Monthly Archives: June 2015

Enough (Matthew 13:31-32)

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A few years ago Tim Thorpe came to visit Dallas on a business trip.  I had the chance to meet up with him, and we briefly toured the resort at which he’d been staying.  Among the items in the indoor park area stood a large oak tree—or at least a replica of one.  This large, fake tree really did look like the real thing, and it better have, because the plaque said that it cost $250,000 to produce.  Works righteousness can never grow a flourishing tree—only a fake one.

Jesus’ parables of the mustard seed and the leaven illustrate how the insignificant can often surpass our expectations.  Take a moment to read—or re-read—the parable of the mustard seed:

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

Take a moment and see if you can identify the components of the parable.  Jesus tells us that the seed represents the kingdom.  So who is the “man?”  Who are the “birds of the air?”  What is our responsibility to the kingdom, according to this parable?

Like the parable of the sower (Mark 4), this story emphasizes the inevitability of growth through the work of the Sower.  Since God’s kingdom flourishes through God’s will alone, then we might easily see that the “man” is none other than God himself.   The “birds of the air” represent all who might enjoy the benefits of the flourishing kingdom.  Some have speculated that the “birds” most specifically represent the Gentiles—the non-Jews who would come to experience God’s blessing once grafted into the vine of Israel.

So if God does the work and we experience the blessing, this naturally challenges at least two assumptions we might have about the kingdom:

  • First, it challenges our efforts to grow the kingdom on our own. The “seed” comes from God; not us.  If we reduce God’s kingdom to a set of religious projects, then we have confused means for their ends.  Daily devotions, worship services—these are only as valuable as the God to whom they point.  Turn them into the end themselves, and we’re constantly worried about doing   Have I read my Bible enough?  Have I prayed enough?  Have I shared my faith enough?  We fail to rest in God’s kingdom, instead devoted to building our own empire.
  • Second, it challenges our assumption that faith is found in “surrendering our hearts to God.” Such language sounds pleasant and devoted—even the opposite of the works-based faith above.  But what happens?  The same questions rise again: Have I surrendered enough?  Have I really “given my heart to God?

We can say two things: first, none of this will ever be enough.  Second, when we try these approaches, we end up building a big, expensive fake tree rather than allow God to grow his kingdom through us.  The gospel isn’t opposed to human effort, mind you—it’s just opposed to us earning it.

Too often we feel that if we just had a little more faith, could do just a bit better at repenting—then our relationship with God would really take off.  But don’t you see how this parable challenges this?  It’s not the quantity of our faith that matters; it’s the object of our faith.  We can truly rest in God’s grace knowing that the work that he’s accomplished truly is enough.

And still it grows (Matthew 13:31-33)

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Jesus was nothing at all what his followers were expecting.  Far from a mighty warrior arriving to conquer the Roman oppressors, the Savior they got was a humble teacher.  His ministry would be one of obscurity—masked from both the public’s eyes and the public’s understanding.

So it’s quite fitting that Jesus would rely on these stories, these parables; they conveyed truth in the simplest of terms, but also the most profound of meanings.   And these parables also revealed just a bit more about the true nature of God’s kingdom.  Though inconspicuous, his kingdom would develop into something larger than anyone could ever imagine.  This was the message of two parables in particular: the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven in the bread.

MUSTARD SEED FAITH

In the midst of several other parables, Jesus told his followers this story:
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

If you’re a skeptic, you might be quick to note that no; mustard seeds are not the smallest of seeds.  If Jesus was God, shouldn’t he have known that?  Well, he probably did; it’s just that mustard seeds were frequently used by both Jewish and Greek teachers to emphasize the very small.  Jesus was just building on a tradition his followers would already have been familiar with.

Jesus’ point is much more basic than such details.  He’s seeking to compare the rapid growth of mustard seeds with that of his kingdom.  How rapid, you ask?  A typical mustard seed might be something like a millimeter in diameter.  Small, right?  But when you plant them—in that climate at least—the plant would grow ten feet tall within five days.  And when it did, it would sprout large leaves, large enough for birds and other wildlife to find shelter and nourishment from other seeds.

How is this like God’s kingdom?  God’s kingdom—again, the rule and reign of God on earth—seems small and insignificant in comparison to the Empires of the world.  But let it grow, let it flourish, and it explodes into something vibrant and organic, something that many can enjoy and find nourishment in.  It’s quite possible, in fact, that Jesus used the “birds of the air” to illustrate the way that Gentiles—that is, the non-Jews who did not have any original claim to God’s kingdom—could also find hope in what God’s doing.

VIRAL LEAVEN

Jesus told a second story:

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13:33)

Leaven was often used as a symbol in both Jewish and Greek writings—sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.  In this short story, Jesus seems to be using it quite positively.

Leaven is not the same as yeast.  Yeast refers to a specific organism that causes fermentation—the resulting carbon dioxide production causes bread to rise.  In the ancient world, “leaven” was the term given to fermenting dough.  It most likely refers to a small lump of dough saved back and used to make subsequent batches of bread.

How much was a “measure?”  Well, one measure was thought to be about 3 gallons of dry measure.  So “three measures of flour” would be approximately a bushel of flour and would probably be the upper limit of what one woman could handle.  The amount of bread that could be made would feed roughly 100-150 people.  As with the mustard seed, the point of this parable is that something small could have large results.

But it’s that unseen, hidden nature of God’s kingdom that haunts us.  Nothing in our lives bears the mark of God’s rule and reign.  But Jesus tells us that in the background, in the quiet spaces where we often forget to look, God’s kingdom still grows.

ISIS militants persecute and take the lives of Christian missionaries.  One of the relatives thanked—thanked—ISIS for allowing their Christian testimony to be incorporated into the video of their beheadings.  And God’s kingdom grows.  Pornography usage is steadily increasing.  Experts tell us that well over $3,000 is spent on pornography every second.  Every 39 minutes, a new video is created.  And still it grows.  According to Richard Stearns, current president of World Vision United States, 26,500 children die as a result of poverty daily.  Stearns says that in visible terms, this would be the same as if 100 jetliners full of children crashed to the ground every single day.  And still it grows.  In our own country, in our workplaces, in our schools, Christ’s followers are increasingly pushed to the margins of society, labeled as intolerant at best, bigoted at worst.  We are told that we are part of the problem, not the solution, and that our antiquated beliefs have done more to harm than to heal.  And still it grows.

And 2,000 years in our past, on a lonely hillside overshadowed by the clouds of God’s own wrath, hung the body of our Lord, the body of One who tasted death so that he might swallow it up in victory.  A Savior who told—nay, promised his followers that to come after him would mean taking up our own cross, bearing this symbol of murder and shame, and carrying it through a world that recognizes a crown of glory and never a crown of thorns.  A Savior who promised that in the new beginning, when his kingdom is one day made complete, we shall rise from the ashes of the present age to live in a world made wonderfully new.  Until that day we live in the meantime, that interim period between a kingdom announced and a kingdom made real.  And still it grows.  And still it grows.  And still it grows.

 

 

Going Viral? (Matthew 13:31-33)

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Forget the “bandwagon effect;” these days, it’s all about “going viral.”  In today’s technologically-driven society, information spreads more rapidly than ever before.  If someone (or a marketing firm, for that matter) creates something interesting, then pretty soon people start clicking it and sharing it—passing the information around the World Wide Web.

Need an example?  No problem.  Remember Susan Boyle?  She was a contestant on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent.  The judges dismissed her initially, but their faces lit up when they heard her sing “I Dreamed a Dream.”  And everybody went nuts.  The British television show placed the clip onto Youtube.  Six days later, the video had been viewed over 100 million times—by people around the world.

The success of “going viral” still appears to be elusive.  But the point remains clear: sometimes small things can eventually take on a global scale.  That’s at least partially the point Jesus makes in telling two important parables to his disciples:

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13:31-33)

Jesus’ point is simple: sometimes something small, insignificant can eventually grow and flourish into something magnificent and nourishing.

In the 1960’s, a social researcher by the name of Mary Stuart Douglas wrote a very important book called Purity and Danger.  She discovered that long before anyone understood such things as “bacteria” or “viruses,” people had very clear understandings about what is “clean” and “unclean.”  They seemed to understand the idea of “infection”—and often applied the idea to moral systems.  In other words, we tend to think of “good” things as “clean” and “bad” things as “dirty.”  In fact, many of the Laws of the Hebrew Old Testament revolve around such ideas.

Here’s where I’m going with this: we tend to assume that when the clean encounters the impure, the impure always wins.  And really, who can blame us?  The world around us isn’t getting much better.  If you identify as a Christian in today’s world, you can surely be prepared to be labeled as intolerant or bigoted.  The forces that oppose the will of God seem to be growing—rapidly.  It’s easy to be discouraged.

But wait; what if what Jesus is saying is still true?  What if God can allow his kingdom—his rule, his reign—to expand in such a way that our world sees the flourishing good news of his gospel?  And what if we can be participants in that, and find joy in seeing outsiders nesting in the branches of God’s expanding kingdom?  If we believed all that, well then that’s just the sort of message that could go viral.

 

The Cost of Discipleship 2015

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It has never been completely easy to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. To be such is to be out of step with the rest of the world around you.

At certain times and in certain places, it is costly to the point of losing one’s life. Actually, this time in history is among the most severe in terms of persecution and martyrdom for the Christian faith. It is a rather daily event around the world.

At the same time, living in America has been likely the least dangerous place for Christians in the history of the church. The historic exceptionalism that marked the foundations and principles of this country have made it to be so, by God’s grace and for his glory.

Yet times are changing. There is a growing effort to not only reject the gospel message, but to also marginalize it as a heinous sort of intolerable intolerance. There is an effort in our culture to re-define the new normal.  The new normal is that there is no objective truth, other than that it is certain that those who believe in objective truth and traditional Christian values are the freaks of society because they do not support the acceptance of “anything goes.”

Where is this heading? We don’t know for sure, but it is certain that these current times are more perilous than any other time any of us can remember. There are surely more difficult days ahead. It is going to be more difficult to stand for truth and live for God. Are you ready for that?  Will you have your family ready for that?  Are you/they counting the cost of discipleship?

Jesus said in our passage for examination … in Luke 14:

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “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. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Are you ready to count the cost? Can you give up everything?

Here is the final question for pondering / discussion – Week 2, Question 4 – Do you have any doubt that our culture, along with geo-political events, is all turning against Christian faith; and does this challenge your imagination as to what you, or your immediate generations following you may well face in terms of persecution?

A Groupie, or a Disciple? (Luke 14)

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“Groupie” is one of those invented words in the English language. It came out of the world of music where certain people were avid followers of a particular group or musical celebrity. They are notorious for idolizing their target of affection, wanting to follow and see and be with that idealized personage as much as possible. They want to be a part of the flow and energy surrounding the celebrity and his sea of followers.

At certain times, such as we will see today in Luke 14, Jesus looked out at the people following him and knew he was surrounded by fickle groupies. They would be there so long as the miracles brought about healings and the food multiplied from a wee basket of bread and fish. But when the cross came into view, they were sure to disappear.

It is easy to be a Jesus groupie in 2015. We love him when he takes good care of us – gives us health and provision, meets our felt needs, answers our obviously high-minded prayers, etc.  But will we stick with him when, like him, we must carry a cross of suffering because of sin in a fallen world?

In the previous chapter of study this week (Luke 12), the issue is to NOT depend on riches and human effort and achievement; but the lesson for today is the opposite end – to understand that there is a cost of discipleship. We must be willing to carry the cross at times.

Here is the passage from Luke 14:

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “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. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

This discussion brings up that very troubling word for Christians in 2015 … commitment. In my nearly 40 years now of church work, I have certainly seen an erosion of such. And I wonder what the greater ridicule of the faith by the broader culture, and even some persecution, may do for the family of faith. It may well purify it; and that wouldn’t be such a bad thing actually.

So here is my question for today, the third question of this week:

Week 2, Question 3 – What do you find yourself holding onto or are fearful of losing that keeps you from an all-out following of Christ, regardless of the cost?

We’ll talk about some of these ideas tomorrow, while also thinking about the nature of the more difficult days in which we live.

The fear of not having enough (Luke 12)

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We could maybe identify that there are two polar opposite categories of people when it comes to a view of money and material resources and how to use them.

The first category might be those who worry about not having enough for whatever might happen in the future. They therefore hold tightly and cautiously onto what they have, saving and hording against the day of trouble.

The second category could be seen as those who see money as something to be used and spent. They don’t worry about tomorrow, figuring there will be more money at that time from somewhere. So get what you need, and don’t fear fulfilling what delights your eyes.

There is some truth and danger in both perspectives, and it could be argued that wisdom is found in a balance of the two. However, in light of the teachings we have been sharing, not only in this passage at the beginning of this series but also in light of the previous series on giving, we would promote a third view. And that is to see money and material resources as the provisional gifts of God over which we are temporary stewards.

Having preached Sunday and written yesterday on the parable of the rich fool, I asked this first follow-up question of the week: Week 2, Question 1 – What are the natural motivating issues of human life that drive us (if unchecked) to desire to greedily accumulate material assets?

We could suggest multiple answers for sure. Perhaps for some it is the pride of life and success – to have the ability to enjoy the fruits of riches and to flaunt it for others to see.

But the question asks what are the NATRUAL motivating issues for accumulation. And I think the answer to that is fear – the fear of being caught short, of not having enough. And so long as that feeling is present, a person is not going to feel the ability and comfort to be generous – not towards others or toward God and his Kingdom.

And I think this idea really fits with the passage and the parable given. And the reason I say that is because of what immediately follows in the text as the further words of Christ …

Luke 12:22 – Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 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. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So does this passage mean we should go out and sell everything we have and give it to the poor? No, just like we are not to “hate” family. These are sayings in a culture where points were made by stating the extreme position.

But what it is teaching is an overarching perspective that should cause us to not fear being generous by having a view of this world that it is temporary, and that the only lasting components of it are those things that are done for Christ’s eternal Kingdom. We should not fear generosity; we should make using our resources for God to be our number one priority. And when that is done, everything else naturally follows and flows into place.

Never were truer words spoken than the inseparable connection between a person’s heart and their wallet.

Here is a second question of the week that sort of takes off on the first one and builds upon all that we’ve been discussing …

Week 2, Question 2 – What might we list as foolish reasons for hoarding material assets; and what would it look like to (a) “build bigger barns” in 2015, or rather (b) to be rich toward God?

As Mike Myers would say in the “Coffee Talk” sketch on Saturday Night Live, “Talk among yourselves!”

Keeping Score on True Success (Luke 12)

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People have been fighting over inheritances since practically the beginning of time. I shared a story in a sermon not long ago about how it had even happened in my family system on the one occasion of my administration of a will. The individual disputing it was not a surprise. He had been worrying about this for decades – hoping for the best while fearing the worst, all driven by greed.

And that is the setting for the parable given by Jesus in today’s text. It is a brother who is unhappy with the way the settlement of an estate was progressing. Jesus was considered by the people as a rabbi – a teacher – and it was not uncommon in the Jewish culture for people to come to rabbis in order to have an adjudication or opinion in the midst of a controversy.

Luke 12:13 – Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

At first, this does not seem like an unreasonable request. Perhaps the man was being dealt with unjustly. The likely scenario is that this is a brother who is not the first-born son. There were particular rights that went along with the first born that included a double portion of the inheritance. So, with two sons, the eldest got two-thirds while the other received one-third.

The Scriptures comment in other places that Jesus was able to see into the hearts of individuals and know the true motivational condition of those with whom he interacted. And on this occasion he was able to see that the issue of greed was inspiring the petitioner. And to that subject he gave a warning by also giving a story … what we know as “The Parable of the Rich Fool.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Let’s make a couple of observations:

  • The man was already rich and highly-blessed even before he had an unusual harvest.
  • Though the man was certainly not lazy, the reason for his “abundance” was not sourced through extra work, but rather a bumper crop from the ground.
  • The only consideration crossing the man’s mind was how he could keep the entire produce of the crop for himself – it never seems to cross his mind that he could give it away or share it with those in need.
  • Even if future years would not produce at the same bonus rate, presumably there would be enough, so the effort to work now was to avoid work later – clearly stated in his “eat, drink and be merry attitude.”
  • There is nothing to be taken from this passage to suggest that prudent planning for the future is not a good thing … but this is a matter of a person who is trusting only in himself and his own provision, rather than in God to supply.
  • Conclusion: God and the eternal values of his kingdom are not in his equation.

The man presumed that he would live long and have great pleasure, but in the story we see that his life is cut short unexpectedly, and all his wealth was of no value but to be passed on to whomever might receive it.

The application is to rather be rich toward God, and in this way there can be a generous use of resources both in this world, yet also with eternal value for God and his kingdom. By this, our identity is as a steward of God – who gives us the resources to use well and wisely.

But we know that in American – beyond any country or culture in the history of the world – there is no shortage of people who rather find their identity in the accumulation of material possessions or in positions of prominence. It is as if these assets are a sort of score card or grade report that identifies them as winners and achievers.

Over the course of today and the following three days, I am going to ask a series of thought-provoking, discussion sorts of questions – one for each day.

So here is the first of four major questions this week:

Week 2, Question 1 – What are the natural motivating issues of human life that drive us (if unchecked) to desire to greedily accumulate material assets?

Come back tomorrow and we’ll think and talk about this some more.

Stories That Cut to the Heart of Things

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Our 14-week summer series on the parables of Jesus has gotten off to a great start by Chris – both in his sermon on Sunday and with the first week of writings. This summer we will be sharing back and forth, each of us writing a week at a time … again, with Fridays as a preview, followed by Monday to Thursday discussing the topic preached on Sunday, along with a series of questions for discussion and meditation.

On the theme of “Story”

To some extent, we have addressed these ideas previously in sermon series a number of years ago, though neither of those collections were specifically on the parables of Jesus. Rather, we have talked in the past about how the Bible from beginning to end is one big story. It starts with a sort of “once upon a time” idea, and ends with a sort of “and they lived happily ever after.”

The challenge and need of our lives (and our stories) is to get aligned with this “meta-story” of God’s work from eternity past to eternity future. And Jesus’ parables are essentially this: describing and giving wisdom to listeners as to how to have values systems and lives that are aligned with God’s kingdom.

So this is a great and timeless theme. These are not just cute little ditties that make Jesus look like a storyteller extraordinaire. No, these teachings draw us to consideration as to how we align our entire life story and priorities with God’s priorities.

Looking Back to the Past Week

I have always loved the story of the Sower and the Seed. I distinctly remember a sermon series on this topic that was very influential in my life in my formative years.

The pastor who delivered these messages had some great illustrations on the things that take the seed away before it can be sown and find root and produce fruit. This theft of the “Word” (the Seed) is identified in the story that as from Satan, who is like the bird that swoops in and snatches the seed away.

My home church (the one I visited just last Sunday for the retirement of a dear pastor friend), had a metal roof when I was a boy. And sure enough, when it rained hard, it made quite a noise. I recall the pastor saying that it always seemed to pour just at the moment of the application of the message. And what would people do at that moment? Look at the ceiling! It never leaked and there was nothing to see; but sure enough, the seed was taken away by the distraction.

If the rain didn’t ruin the sermon, the municipal building across the street would do so! As in Williamsport to this day, whenever there was a fire or ambulance call, the siren in the building immediately across the street would blast. There always seemed to be an emergency right at the moment of the application of the sermon.

I have long noted the pattern that computers and copy machines and everything of the sort that helps a church service happen, will break down on a Sunday morning at a rate multiple times higher than on the other days of the week combined! And when Satan fell from heaven, I’ll tell you where he landed – in the sound system of churches! If anything can go wrong to distract, it will.

Looking ahead to Sunday and the coming week

We are going to look at a pair of passages – in Luke 12:13-21 and Luke 14:25-33. These will involve a total of three parables: the rich fool, the builder of a tower, and a king facing war. The common theme is trusting God over material assets, and counting the cost of discipleship.

Too many people are susceptible to two conflicting ways of thinking within Western society today: finding one’s person identity in consumerism, hard work and success, or, putting out little effort toward accomplishment, believing that life is simply “random” … not worth the effort.

The gospel challenges the first group by reminding us that human identity cannot be circumscribed by possessions or worldly gain (“building a bigger barn”).  The gospel challenges the second group by reminding us that God has a sovereign plan, and that demands our participation (“counting the cost”).

So we will see you Sunday, if you are in town this week (remember that the great kids summer program begins). And if you are away, track with us through the readings, as there will be a series of four probing questions based upon these texts that we will look at on Monday through Thursday.

Receiving the Word EXCLUSIVELY (Mark 4:18-20)

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In the parable of the sower, Jesus explains the final two types of soil.  Take a moment to read Mark 4:18-20:

 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:18-20)

Though it doesn’t actually produce fruit, the seed among thorns is the only type to flourish and grow.  The problem is that its growth is quickly halted by “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things.”  We might say that personal growth depends on the object of our worship.  Why is it so tempting to allow things like career, relationships, etc. to have an influence in our lives?

Our world often speaks a conflicting message.  On the one hand, we’re told that personal “growth” is about being “true to yourself.”   On the other hand, we’re constantly bombarded by the message of self-improvement.  But authenticity can never thrive in a world that pushes us not to find ourselves, but to create ourselves by buying the “right” products, having the “right” job, or working on better relationships.  The result?  True growth becomes stifled, because the standards of measuring our growth are constantly-moving targets.

The gospel says that we can be authentic by recognizing the magnitude of our sin before God, but embracing the magnitude of his love in return.  Yes, consumerism brings an immediacy—we feel better after a little “retail therapy,” or if we can experience the temporary satisfaction of a relationship.

God’s way is different, and it is far from immediate.  You don’t need to be a farmer to recognize that a crop yield of “a hundredfold” is a staggering crop yield.  What was Jesus saying?  That to receive the word EXCLUSIVELY means flourishing and fruitfulness—but it doesn’t happen all at once.

Jesus’ kingdom—that is, the rule and reign of God on earth—is both a present reality as well as a future hope.  Yes, today seems difficult.  But tomorrow looks beautiful.  The struggles we endure here are temporary; God’s kingdom will be eternal.  And so we serve God’s kingdom as it is presently expressed in Christian community and witness, and we wait for Christ’s return when God’s kingdom will be permanently established for all time.

Yes, the world seems a bleak place.  But God’s kingdom shines all the brighter.  In a recent blog post, my friend Jared Wilson speaks of the persecution and hardship that Christians are experiencing around the globe.  “Cheer up,” he reminds us.  “The worse they can do is kill us.  And we all know what God does with dead stuff.”

 

 

 

Receiving the Word Deeply (Mark 4:16-17)

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Today we continue our exploration of Jesus’ parable of the four soils.  The seed along the path heard the gospel, but failed to immediately respond, thus allowing Satan to snatch it away.  Now Jesus turns his attention to the seed “on rocky ground:”

16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. (Mark 4:16-17)

Jesus contrasts a person’s initial emotional experience (“receive it with joy”) and later persecution.  What might this indicate regarding the basis of one’s faith? The problem here is one of rootedness—“they have no root,” Jesus tells us.  If you pardon the mixed metaphor, the lack of root points to an insecure foundation.  We might say two things:

  • Experience alone cannot sustain faith. When I think of this example, I think of the youth group kids who go away on a youth retreat or a missions trip, and return with a rekindled passion for serving others.   They speak of having a “heart for God” or being “on fire.”  And we rightly applaud them—after all, should we not throw gasoline on this fire?  The tragedy, of course, is that when someone young—or at least young in their faith—does not develop a deeply rooted faith, they lack the stability to persevere.  Instead they are condemned to chase after renewed experiences.  Tragedy doesn’t begin when someone loses their faith; it begins when they get bored with it.  When this happens, they are forced to chase after the next spiritual “high”—the latest worship CD, the latest Christian book, the latest Podcast, the latest religious project.  But without that root, their faith cannot stand the test of persecution.
  • Persecution uproots shallow faith.   Don’t neglect the fact that Jesus specifies that the persecution is “on account of the word.”  Mark was writing in a season when early Christians were experiencing rampant persecution.  They knew what it was like to look to their right and left and see faithful neighbors quickly backpedal when their faith put them at odds with the Romans.  What about us?  Savvy readers keep sending me articles that all cite a recent study from the Pew Research center.  The study reports that a growing number of people are more likely to define themselves as religiously “unaffiliated”—that is, “not religious” rather than Christian.  But this might be a good thing.  Why?  Because previously, people were more likely to define themselves as “Christian” because it was the socially acceptable thing to do.  They’d been raised in church, or their family held a membership at the local Baptist Church down the block or something.  But Christianity is no longer viewed as socially acceptable.  Thus many are abandoning their claims to Christianity in the face of social pressure.  Jesus was right.  When our faith is built on emotional experience or social acceptance, this shallow faith is quickly torn up by the winds of social change.

The alternative, of course, is to receive the Word DEEPLY.  To press oneself into the character of God so that our faith could run more deeply than the fleeting highs of religious experience, but rest on the secure character of God.