But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you… Luke 6:27
So how do we get to a place of true blessing with God as the filler of all the holes in our hearts, our lives, our contentment and joy? Perhaps this burning question is why Jesus launches into His next teaching. Jesus tells us to love. Yes, we love those who love us, that is easy. But Jesus says to love our enemies. And love is an action, not a feeling. Love does stuff. We do good to those who hate us. We bless those who curse us. We pray for those who abuse us. These are HARD words to hear, much less do. Loving doesn’t mean condoning, and it doesn’t mean passivity, but it does mean responding differently. It is stepping outside of our entitlement mindset that makes things all about us, and moving into reliance on God…His justice, His mercy, His grace. Because when we do these humanly impossible things, it isn’t us doing them. It isn’t our natural inclination. It is all the power of God in us. We have to tap into Him to be able to do these things, and we can do these things until we feel these things. We can act like the person we want to become. It isn’t faking…it is trusting God to come in and change us. It is about loosening the grip on the things we strive so hard for and cling so tightly to. And in that loosened grip – that poverty, hunger, emptying – we are filled even more with God. Oh boy, how hard it is to make that leap. Honestly, I haven’t fully figured it out. But I want to. Oh, God, change my want to. Help me want Your definition of blessing more than I want my definition of blessing. And in the meantime, help me to LOVE as You love. Help me to see people and my surroundings through Your eyes, not my own. Help me to be the person You see when You look at me. Help me to trust You enough to do what You say, even when I don’t yet feel it. Challenge: Try to go through the day thinking about how Jesus would love in each scenario you are in. What would He do? What would He say?
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Blessed are the poor….hungry…those who weep…those hated, excluded, reviled….Woe to those who are rich, full, laughing, well-spoken of… Luke 6:20-26 (excerpts)
Our idea of blessed is all backward when define it by things going our way or having beautiful things. But this is how we define it most often, isn’t it? We are blessed when we have food for a nice meal, we are blessed when our social media following grows, we are blessed when we win, we are blessed when we make captain of the team, we are blessed when we get that amazing job and new house and child. Jesus says otherwise. Not that these are bad things but blessed is not what you physically have possession of, it is when you realize you have nothing of any value at all; when you understand God is what you need. When we have resources, we may ask God to fill in some gaps, but we still try to take care of as much as we can on our own. We don’t tap into the mighty power of God. When we have food, we may feast on the bread of life, but only a little because we are quite full of what we already have. We miss out on the fullness of God. When we are satisfied, we may ask God for those new desires, but we aren’t desperate for them. We are pretty okay. We miss out on the truly abundant life God has in store for us. When people admire us and speak well of us, we think we are on the right track. We crave more from people and truth becomes blurry. We may be leaning too far into things of the world over things of God. In story after story and teaching after teaching, Jesus tries to get us to see this truth, but we continue to live according to the world’s definition of blessed. We may get a little of God, but only what fits in the holes left behind by our own filling. As a result, we miss the abundance of God. Question: How do you define blessed? How might this differ from Jesus’ definition? Why do you think that might be the case? And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. Mark 12:43
The wealthy are piling into the temple dropping large coins – lots of them – into the treasury. Each donation makes a loud clanging sound as it drops into the trumpet-shaped metal receptacle designed to literally hear the size of the offering. Impressive nods abound as the clanging is louder and more prolonged. A poor widow comes and drops in two small coins, the value of a penny. They make barely as sound as they hit the collection vessel. Small; unimpressive to the watching religious leaders. But not so to Jesus. Jesus says her offering is more than all the others because she contributed out of her poverty where the others contributed out of abundance. She gave everything. All she had to live on. The King James translation calls the offering the Widow’s Mite. Mite is a very small coin, worth practically nothing. I love this translation because it turns out the widow’s mite was awfully mighty in God’s eyes. And “mite” for us may be more than just money. Maybe it’s writing, creating, music, teaching, mentoring, leading, encouraging, tutoring, speaking, or any number of gifts. We are quick to be hard on ourselves; critical and insecure about what we have to offer. We think our gifts are merely a mite. Small, unimpressive, insignificant, of no use in the bigger scheme of things. But it’s a lie. A lie that keeps us from putting ourselves in the game. We may be holding out because we don’t think we have enough, or aren’t ready yet, or don’t feel qualified enough, or are afraid of failing or being rejected. We tightly cling to our gifts and passions, instead of giving them all away. We think they are mite, but God can use them mightily. The truth is, God doesn’t NEED us. He can make miracles happen with His words alone. He WANTS us. He wants us to step out in faith. He wants us to take what little we have, place it in the receptacle of our God-ordained spaces, and watch Him multiply it. Questions: What “mite” are you clinging to? What is holding you back? And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. Mark 3:14-15
Continuing from the previous passage with the different people and beliefs about Jesus, we also meet up with Jesus’ family and childhood friends. People who knew Him before the healing and teaching and fame and following. They can’t reconcile who they knew with who they are witnessing. They have been around Him so long, they can’t grasp the magnitude of who He is. It doesn’t make sense to them. He is misunderstood by those who should know Him best as they proclaim, “He is out of His mind.” Finally, we see the chosen twelve. He called them and they came. He appointed them SO THAT they might BE WITH HIM and He might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. A new covenant with a new chosen people to carry it into the world. Twelve disciples in the pattern of the twelve tribes of Israel from the original covenant fulfilled by Him. Their first and most important job: to BE WITH HIM. This is foundational for any other calling. They will know Him, learn from Him, become one in spirit with Him, and THEN be equipped to go out and share Him with others. I heard a speaker once summarize it, “Withness before Witness.” May we always be in the eager disciple category. Chosen and willing. Never skipping the first and important step of BEING WITH Jesus. And then, fully equipped, being the hands of feet of Jesus to a hurting and hungry world. Questions: Recap these two new categories in addition to the ones from the passage yesterday. How do we see this play out today? Where do you see yourself? And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” Mark 3:11
Woven in a healing story told in Mark chapter 3 we get a glimpse into many of the wildly different reactions from those who came in contact with Jesus. The religious leaders watch Jesus closely. They know ABOUT Jesus, but they don’t KNOW Jesus. They stalk Him this Sabbath day, fully believing He will heal the man with the withered hand. We sometimes doubt Jesus will meet our needs or the needs of others, but these religious leaders anticipate it. They are certain He could and would heal this man, but instead of that drawing them closer to Him, they try to use it as a trap. Their net to catch Him? “Working” on the Sabbath. They accuse Him of doing forbidden labor (healing a man) on the Sabbath as they indignantly storm out of the synagogue plotting His destruction. Rather than seeing the Messiah they have been preparing for and waiting for, they see someone standing in the way of their esteemed positions of power. Then we encounter the crowds. They follow in enormous masses. They are seeking the miracle; the healing. They too believe He can and will heal if they can just get close enough to touch Him. They follow Jesus for what He can do for them, not who He can be to them. This type of following won’t last long, as they move on to the next quick fix in their lives, never developing a relationship with the healer. In the midst of the crowds seeking healing are unclean spirits. They know more than any others who Jesus is and what He came to do. They fall down before Him and cry out, “You are the Son of God.” They are the first to acknowledge who He is. But they have no desire to follow Him…they just want Him to leave them alone to their suffering and tormenting. They are content in their evil existence. To be continued… Question: Think about the first three examples of people groups and their reactions to Jesus. Where do you see these examples today? |
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