trying to find His way
“Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves.” (Luke 16:9) God created us to be wise, creative and industrious.It has often struck me how skilled we can be for bad reasons.Why not put our skills to use for eternal purposes?‘People of this world’ are very clever and skilled.Jesus urges us to use these skills for good…
“You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31) God’s love for outsiders does not neglect those who already belong.Leaving the 99 (Luke 15:4) does not mean neglecting or abandoning them.Those within the sheepfold already have all they need – love, food and protection.God loves them equally, even if special attention is given to…
“All these years I’ve been slaving for you…” (Luke 15:29) By choosing these words, Jesus raises the question of motivation.Is this how the Jews felt about obeying God?Was it a burden for them, a forced submission and not a love relationship?The son in this story makes it sound like the father didn’t care.Did the father only…
“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.” (Luke 15:20) When does God’s compassion kick in?In this story, the father sees the son, and that is enough.It is not based on his son’s repentance or admission of guilt.The son does not have to prove his…
“So he divided his property between them.” (Luke 15:12) In this story, this is where the real problem begins.The father in this story does what is unwise and dangerous.He grants the younger son his wishes, and likely angers the older one.As we will see, both sons become distant from their father.Why did he give in to…
“There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) Jesus compares God’s joy to a poor woman’s joy who finds her lost coin.She values this silver coin very, very, very, very much.She does not wait for the coin to turn up, she turns the house inside out.And…
“Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4) Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders in this story.As usual, He uses hyperbole (an exaggeration) to make His point.To abandon the 99 to find the 1 would be dangerous and foolish.But that is how much the…
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” (Luke 15:2) This line not only describes Jesus, it describes God.God welcomes sinners and eats with them – this is what Jesus shows us.These religious leaders show us what God is NOT like.As they see it, sinners should be avoided and punished, only they should we welcomed!Afterall, they…
“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Luke 14:33) Full disclosure, I have not given up everything I have.The plain sense of what Jesus says is: I cannot be His disciple.Like the earlier part about hating one’s family, I don’t take this literally.It is…
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26). To our modern western ears, these words sound extremely harsh, and wrong.But imagine a Palestinian wanting to convert to Judaism?This is especially true for those in…