned His love. Something must be done.

To read Ezekiel and see only the severity of God’s judgment is to miss the heart of God.  The very purpose of His judgment is to recapture the hearts of His people to their true allegiance, for their own good and His glory.  Again and again the phrase recurs: ‘Then they will know that I am the LORD’. (Ez.6:7,10,13,14). This is the point.  As long as they follow the ‘rules of the nations that are around them’ (Ez.11:12) they will suffer the fates of these nations.  But they were created to be God’s own people, to know and reflect His glory!  Only this will satisfy them but they have lost their way. God will not let them go. 

The book of Ezekiel paints the stark contrast between the  glory of God and the nature of man.  And right when we least expect it comes grace, God reaching down to do the unexpected, the undeserved—“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” This is God’s heart for His people.  He will stop at nothing less.

This is the beauty of the Gospel, but it has no meaning apart from first recognizing the glory of God’s holiness—His awesome unapproachable ‘other-ness’.  We were created to fellowship with and live for this holy God, to delight in His beauty.  But in our natural state we are powerless to attain to such a relationship or even exist in the presence of this Awesome God apart from a drastic remaking of who we are.

I tucked in last night with the evening reading from Daily Light. It was headed: “The new and living way” (Heb.10:20) The verses selected underline the message of Ezekiel and reminded me of the wonder of being granted access to the very throne room of God and given the undeserved  status of ‘holy and blameless’, only because this fiercely loving and jealous God, the God who called Ezekiel to preach, has made a way.

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you.” (Is.59:2)

“No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn.14:6)

“Our Savior Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  (II Tim.1:10)

And my additions…

For what the Law was powerless to do, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us  [! I love that!!] Rom.8:3,4 NIV

And the crowning jewels for today:

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Heb.10:14

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds…
Heb.10:19-24NASB

Hmm… maybe Ezekiel is more ‘devotional’ than first meets the eye?!  Thanks for listening in to my ruminations (  :

–LS

If you are unfamiliar with Daily Light, it is a classic of brief morning and evening readings composed entirely of Scripture verses compiled around common themes.  I love seeing Old and New Testament verses juxtaposed in this way.  I’m continually refreshed by these readings and highly recommend it.  The original compilations were done by Samuel Bagster and it is available in various translations and editions.  Here’s what mine looks like: 

 

Advice for life—the everlasting way

All Sorts

Well, that was it.  Today I unceremoniously came to the end of a 23 year career of home educating my offspring.  We ended with the dissection of a fetal pig.  He didn’t get much of a chance at life, but there he, no she, was– perfectly formed from her little piggy snout to the tip of her tail, with all the appropriate ‘middle’ things encased ever so predictably inside that  tiny pink body.  You won’t mind I think, if I spare you details, and the photo? We are quite through with dissections around here, and forgot to snap a photo of this one. 

Meanwhile with great pomp and ceremony, kids are graduating into life-after-highschool all over the place, including two nieces and a nephew.  I pondered this week what advice I have to offer someone heading off into the wide world to try out their wings (and faith)—It came together in the form of an analogy.  We drill into our kids what it takes to stay physically healthy, you know: eat right, get some exercise, learn to manage stress and get your sleep.  So I got to wondering, are there corresponding means to encourage soul health, and avoid falling prey to floundering faith?

Eating right reminds me of the Word, our manna.  We need it, daily.  To be chewed and swallowed and digested—meditated on, pondered. And we need a balanced diet of it—not just the sweet morsels, not just a chunk here or there, but the whole meal deal, from cover to cover providing all the essential protein and carbs, vitamins and minerals to make us competent for whatever our calling (II Tim.3:16,17)  For variety of cuisine, we have teachers and preachers who cook with the Word and prepare it in appetizing ways for our consumption.  Whether in church, or on the Internet or in a book there’s no want of good food available.  It’s just up to us to shop discerningly and consume consistently.

Then it’s time to exercise—to see that that good Word doesn’t turn into unbecoming flab on our hips or our lips (Mt.15:8).  We’ve got to allow it to energize our Walk through life.  Here’s where the exercise of faith comes in.  Without it no amount of eating will make us strong.  We’ll be dropping like flies in the wilderness Ă  la the children of Israel, remembered for their hard hearts and unbelief.  “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them,* not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” (Heb.3:7—4:2).  Walking by faith is to be our normal lifestyle, not just huddling ‘round the feed dish like a bunch of ‘meat birds’. 

[If you have ever raised the kind of chickens bred for their meat you will appreciate this analogy.  We tried both ‘meat birds’ and ‘layers’ one year.  While the young egg-layers scampered about in their yard enjoying the sunshine and scratching about for unsuspecting worms and arthopods while they grew strong for a life-time of productivity,  their housemates, the ‘meat birds’, could not be bothered to leave the feed dish.  They sat and gourged with no thought of being made with legs and wings for a purpose.  Their life expectancy was accordingly short—a mere 6-8 weeks. Let that be a lesson to us ( : ]

Analogies aside, from my experience, the need for exercise  is relentless. It’s not enough to get in shape.  You have to keep on working at it—getting out there and pedaling, or stretching, or walking or whatever you do to keep fit—or your body starts to sag and fitness begins to wane.  Just like exercising faith.  No matter where we are on the journey, faith is required, continuously. Let down your guard and doubt slips in, or fear, or anxiety, or whatever default you are most prone to return to.  Exercising faith is a relentless requirement for soul fitness.

Faith has everything to do with the third requirement for good health—learn to manage stress.  Of course, the lifeline for our souls in this regard is prayer—’Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ Phil.4:6,7 I know these verses by heart, but does my heart know this kind of peace? Learning to ‘manage stress’ is really a matter of learning to cast it on the only One who can really carry it without falling apart.  Why then do I try to carry it myself? With good reason Peter 5: 7-9 became one of my favorite passages many years ago: “Casting all your cares on Him, for He cares for you…”  We can’t carry manage stress on our own. We weren’t designed to.

And my last piece of advice to the young graduate chomping at the bit to be on to greater things was: No matter how busy life gets, always get your rest. Your soul needs it too. Remember that Jesus wants to know you more than He wants your service. Learn to rest in who He is in you when you feel inadequate. Don’t carry burdens you were never intended to bear; His yoke is easy, His burden is light. If you find yours to be too much, you’re carrying more than He intended. Sit and talk to Jesus a bit and get His perspective. Here you’ll find ‘rest for your soul’ (Mt.11:28-30)

Soul rest is more than a temporary activity, it’s to be our state of being—resting in the work Jesus has accomplished on our behalf, resting in His promises, knowing that what He requires of us He will accomplish in us as we walk with Him and share His yoke….

No sooner had I put these thoughts together into a letter  to my niece then I realized that this same advice is not just for young people beginning steps toward their careers, it is for old people set on finishing well and middle-aged people navigating the ‘as-is’ of  life.  And this advice is for me, wrapping up one phase of life and peering out into the future with a lump in my throat and a prayer on my lips: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Ps.139: 23,24

Feeding on the Word, walking it out by faith, casting all that matters to us on the One who cares most for us, and making every effort to rest—these are ageless tips for living well, for this is the everlasting way to live! 

After all, do we ever cease to need daily Bread just because we’ve been eating it for so many years?  And is the exercise of faith not as necessary a daily discipline as when we first believed?  Walking by faith still goes against the grain of our ‘natural’ (flabby) way of responding to life.  And what of stress?  Does it ever go away, at any stage of life?  And is not rest all the more needful the older we get? 

Perhaps I should write myself a letter, then again maybe I just did…

Blessings on you and yours at whatever stage of this great and everlasting life you find yourselves!!

–LS

“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.” Is. 55:2

Has it really come to this?

All Sorts

Never before have I lost my glasses. They’ve always been stuck to my face, ever since the third grade when I crept into class that first day with my new cat-eye glasses. But now, there are multiple pairs… and where did I put those reading glasses?!

And there are pills doled out at breakfast—Am I becoming my mother?! Pills to make up for missing sunshine. Pills to rejuvenate aging eyes. Pills to ward off aging…(?!)

And what’s this minty scent that wafts me through my days? Ben-Gay?! Yes, they still make the stuff, but surely this sore shoulder muscle isn’t here to stay…

Hmm… skin cancer, could this little spot be it? I have just read up on what ”Basal Cell Carcinoma” is. Now for the doctor’s appointment. Whoever thought about these things before?

Yes, it’s really come to this. I’m getting old. I’m past the half-way point and heading for the home lap assuming it will be shorter, harder and less fun than the first half but really not at all clear what it will be like! Family life is all I’ve known. I peek back over my shoulder at the happy olden days and wonder how I can pack them away in albums and move on before turning into a pillar of salt from the tears!

To compound my sense of loss, my career as a homeschool teacher of 23 years is ending, abruptly, soon. I feel like a student myself with this deadline looming with such finality. Whether I learned all my lessons or not, whether the assignments got done well or not, the term is up. My work is due ‘as is’ for grading. How did I do? What have I accomplished? There is no grade point average for me this time around. My five graduates will live with the results, for better or worse. (Now there’s a disturbing thought!)

And I’m aching for reassurance that I did good. (I know that’s not good grammar, but it’s what a soul wants to know). I don’t need affirmation in the Comment Box, I need to hear from my Supervisor that He is pleased. Only His Words will suffice to displace this sagging feeling that my best was not good enough.

Never mind ‘best’, who can honestly say they’ve done their best day in-day out for the length of a career? Really? No, we bring at our work what we have to bring, ourselves. And being human and faulted with great cracks and fissures, we bring our weaknesses. These too go into the mix that will make up the final product. All these years and lesson plans and books later I have completed my assignment. The term is ended. But I’m not sure I’ve done a good enough job.  Five fledgling adults educated under my watch are trying their wings in the real world while I sit on the sidelines watching, and waiting, and wondering how we’ve done (and what’s next?!)…

Against this backdrop of doubt and insecurity God speaks Words I need to hear: a call, a gentle correction and a healthier orientation. And I must admit, deep down past all my Eeyore impulses and growing (old) pains, I am excited despite myself for what’s to come. I am ready for a new stage. As armloads and boxes of books head out the door the bookshelves stand enticingly empty for a new round of learning. Living spaces too are refigured for new purposes. Life is brightened with endless possibilities. I’ve even found renewed enthusiasm for gardening. Turning soil and pulling weeds in hopes of new life to come is therapeutic!

But just case you too are in a stage not quite comfortable, not quite confident, not quite all you hoped it would turn out to be, may I offer you the words that have encouraged me this week—a call, a correction, and a new orientation?

First there was this call.  A friend unwittingly pointed me here, to Solomon’s love Song, a picture of lover’s bliss and ultimately of Christ’s love for His bride.  May I paraphrase the Lover’s words?

Listen, hear the birds, see the flowers?  It is springtime.  So, ‘arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away….let me see your face, let me hear your voice…catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.’ 

In each new season of life, Christ calls us to come to Him, to talk to him, to be known by Him, and not to let anything spoil the yield in our vineyard. 

In these winsome words I am reminded of my primary calling, to know and be known by Christ.  This is what really matters.  Many will call Him ‘Lord, Lord’ and point to all their ‘wonderful works’ as evidence of this relationship, but He will profess: “I never knew you; depart from me.” Mt.7:22,23 No amount of work done in His name will make up for a failure to be known by Him.  He’s not so much interested in what I’ve done, as in knowing me.  And so He calls, “come away…let me see your face, let me hear your voice…”.  Here is my invitation to put aside doubts of sufficient worthiness and relax ‘as is’ in the sheer delight of being His desired companion.

A gentle correction came one quiet morning as I sat by the woodstove warding off the chill, reading and thinking, and fretting too, over my failures in this final year of school—technical details and ‘holes’ in our education.  The story of Martha and Mary was before me and I heard Martha’s accusation as I had not heard it before:  “Lord, do you not care that I have to do everything? Tell Mary to help.”  Jesus wouldn’t consent.  He knew Martha was pre-occupied with lesser things and that Mary had found what was important. 

How easy it is to use prayer as a means of getting God to see we need help that He can surely provide.  Surely He will help us accomplish our goals.  How often have I been frustrated this year that school is not what I want it to be?  And even now, short on weeks and long on unmet goals Jesus’ words come with gentle reproof:  Linda, Linda, “you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.”  And what was that one thing that Mary was doing?  She was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to His teaching. 

Martha had been the one to welcome Him into their home, but she’d lost sight of the value of His company, in her conscientious effort to serve Him.   And again a still small voice beckons me to let go my determination of what needs to be done and listen to what’s on Jesus’ heart.  After all, were we to master all the finer points of grammar and writing, of science and math yet not have learned to value time spent with Jesus, what would we have accomplished? 

Lord, forgive my obsessions with lesser things. Thank-you for denying my demands in order to point me to what is most important.  I am grateful.  Make your priorities for my kids mine also.  When your Kingdom and your Righteousness are first in our hearts, the rest will fall into place as you intend. (Mt.6:33)

The final word of encouragement that has given me a fresh orientation came by way of a wise blogger mom at a similar life stage to my own.  In her ‘keeping it real’ way she arrested my attention with these words:  “It is not our calling to ‘raise Godly children’”.  What?!  She went on to clarify by way of contrast:

“It is our calling :

  • to be authentic believers and live out the gospel before our children.
  • to nurture, instruct, guide, love, and pray for our children.
  • to share God’s Word, and share the gospel with our children.

God is the only one who can work in a child’s heart and change him into a godly person. His Spirit draws them, opens their eyes, and changes and matures them.”

–Gina Smith at http://www.keepinitrealgina.com

 

A subtle shift in meaning, you say?  No, for me it was an essential reminder not to assume a role never intended for me.  It may be my desire for my children to all be more perfect and godly than I, but this is not my job description. It cannot be.  Only God can make any of us godly!  We are called to love, to nurture, to teach and to discipline and perhaps most of all to depend on God to do these things through us and  in spite of us.  We all fail in many ways.  We don’t do the things we ought, the things we wish we had, or even all the things we could.  But God in His great mercy calls us each to Himself, loves us dearly and invites us to know and be known by Him.  And at my age, this is a good place to have come to.

–LS

For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. I Cor.13:9,10

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Cor.13:12,13

“My beloved is mine, and I am his…” Sgs.2:13

Sharing life over tea

All Sorts

A hot cup of tea with a bit of sugar and some real cream is such a wonderful relaxing, friendly thing to share.  I’m sitting here this evening with the tea things still out and the house suddenly empty and quiet as the mom and her young tribe that came to share some sips and look at all my give-away books has evacuated, a box of homeschool books in tow.  It is Thursday, my quiet evening to ponder and write alone.

P1100037

Why the door?  It reminded me of the passage I was pondering this morning, that one where Jesus stands at the door knocking, inviting anyone who hears his voice to open the door.  He’s just waiting for the invite to tea—well, to a meal together really.  Who wouldn’t open the door?  Why was it shut with Jesus on the wrong side in the first place?

Although this verse (Rev.3:20) is often used to describe opening one’s heart to Jesus at salvation, the context is not quite that.  It was this context that brought me here this morning.  Jesus is addressing a church that has lost sight of its need for Him.  “You say, I am rich , I have prospered and I need nothing”.  When in reality they are ‘wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked”! Jesus counsels them to come to him for true treasure—for gold refined by fire, (symbolic perhaps of a faith that perseveres through trial; see I Pet.1:7),  and for His righteousness (white garments) to hide their shame.  And for salve to heal their blinded eyes.

He reminds them His reproof is driven by love and urges this lukewarm church to get zealous, not about doing good works, but about repentance! It is out of this context that the words pop out: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”

Jesus was on the wrong side of the door perhaps because the Laodiceans felt they were no longer in need of Him.  They are ‘doing very well, thank-you’.  But Jesus’ own teaching makes it pretty clear that it’s not the one who never visibly wandered but the one who returns home, this one that is blessed.  It’s not the ‘righteous persons needing no repentance’ but the sinner who repents that causes all Heaven to party!  It’s not the ‘very well, thank-you’ but the sick, that Jesus came to heal.

As you can see, I haven’t quite shaken that ‘elder brother’ lesson from my mind—the goody-goody brother that never left home but somehow still missed enjoying a healthy relationship with his dad, you know the story.  Well, being ‘good’ dies hard.  I’ve been preaching to myself this week I guess and thinking about those words of Jesus—about all heaven rejoicing far more over the one sinner repenting than over the 99 who feel they are above repentance…

The thing to be celebrated it would seem is repentance, not one’s conscientious ‘goodness’. 

I hear it in the story of the rich young ruler too, approaching Jesus confident that he’s on the right track to eternal life, just needing a bit of assurance, or one more official ‘to do’ and he’ll have it.  What assignment does Jesus give?  Sell all you’ve set your heart on and follow me.  Make me your god, not your own self-sufficiency.  It’s as if he were saying, it’s not your righteousness that matters, but mine.  There’s no premium on ‘goodness’ when it comes to gaining eternal life.  We’re not saved because of it, not favored because of it, not loved more because of it.  It’s His goodness that counts, His name that is to be hallowed, His glory that is to shine through any good that comes from our lives.

I guess that’s why Jesus was always inviting people to Himself: follow me, abide in me, take my yoke and walk with me, come to me, open the door and let me eat with you…Where did I get the idea that my calling was to ‘be good’?  How many times have I admonished my kids to do likewise? 

I came across a blog this week by Emily Freeman that set me thinking more about this business of ‘being good’: 

one thing your daughter doesn’t need you to say

It made the case for NOT pressuring our kids to be a good example!  Because this could just be a primer to believing that  “being a Christian means having it all together, saying all the “right” things, staying a few steps above everyone else.”

She pointed out that requiring our son/daughter to be a good example may set her up to become  “a person people look up to, but …[not] someone they can relate to.” It continued:

“She may be successful at managing her behavior, but she will always struggle to manage people’s opinions.”

“She may have a great reputation, but her character will be clouded with bitterness and anger.”

“She may be a good church-goer, but she will not know how to be a good friend.”

“This may keep her out of trouble, but it will suffocate her soul.”

The author seemed to read my objections (and perhaps yours) “But what about holiness?”  What about being a light in a dark place?  She then points us back to the reality of whose goodness we’re representing.

What’s the alternative to ‘being good’ on the outside and keeping a lid on the rest ‘for example’s sake’?  What truth is missed in this scenario?  Precisely this, that: “Her light comes from Jesus, not from her awesome behavior.”

I found this to be good food for thought, not just for my daughters (and sons) but for myself. Because so easily being ‘good’ can be about my reputation, my appearance, my credentials, my standing before people. Being known as ‘nice’ or ‘sweet’ or ‘quiet’ or any of those bland descriptors used of people we hardly know…What’s the value of all that?  Does it point anyone to Jesus as the One who’s so incredibly good that I owe all I am to Him?

And I sit sipping my tea with all these thoughts as a backdrop.  I pore over my frustrations at not knowing what to do to ‘fix’ situations, at not feeling sufficient for those who ‘need’ me to ‘do something’.  I find myself wishing this knocking were more audible and this conversation over tea with Jesus more literal.  But maybe that’s what faith is for?

It’s soon time to get up and get breakfast going whether I’ve got the advice I’d hoped for or not.  I didn’t, at least I didn’t think so at the time.  But one thing I take away from this encounter with the Living Word is that I think I’m always meant to need Him. Never meant to think myself ‘good enough’ or responsible enough  to do life without Him, never intended to bear the weight of that, to close the door and sort things out in solitude– doing my best to figuring out what to say, what to ‘do’ because surely somebody’s got to do something(!). I’m not meant to rely on my cleverness or find answers by scratching my own head! 

Could it be He hasn’t called me to be ‘good’ (or clever or responsible)  but to be open to Him, to be ever dependent–inviting Him into my messes, to be ever repentant and forgiven, to be ever listening for His voice.

Mercifully, He keeps knocking when I forget these things.  He’s seems intent on sharing His life with me.

–LS

“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.” …”This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Lk.22:15-20 

“Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;” Is.55:2,3

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
I Pet.1:8,9

“But you are…a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” I Pet.2:9

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You may want to visit Emily at www.chattingatthesky.com  She has some timely words of grace for the ‘good girl’ in need of relief. Her article, “One thing your daughter doesn’t need you to say” is here.