Life is Short, Live Like You Mean It

“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."”       Luke 13:1-5 NASB

At last we come to Luke 13. These verses are complex and may take us a few days to cover completely. 

"Now on the same occasion" refers to the preceding chapter's verses. (Remember, Luke didn't write in chapters. He simply wrote. Later, scholars assigned chapter and verse notations.) The "occasion" referenced here was Jesus' talking with the crowd. You may remember that He had turned from teaching the disciples to speak specifically to the crowd concerning signs of the times and the debt we could not pay. 

Jesus had closed the discussion of the debt by telling His listeners that the debtor who did not reach a settlement with his accuser would be thrown in jail and not get out until the debt was completely paid. 

Jesus had just completed His discussion of the debt when some people broke in to report a tragic occurrence. A number of Galileans had gone to Jerusalem to present sacrifices before the Lord. The description of the events suggests that the Galileans may have been killing their sacrifices themselves (which was acceptable) before giving them to the priests. As the animals were being killed, Pilate's soldiers burst on the scene and slaughtered the men where they stood. Then men's blood flowed down and mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.

This was not a secret slaughter. It was at the temple, in front of all the people present that day. It was in a holy place, with no regard for the sanctuary. The soldiers did not (apparently) allow discussion or a trial. 

Pilate had an offense against these men, judged them, and condemned them to death. He ordered their execution be done in a most heinous way and, it appears, to take them by surprise when their  guard was down.

Before we move to what Jesus said, let's consider what happened.

A number of men from Galilee had gone to Jerusalem to worship and make sacrifices to their God. They were in the temple, probably the safest place they knew. Soldiers burst in and killed them. It happened so fast, they could not escape and were unable to defend themselves. (At least not successfully.)

Selah. Pause and consider.

These men died abruptly and unexpectedly. They probably knew Pilate had an offense against them, but they went to Jerusalem anyway. They may have been afraid, and probably were, but fear did not stop them from worshipping or sacrificing. No matter their age, they all likely presumed they had more life, more years ahead of them. Just as we presume. Life, however, is fragile and we are not guaranteed length of years.

Life can end in an instant, when we least expect it.

We can walk out our front door, planning to be home for dinner in the evening, and die before we reach our destination. That knowledge should change the way we live. The brevity of life should cause us to treasure every day we're given, to live fully every day. 

Forgive quickly. Apologize promptly. Love fiercely. Give extravagantly. Pray unceasingly. Serve unreservedly. Make a difference.

My friend, Gene Merkl, attaches a quote to the end of every email. I don't know the source, but it describes how I want to live, how we all should live.

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow, what a ride. Thank you, Jesus.'"

Some months ago, I heard Sean Malone (founder of CRI) say, "I would rather enter heaven with my head in my hand than to arrive, head intact, and have to admit to our Lord that I left the harvest in the field because I was afraid."

If we lived as these men live, the body of Christ could make an impact on the world that we can't even begin to imagine. It would be risky. It would require courage. It would require commitment and perseverance, but it would be exciting and thrilling and the most incredibly sweet time with our Lord. 

It would be worth it.

We have a choice to make. We can live cautiously or we can live with abandon. 

I choose abandon. I choose joy. 

It is past time to decide how we will live. So let's live as Christ intended us to live.

It's time to live like we believe the faith we proclaim. No matter the cost.

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Our Father, forgive us for our timidity. Help us to live with abandon, no reservation. To follow where You lead, to live as You want us to live. Help us to love as You Love. In Jesus' name, amen.

~~~~~~~

#disciple #TheBible #JesusChrist #livelikewebelieve #worthit #radicalobedience #nomatterthecost #lifeisshort

The Place of the Unbeliever

"And the Lord said, 'Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.'Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 42-48 NASB

It's confession time. We've finally reached the verses I've been trying to avoid for more than a week, the verses that prompted the segue with Alfred. No avoiding them now, though. I, like most people, dread hard. 

Writing this post is hard. Some people won't like it. I've finally accepted that I can't help it if people don't like it. These are the words of Jesus. With that said, here we go...

I love warm and fuzzy.

It's good to love warm and fuzzy because Jesus is certainly warm and fuzzy sometimes, but He is also as firm as a steel girder sometimes, too. This is one of those times.

It warms my heart to read that the Master will put the faithful servant in charge of all His possessions. The servant will get better acquainted with his Master. They'll draw close. It's win-win.

BUT. There's hard truth we need to address.

If the servant thinks the Master's return is delayed and does whatever he wants, it's not going to be good. 

When I skimmed through "eating, drinking, and getting drunk" I first thought of someone discouraged and depressed. I imagined someone in shabby clothes sitting at a table in a bare room, surrounded by gray walls, under a bare lightbulb with a bottle of cheap whiskey and a glass, downing one shot after the other. That choice is certainly no way to get the commendation of our Lord, but it's not all Jesus had in mind.

The word used here is methyskō. This is an inceptive verb and indicates the process of an action. Most of us understand the process of "eating, drinking, and getting drunk", whether we've ever done that or not. In a way, it's a drinking party. (a party where alcohol is served and consumed, often to excess) 

If, instead of being totally committed to caring for the Master's kingdom, we choose to be unkind to those around us and to waste time in frivolous living, (eating and drinking and getting drunk) we cannot expect to receive a commendation.  Instead, that servant can expect his master to arrive unexpectedly and "cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers."

The word used for "cut him in pieces" is dichotomeō, and is used to describe either cutting in two or a severe scourging. Because the servant is still alive (assigned a place with the unbelievers), it's thought to indicate a severe scourging. 

The "cut in two" is a subtle reference to the fact that the servant has been living a double life, (presenting himself as a faithful servant while, at the same time, living a life of unkindness, decadence, and pleasure). That double life has been/will be exposed by the Master.

When we choose to be a double-agent in the kingdom of God, we may fool others, but we will not fool God. He will not tolerate it. He will deal severely with the attempted deception.

The unfaithful servant has another punishment awaiting him, and it's worse than scourging. He will be "assigned a place with the unbelievers." The word translated as "assigned" can also be used to describe laying aside a garment, taking off a coat. The unfaithful servant will be removed from the place of believers and put in the place with the unbelievers (same word as infidels). 

In a way, if we want to act like infidels, God will treat us like infidels. He will place us with infidels. 

Being assigned a place with unbelievers is not a good destination, no matter how you parse this phrase. 

As far as I can tell, there are no unbelievers in heaven.

I don't see any other way to interpret the words of Jesus. The Greek is clear.

When we become disciples, we make a conscious decision to follow Christ. If we are disciples, we follow Him. We choose His priorities and His way of life. 

As disciples of our Master, we don't just follow Him. We obey Him. 

This is harsh, and there will be some who don't like these words. Talk to Jesus about it.

If you don't like the "place of the unbeliever", stop acting like the unbelievers.

It is past time for the people of God to stop living with one foot in both worlds. We cannot live like the world during the week and try to live for God on Sunday. It fools no one, certainly not God.

Pick a side. Make a choice. Live like you believe. 

In the end, we will be rewarded based on the choice we make, so we must choose well. 

Now's the time to evaluate our lives. How much "world" occupies our lives? Let's get rid of the things that entangle us and choose to live in a way that pleases our Master.

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Our Father, forgive us for serving ourselves rather than serving You. Help us to relinquish the world and cling to the cross, serving You only, above all others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#disciple #JesusChrist #followthenazarene

Waiting well: Living like we believe

"But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You, too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." (Luke 12:39-40 NASB)

Our Waiting Well series began a with a post on serving faithfully, followed by keeping our lamps lit, waiting for the bridegroom to return from the marriage feast, our response to His knock, and the response of Christ to us when we open the door to His knock. Yesterday, we considered the importance of being ready to serve in the night watches.  (Click on the link to read the earlier posts.)

In the six verses considered in the Waiting Well series, Jesus repeatedly said, "Be ready, Be ready." He had't gone back to heaven yet, but already He was preparing His disciples for His return. Be ready. I'm coming when you don't expect it. Be ready.

I'm ready to hear something else. My heart says, "Enough!" And then I remembered something important. When Jesus repeated Himself, it was for a reason. 

In this instance, He understood that our tendency is to become so wrapped up in our own little worlds, our own little lives, that we forget about our big eternal lives and our enormously powerful King who will return for us one day. 

We forget that this life we are living is not all the living we will do.

Last night, as I prepared for bed, I checked all the doors and locked them. I don't expect a thief or a home invasion, but I locked my doors to prevent that possibility. Every single night, I lock my doors against that possibility. The doors aren't always locked in the daytime, especially if I'm moving in and out from house to barn. You can be sure they'd be locked though, if I knew a thief was headed my way.

With that same preventive expectation, we need to be ready for Jesus. Consistently prepared. 

I'm ready to move on to different Scripture. These "being ready" verses seem so... same.

Today, I realized something new. Jesus hammered this point because He wants us to live with eternity in mind. To be intentional.

I locked my doors with a thief in mind.  

What if we lived our lives, made our choices, our routines, with eternity in mind? How would it change our actions? Our words? 

Would we say the same things, do the same things, if we thought Jesus would arrive on the scene for us before the words were out, the action completed?

This emphasis on being ready was for a reason. We are to live ready. The promise of eternity should change everything we do, mold every word we speak.  

Our King is coming, and we should be living like we believe it. 

When the world sees us, they should see people who expect their Sovereign King to split the sky and step into view at any moment. Let's be sure they do.

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Our Father, who lives and reigns in Heaven, help us to live as if you were returning today. Let us show the world how the hope of eternal life in Christ changes everything. In Jesus' name, Amen.