last first

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 19:30

It’s so easy to accept

the world’s order of things

rich men rule

power is coveted

recognition is reward

the weak fail

predatory survival at all cost

None of those is good or right

and all people truly know it

yet we give in

bow to the system

envy the rich and famous

weaken our souls

forgetting there is a bigger kingdom

Jesus turns it all upside down and kicks it far away!

Jesus teaches us to submit

joy in His liberating reverse kingdom

only He rules each heart

humility is noble and noticed

slaves are rewarded ambassadors

the meek are the strong

carrying a humiliating cross… 

counting the extraordinary cost

marriage permanence

What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

I hope I am not just writing out of feelings of my own loss of Joni to pancreatic cancer. God brought us together. God has chosen to separate us by death. I’m not particularly “prideful” that our marriage went all the way to the gates of heaven. Frankly, it kinda still sucks. I’m still reeling from it in many ways.

But I do agree with Jesus that a strictly human, casual view of matrimony is outrageous and wrong. And it is all too prevalent today. If it were only a human commitment, than running from problems, splitting in disagreements, ducking difficulties, going totally selfish would be the foolish and completely self-serving thing to do. It just proves that real love, however, never really entered the relationship. Self love first is not real love.

Real love says it is sorry and grieves when it has hurt a spouse. Real love helps sacrificially when the relationship dips to a low. Real love faces hell on earth with grace, guts, sacrifice, and determination to never let go, even though it is tempting to want an easy way out. Real love will not separate. Why? That is not how God loves. Nothing separates us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). Nothing should separate when we learn to love with His love.

contemptible contempt

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

Luke 18:9

Self-righteous hate is an awful evil. Of all the sins Jesus died for, this was the one most responsible for carrying out His execution. It was self-righteous contempt wrapped in pious religiosity that opposed Jesus at every turn. This sin plotted. It planned. It hated grace. It hated the people needing grace. It always does.

Reading this short parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, we see self-righteous hate in the heart of the Pharisee. Some telltale signs: 1) He prayed literally “to himself” - not reaching God’s heart with his selfish garbage (Luke 19:11). 2) He was judgmental and biased against others. 3) He trusted his own efforts for salvation. 4) He despised people who literally stood next to him in a house of worship. 5) He prided himself on his own works in self-congratulation, not even recognizing God as the source of His reward.

Only one humble prayer dismantles self-righteous contempt: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” We are awfully susceptible to having a Pharisaical pride… the longer we soak in Christian “culture”, the easier it is to slip into self-righteous comparison. The more we want to be away from “the bad people”, the more likely we are to be praying just to our boastful selves. But the truth is we are all the tax collectors and sinners who MUST pray this prayer. We never lose the need to pray it. Pray it every day, all day, embracing your need for a Savior! And He will grow close to you, wrapping you in His mercy, grace, and care!

A plot? No. A purpose.

So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

John 11:53

People may love a good conspiracy, but in this conspiracy around Jesus, there are no secrets. It all unfolds in a way that will change the world… for good.

The “they” of this verse consisted of the high priest in Israel and the highest council of Jewish religious leaders. The “him” is of course, Jesus. The full-fledged conspiracy to kill Jesus has come into a matter of public record with this council’s determined action. It is now official policy to put Jesus to death. The last straw? Jesus raised a man from the dead, causing stir enough to potentially draw Roman attention in ways the Jewish leaders were afraid would further erode what power they had.

The council hated Jesus. But they covered their hate with the pretense of a political rationale that was in their minds “better for the nation”. Caiaphas, the high priest, even unwittingly spoke redemptively of their plan to murder Jesus: “…it is better for you that one man should die for the people…”

And so a private plan that was meant to silence Jesus forever would become for all eternity the loudest, best news that still reverberates in our world. It is the joyous song of the redeemed even now: Christ died for our sins!

Martha’s belief

She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

John 11:27

Jesus asked Martha a very direct and personal question: “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). Jesus, claiming to be “the resurrection and the life” pressed into Martha’s grief with that impossible question. Don’t blame Martha for the theological answer during her pain. I think I would respond the same way. She is enveloped in sorrow’s tunnel vision. She is clinging to what faith she DOES have, not avoiding the question that Jesus asks. Frankly, I respect her honest answer.

Yet, Jesus IS the resurrection and the life. And every disciple who loses a loved one in Him still knows very real grief and sorrow. We don’t doubt His reality as our Savior and Lord. That deepens. We also don’t deny death’s very real separation. The thought of resurrection, though very comforting, is massively distanced by the cold reality of the death we know. We tend to hold to what we do know even as we are encouraged to hold out for what will come. But that future resurrection is a God task. Only Jesus can be the resurrection and life. Only He ends this agonizing separation. We believe, as we can, until He resurrects. Until then, with an arm around us during our tears, Jesus understands us, staying right beside us.

micro-faiths

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Luke 17:5

Jesus’ favorite way to talk about His disciples’ commitment was to regularly remind them they were of “little faith” — literally “micro-faiths” was their nickname as a group. So we should not be surprised that as Jesus gave them some hard to follow teaching, they would cry this request out sincerely to the Master.

Jesus had just spoken on some hard subjects that are counter-intuitive to our default human wiring: 1) Forgiving an offense without reservation… repeatedly (Luke 17:1-4). 2) Rejection by the world even when Jesus would rise from the dead (Luke 16:19-31). 3) The consequences of a casual view of marriage and divorce (Luke 16:18). 4) The complete fulfillment of all the Law in Jesus (Luke 16:14-17), and 5) The stewardship of earthly possessions for maximum eternal impact (Luke 16:1-13). “Increase our faith!” Indeed!

When Jesus is the sole object of our faith, no matter how hard the circumstances of following Him, no matter how heavy the opposition from those opposed to Him, no matter how challenging the relationships we live in, we can always see Him lead us through. Lord…Increase our faith by increasing our view of You as we follow You no matter how counter-intuitive to our natural impulses the life you ask of us may seem!

recovery & joy

Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

Luke 15:6b

God’s joy at the saving of sinners is the theme of the parables Jesus tells in Luke 15. Using three stories to make His point, Jesus emphasizes how God wants to seek the lost, restore the lost, and most importantly, rejoice wildly in their recovery. It is clear that God delights in restoration. This enthusiasm for the lost is why Jesus came to earth to save us.

The first story of the lost sheep emphasizes the lengths that the Lord goes to, leaving all others, in pursuit of the lost one. The celestial rejoicing in heaven over even one repentant sinner is wildly infectious, louder than a last second Super Bowl winning score! Luke 15:7

The second story of the lost coin emphasizes the earnest nature of God’s love for sinners. He leaves no stone unturned, no corner unswept in recovering them. Nobody is worthless. No person is insignificant. No life is too small. And again, a party erupts in the context of their restoration.

The third and most personal of the stories is that of the lost son. It emphasizes the depth of emotion and relationship the Father feels for the lost, a pinnacle of wild celebration when the prodigal humbly begs to be home again. God throws the biggest parties out of love for each of us, no matter how selfish and inconsiderate we may have once been. Even when others don’t get why we deserve His grace, He pours it all on us because in Him we are home! There is no greater joy for God than when His lost ones, now sons and daughters, are home in Him.