Individuals who have attended church for a while typically are familiar with the story of the rich, young ruler.
*He comes to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life.
*Jesus tells him to obey the commandments
*The rich, young ruler says that he has kept them.
*Then Jesus tells him to sell everything and give to the poor in order to have treasure in heaven.
*The man leaves sadly because of his great wealthy. (Luke 18:18-30; Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16-30)
Generally, when I hear sermons on this passage, there is an aside mentioned that this was Jesus's conversation with the rich, young ruler, not a command to all believers.
That's fine and dandy, but it doesn't take Luke 12:22-34 in account. In this chapter, Jesus is talking to the crowds and His disciples. This section is specifically addressed to His disciples, and Jesus tells them, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:33-34)
We don't talk about this speech recorded in Luke, not addressed to a specific person, but to the disciples.
In the USA, we are a rather possessive lot. My money. My house. My car. My stuff. We give lip service that everything comes from God, but we nonetheless are spending a lot of money on things that are not necessities.
Everything we have comes from God, BUT everything is still God's. We are stewarding His resources that He has entrusted to us. So when we spend money, we are spending His money. Everything we own, therefore is His. He can instruct us to sell it, give it away, or avoid buying it in the first place, because it is not ours.
So the question we must ask ourselves is this:
Does God want me to spend His money this way?
Does He want me to sell anything to help the poor in my community and around the world?
Am I storing up for myself treasure on earth instead of on heaven?
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Go For Meaty Books
I love to read. Sometimes I like to read a happy little fiction story. Other times, I am wrestling with theology by reading books by Bonhoeffer and C.S. Lewis. Sometimes I read books that encourage me when I am weary. Other times, I need a book to motivate me to get outside of myself and my problems so that I can better serve those around me. Some of my favorite books are the books that challenge me and send me back to the Bible to not only to double-check the author, but to cause me to re-examine what I believe & why.
I pointed out to my husband that a lot of Christians in the Western world don't seem keen to do tough introspection. There are a lot of Christians who go for what I have termed "books of fluff": these are 'Christian' books that applaud you for being awesome as you are instead of spurring you on and encouraging you to be more Christlike.
When I think of the Church in the Western world, I realize that we have become complacent and comfortable, instead of pushing on to achieve our goal, which is spreading the Gospel.
To borrow an example from nature, if a river creates a side stream, that later gets cut off from the main river and prevented from flowing onward down the stream, than that side stream will soon become a stagnant pond and a breeding place for mosquitoes. When new water isn't flowing into a stream, it runs the risk of drying out. When water isn't flowing out of a stream, even if a little trickle is flowing into the stream, it runs the risk of stagnating.
It is the same way in the lives of Christians. When we cut ourselves off from the Source, we start to dry out spiritually. It becomes exhausting to live according to the Bible.
When we cut ourselves off from growth and outreach, we stagnant. We may get a trickle from the Source, but we are becoming self-absorbed, bitter, and just all-around icky.
There's a lot of books out there that congratulate you for being so godly and being a better person than the non-Christian culture around you. So instead of continuing to strive after becoming more Christ-like, we begin to pat ourselves on the back for being so awesome and silently judge the culture around us for their sinfulness. We are looking down at the very people we should be reaching out to in compassion.
But when we read the meaty books, that hold up Christ as our example, we still see the progress we have made from our first day as a Christian, but we are more aware that we still have a ways to go to be fully Christ-like.
I challenge you to read meaty books-biographies, auto-biographies, stories of the saints. Read the hard truths that make us uncomfortable or challenge us. And allow the Holy Spirit to grow you.
I pointed out to my husband that a lot of Christians in the Western world don't seem keen to do tough introspection. There are a lot of Christians who go for what I have termed "books of fluff": these are 'Christian' books that applaud you for being awesome as you are instead of spurring you on and encouraging you to be more Christlike.
When I think of the Church in the Western world, I realize that we have become complacent and comfortable, instead of pushing on to achieve our goal, which is spreading the Gospel.
To borrow an example from nature, if a river creates a side stream, that later gets cut off from the main river and prevented from flowing onward down the stream, than that side stream will soon become a stagnant pond and a breeding place for mosquitoes. When new water isn't flowing into a stream, it runs the risk of drying out. When water isn't flowing out of a stream, even if a little trickle is flowing into the stream, it runs the risk of stagnating.
It is the same way in the lives of Christians. When we cut ourselves off from the Source, we start to dry out spiritually. It becomes exhausting to live according to the Bible.
When we cut ourselves off from growth and outreach, we stagnant. We may get a trickle from the Source, but we are becoming self-absorbed, bitter, and just all-around icky.
There's a lot of books out there that congratulate you for being so godly and being a better person than the non-Christian culture around you. So instead of continuing to strive after becoming more Christ-like, we begin to pat ourselves on the back for being so awesome and silently judge the culture around us for their sinfulness. We are looking down at the very people we should be reaching out to in compassion.
But when we read the meaty books, that hold up Christ as our example, we still see the progress we have made from our first day as a Christian, but we are more aware that we still have a ways to go to be fully Christ-like.
I challenge you to read meaty books-biographies, auto-biographies, stories of the saints. Read the hard truths that make us uncomfortable or challenge us. And allow the Holy Spirit to grow you.
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