Tuesday, August 25, 2015

day no. 13,455: thoughts from Luke 12:22-48‏

the passage begins with a "therefore" which requires you to place your teaching within the general context and in particular the main point immediately preceding your passage: which was being rich in this world and poor towards God leads to your everlasting destruction in the life to come.

the command following the "therefore" is simple and straightforward. "Don't be anxious about your life."

Jesus goes on to explain what He means by "life" by giving a few examples: food and clothing.  I don't think He means to say that these are all that make up one's "life" but rather that these are two obvious and easy areas of everyone's lives to identify as opportunities to trust God as a providing Father or anxiously, feverishly work to protect one's self from potential disaster.

also,worthy of noting is that Jesus commands "Don't be anxious."

it isn't a suggestion or a tip or a lifehack for a better livelihood.  it is a command from Jesus our God and Savior. "Don't be anxious about your life."

anxiety or anxiousness about worldly things is the sin of unbelief which is ultimately why Jesus commands us to separate ourselves from it.

Jesus then gives one example each of food and clothing by pointing to ravens and lillies, both of which are provided for by God without any anxious toil on their part. 

Jesus' point here is punctuated by Him saying emphatically that God loves us more than birds and flowers. anymore, this isn't necessarily an assumed notion, but it is nevertheless still true. Jesus became a person to save people to call them brothers to have blood like us so that He could spill His blood for us as a ransom in order to redeem us from our sin.  He didn't become a bird or a lily to identify with them.  He is their God, but He is our Father and we are His children through faith in Jesus Christ.

it is also worth noting that this lesson and command to no be anxious is aimed at the heart of those already confessing belief and faith in Jesus, the parable that ends your passage gives plenty of opportunity to aim at the ignorant and unbelieving who will suffer at the wrath of the Lamb for their ignorance and unbelief in Him.

“Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither.”― C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian

Anxiety about this life amounts to nothing. It doesn't give you more life, it doesn't make your current life better, it doesn't make life more fulfilling, it doesn't convince death and destruction and moths and rust and decay to deviate from their God-ordained purpose. The thorns and thistles of this world are a curse from God that also provides the blessing of teaching our hearts to desire a better country, that is a heavenly one.

Hebrews 11:13-16

13 These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
I adore LUKE 12:32. I find it to be a GREAT source of hope and comfort about the kind of God we serve and the kind of future we have ahead of us if we remain faithful to Him and trust His hand for better or for worse. 
Marriage vows include a promise to keep covenant under conditions of poverty or prosperity, sickness or health, better or worse and that is a promise made to a person who will most assuredly sin against you.  How much more the loyalty and promise we can make to our God and Father who never sins and desires eagerly to give us His first and best and serve us by handing us a Kingdom already prepared by Himself.
Lastly, you pointed out the 4 categories this morning: 
believes master is coming soon and is working to please Him until He comes back
believes master is coming sometime, maybe and so in the meantime are acting like they own the joint and demonstrate their evil by choosing to run a loose ship with carousing, gluttony and mean-spirited, harsh treatment of others who stick around the true Master's house.
believes master is coming sometime, but doesn't do anything (good or bad) they don't try to take over the house as headmaster, but they do ignore the Master's desires and disgrace His value by doing nothing to demonstrate the reality that they live in His house. this is the sin of Adam watching his wife eat the apple. the common sin of men specifically and people in general. 
didn't know master was coming back and was acting like they were the master of the house because they didn't know someone else would ever come back and claim authority over it.
the severity is from worst to least #2, #3, #4 with #1 receiving no beating or negative consequence for their waiting and working under the rule of the Master of the home even in His absence or delayed return.

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