by RobertCummins | May 23, 2016 | 21. The Story
“All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language, and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God’s hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall be open to one another.” (From Meditation XVII by John Donne)
Today’s passage is “The Prodigal Son.” I think Tim Keller was right in suggesting that “The Prodigal Father” would be even more appropriate. However in a religious culture largely bent on saving souls from Hell, the traditional focus on the wayward son is predictable. Recently I have been learning more about the father and the elder brother as God has been writing new chapters in my life. In a real way, MwM is simply my commentary on these new chapters.
I wasn’t a youngest son. I was an only son, and I was a classic prodigal. I didn’t ask my father for any share of his estate, but I did take enough of it to get myself the heck out of my home town and off to college where I faced an unprecedented opportunity to squander time and money without restriction. Sweet freedom! Or so I thought.
I, too, spent everything I had and experienced a severe famine of sorts: it was a famine of the soul. In that season I didn’t even know what I was hungering for. All I knew was that, somewhere deep within, I was dying. In the desolate landscape of my heart, no one was giving me anything that my spirit could digest. My attempts to nourish my soul with hard work, reading, and eastern meditation each promised hope but did not deliver.
Then I came into real contact with Jesus Christ—the one I had heard about in those Presbyterian Sunday school classes. This Jesus was different though. He wasn’t just the Lord of Easter bunnies, Christmas trees, and high church. This Jesus was the Lord of Life. Incredibly, he rescued me from my toxic and condemned life.
All I did was say to Him, “Since I am destroying it, You can have my life.” To my utter astonishment, He imparted something into my deepest being that began to undo and remake me. I was no longer starving, and a peace that surpassed anything I had ever known filled me up. To this date, I account for this miracle by simply saying, “The Lord of Life miraculously and mysteriously imparted His own Life into me.” I became a new creation in Christ only because the Holy Spirit took up residence in my heart. It’s that simple.
But then, glowing brightly as the restored prodigal, I decided I had to commit to a way of life that was pleasing to God (where did I get the idea that He wasn’t pleased with me?). And I heard the preacher say that the laborers were few, so I reasoned that He was calling me into those fields white for harvest. Yes, this was it: “I have been called into ministry!” (It rattles me to this day when I hear people, particularly young ones, utter this phrase. But, that is another chapter, which I will call “How I Was Called Into Ministry–And You Weren’t” (much sarcasm intended).
Sarcasm excised, my story should be titled, “Confessions of an Older Brother—How Prodigals Become Elder Brothers.” The short version: many churches and ministries are starving for laborers to enter into the harvest fields of their defined visions. In the execution of their vision, in the hirings and the firings and the preaching and the teaching, it is all too easy to make human doings out of human beings, pharisaic elder brothers out of innocent and authentic prodigals who were legitimately restored to their Father. The problem: modern western Christianity is not reproducing disciples who each understand their indispensable kingdom calling. It is reproducing (not surprisingly) church attenders who exist apparently to fund real ministry with their tithes (where in the living Word did this vision come from?).
This unfortunate mutation into elder brotherhood can happen as we begin to think, as I did, that our labors (not we ourselves) give God pleasure. As Adam’s descendants we are born into this world with a crisis of identity that, unfortunately, can survive our rebirth as Christians. How does this happen? We were evicted from Paradise and exiled into a land where we learned to survive by our wits. However, that eviction notice was branded into our souls and predisposed us to feeling rejection. At the core of our being (let’s call that place our identity) something says, “I am unworthy.” This misshapen identity magnetically attracts religion, which most churches will gladly exploit to fuel their version of the original vision.
Note: In my writing religion is any system of thought or practice whereby the thinking or the doing of it causes me to think that I have gained the favor of God.
We compensate in any and every way to avoid that singular worst case-nightmare of being rejected again. Let’s imagine our new convert’s entrance into the kingdom. He is legitimately born anew: Christ has entered his life and begins putting things right in his heart. However, this poor soul is exposed to a shrunken vision of Christianity wherein he has been saved and is called to nothing more than survival—the church attending mentality—while the world Jesus died to save continues its inevitable slide toward immorality and judgment. The believer’s role is to submit himself to the covering of the Pastor’s authority and vision. In this vision the kingdom grows as we invite our friends and family to church so that they too can avoid hell and get to heaven.
The insecure soul has had no spiritual father to tell him the rest of the story and how he is destined to find his place in the Father’s ever-expanding kingdom. He hasn’t had a father who can remind him that he is now God’s very own beloved new creation. The culture of spiritual poverty this poor lamb is subjected to is sustained by many heresies. The biggest is that even though he has been born again, he is still, in his primary nature, a “sinner” with a wayward bent. Another lie, following close on the heels of the first, is that God is justifiably angry and wields the rod quickly and harshly. The idea of a laughing or smiling God is inconceivable.
Our new convert with his young heart is grateful that he has been accepted into the fellowship of the righteous. The rejection that still operates within his saved yet unconverted heart, finds that fellowship (especially new found attention) is a balm to his loneliness and search for meaning. He may not be doing the soul-math consciously, but he has calculated in his heart that he now belongs, and he will do whatever is necessary to continue belonging. The insecurity of his heart has not been dealt with: it has only been appeased. The identity that should have been forming in-Christ alone is now attached inordinately to the group.
As time passes and the convert is faithful in little, he inherits much responsibility. Our prodigal is becoming a leader inside the shrunken vision of their local church. The value of having some visibility and receiving kudos for his labors has not escaped his insecure heart’s notice. However in his moments of reflection (which are incredibly sparse now that he is a leader), he is haunted by the notion that he has lost something precious and, if he could be honest, still feels isolated. Something is missing. But—pastor has assured him that hearing this disturbing, fleeting voice is normal. His council: “Just keep being faithful and God will reward you–if you remain faithful (especially in regards to tithing).”
Pastor was right (as always). Over time the disturbing voice diminished. The problem was that in its place a hardness and rigidity of spirit took shape. Where there were once innocent questions, there are now mostly dogmatic certainties upheld by collections of Bible verses. Even though he has never spent any meaningful time with him, the disciple has become like his pastor/mentor. (We always do.) He is busy and has less and less time for people (just like Pastor). Of necessity, he becomes further isolated from people: ministry obligations consume all his time. And, he thinks to himself, “I am being paid less than minimum wage. Given the pressure, pastor (and God?) place on me to perform, there is an inordinate weight of responsibility on me. If only somebody (preferably Pastor) would say thank you occasionally!” And as to how he feels about God–he dare not express that. His identity, his purpose, and his livelihood are all dependent on not rocking that religious boat.
Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ (Luke 15:25-27)
If I may personalize what comes next:
I became angry and was not willing to go in; and my father came out and began pleading with me. But I answered and said to Him, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ (adapted from Luke 15:28-30)
The real heart of my complaint sounded like this:
Because you have expressed your joy and love openly and extravagantly to my so-called brother, I am reminded that this is always how you are with everyone but me! I’m the reason this place keeps running, and You have not treated me fairly. (the lie embraced by the insecure heart)
At this point in the story, Jesus leaves us hanging. In a real sense, 2000+ years after the original telling, this is where we find ourselves today. We have those who label themselves Christian yet misunderstand God and what he endeavors to do in this age. If the earth’s future depends on the vision of us elder brothers, we have great cause for concern.
Father, would you continue putting this world to rights, renovating our hearts, sweeping them clean so that no demonic lies can return there, imprisoning us in walls of our own pious delusion. Restore identity to your sons and daughters that we might be a generation of people who live out of Your Life within us. May we live as the sons and daughters of a new creation—kingdom children and co-heirs with You, those who see Your delightful smiling face and who never sacrifice a thing in regard to true righteousness and holiness. Amen.
by RobertCummins | May 29, 2015 | 21. The Story
The Story – Luke 12:22-34
In his saving us, Jesus’ mission is to awaken our hearts to the preeminence of life in the Spirit which is eternal, demonstrating its superiority over the flesh which is external and momentary. For men conditioned in their thinking by a material world, this task can be an uphill battle. Jesus would probably say…
How hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God yet all things are possible with God.
On this day Jesus is pressed by a huge crowd. People are clamoring for solutions to the external problems of their lives. For example; One man makes what seems to be a reasonable request, “Order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.” Jesus said, “No”. That’s not my job.” This was because Jesus knew this man’s real need was not material. To fulfill His mission which was to proclaim and expand the kingdom of God it was going to require him to say things that were offensive. He must expose the real issue at hand which was the greed that prompted the request in the first place. “Greed?” we might ask, “That’s a bit harsh isn’t it? Didn’t the man say he only wanted his fair share?” Let me ask you a question; From God’s perspective, is “fair” a word that even applies to us as sons and heirs of the kingdom?
“Behold”, Jesus announced, “The kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts].
Jesus is building His kingdom one heart at a time. His tools are innocent sounding stories with razor sharp edges which have the potential of piercing the heart of flesh where it is resisting eternity. I think of words of this nature as facilitating the ongoing circumcision of our hearts, which is the indicator of our membership in the new covenant as was physical circumcision the sign of belonging to the old covenant.
Kingdom proclaimers endeavor to increase true wealth for others. They are conscious of the brevity of this life and desire that when men stand before the Lord, their portfolios are invested heavily in the invisible things which moth and rust cannot destroy. To do this they live and speak a different language (often one that cuts and offends). Listen to Jesus…
“Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”
How alien and sharp these words seem to us. Why would Jesus say such disruptive things? Because he knows it is always possible that; “This very night our soul is required of us; and now who will own what we have prepared?’ He does not want anyone to die whose heart has stored up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Jesus continues..
For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Now Jesus reveals another unbelievably sharp edge of His scalpel. He is not only after what we want in order to protect us from greed, He is now slicing away at our needs to protect us from worry. We might be thinking, “That not fair.” Jesus might ask,
“Fair?”
With stories of birds and flowers he makes his case for the invisible yet unending kingdom. He wants to see men dressed suitably for that realm. He knows that none of the external things we tend to focus on will transfer when we die. And besides, if we have strived to possess them, we are even now shabbily dressed.
But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you?
Here is how he suggests we approach our wardrobe. First…
Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
Then….
Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
Have we ever asked ourselves if we are resisting or promoting the kingdom of God in our hearts? Maybe, in light of this story, we can simply pray and ask God to show us where we are obstructing the kingdom. When we are walking through the isle or looking through the catalogue, we can become more in tune with our hearts when they say, “I want that.” Could watching over our hearts diligently as we are commanded, equip us to distinguish between wants and needs? Perhaps our heart’s edginess and offense with words like fairness, want or worry, is our signal that He aspires to open a new conversation with us, one that will expand the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Father, may our hearts be yours to shape and mold as you will. Cut away fleshly obstructions to Your kingdom. Show us how to die to any undersized and misplaced wants so that You might give us Your kingdom and its accompanying abundant Life. Thank You for saying these sharp and essential things. Help us to cloth ourselves for Your Kingdom which has come and is coming. Thank You that even though these things are impossible to us, they are all possibilities with You. Amen.
An entertaining story with many of its own sharp edges (which dovetails with today’s passage) would be The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. I highly recommend it.
by RobertCummins | May 29, 2015 | 21. The Story
The Story – Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So… Jesus told this large assembly The Parable of the Lost Sheep and The Parable of the Lost Coin.
Jesus’ stories brought to mind ‘the fulness of time‘, a unique phrase from Galatians 4:4-6
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
In our passage we learn something about the nature of this fullness. There is tension in it. Heaven is prone to rejoicing yet the stewards of the Law on earth are grumbling. And what is the source of their grumbling?
By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends. (MSG)
This suggests that in the fullness of time those entrusted with God’s Law had missed the spirit of God’s assignment so badly they were persecuting those responding to Jesus who was the actual fulfillment of the Law! Paul tells us that, ‘Because of you (Jews who were mishandling the Law) God’s name is blasphemed among the nations‘! In attending to the letter of the law they totally missed the spirit of it. In Romans, Paul, a former steward of the law elaborates on it.….
The ‘Jew’ isn’t the person who appears to be one, you see. Nor is ‘circumcision’ what it appears to be, a matter of physical flesh. The Jew is the one in secret; and ‘circumcision’ is in the heart, in the spirit rather than the letter. Such a person gets ‘praise, not from humans, but from God.
In a study of Romans I was recently involved with we had some who thought Paul was a bit hard on the Jewish leaders. They commented, “They had been given the Law and they were simply doing their utmost to obey it.” I suppose in a sense that was true but we have to keep in mind that Jesus’ stories are designed to help us see what we are not seeing. Outward obedience to a code anticipating blessed outcomes was never what God was after. That is what men do with God, in their flesh without the Spirit. We need to keep in mind that it is the heart, and apparently the circumcision of it, in which God is interested.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
The Holy Spirit is focused on the “why” (or the spirit of the matter) while man, in his flesh is hung up on the “what” (or the letter of the matter). God, as He is perpetually endeavoring to transform us into the image of His Son is intent on why we do what we do. This happens along the way as we experience the circumcision of the heart . If we do not we will be destined like the Jews to focus on external obedience and repeat history – misrepresenting God to the very people He is endeavoring to reveal Himself to.
In our Romans study a number of questions came up which I pray we might find answers to. One in particular stands out; Is the circumcision of the flesh a one time affair or is it an ongoing one?
I believe the answer is ‘Yes!’ Physical circumcision takes place once in a baby boy’s life. It is something done by others to him. Flesh is cut away. I believe this happens once to us as well when we place our confidence in Christ as our new Life. Our rebirth is accomplished by the giving and receiving of His Spirit, something that God does to us – thus accounting for our new hearts which were promised as a part of the new covenant. And while it is a mystery, our flesh was crucified with Christ. In the unseen eternal realm the reign of our flesh is over. It is cut away.
Recall that it was circumcision of the flesh that was the evidence of being a partaker of the old covenant and its Law. It is circumcision of the heart that is evidence of the new birth and of being a partaker of the the new covenant. Also keep in mind that we have been saved and are being saved. I believe in this being saved aspect of our lives (this working out of our salvation) his apprentices will also experience an ongoing circumcision of the heart. Those whose hearts are being formed into the image of Christ will see the scalpel again in the fulness of time when it becomes necessary to cut away aspects of our fleshly life which have yet to be surrendered to His rule.
I believe discipleship itself has itself has been cut away from the normal Christian life in western culture. Living actively with Christ as Lord over our hearts is not well taught or modeled. Discipleship, for the most part, has become an optional track for those who have been called into full-time ministry or into the deeper Christian life (as it has unfortunately been labeled). It is quite simply more than most signed up for when they asked Jesus into their hearts or performed whatever external ritual to join the church.
Could the widely acknowledged malaise in western Christianity be traced to the circumcision of discipleship away from the Christian life? Could this error account for millions of believers who are anticipating God’s kingdom when they die when in fact, unbeknownst to them, its already here? How are we different than the Jews who were in trouble for their stewardship of the covenant entrusted to them? Is there sufficient transformation into Christ’s image to prevent His name from being blasphemed by us in our age? Isn’t this already happening?
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
So many of us are laboring in our obedience to live lives that are pleasing to God. If we are to measure ourselves by new testament standards (and not our own present culture’s) there are a few litmus tests we can use. The first one I see is; when God’s will is being done on earth as it is in heaven, joy will always accompany it, (certainly not grumbling).
A second is; persons of questionable character will be drawn to the salvation which they see is being worked out by the adopted sons and daughters whose identities are being altered and whose character is being reshaped, saints who are infected with celebrant childlike joy. Sadly though people will continue to be repelled by joyless lives attempting to comply with the letter of a particular religious code, however hard they are laboring to please God. Always, the Spirit gives life but the letter of the law kills.
Is being a disciple really a deeper Christian life or is it just the normal one which has been, of necessity, cut away from western Christian culture so that we can focus on the here’s and now’s of a temporal material world without troubling our consciences?
Father, We have rejected discipleship for so many wrong reasons and not surprisingly we are failing in Your commission to go and make disciples. Let ‘now’ be the fulness of time Lord. Let authentic renovation of our hearts take place. Deliver us from all the heart-errors that contribute to our misrepresentation of You. Awaken us and restore to us our new hearts which do not see your reign as a heavy burden, rather as the very Spirit of righteousness who indwells and animates us. Work within our hearts until our realization of being Your sons and daughters spills out into a flood of stories honoring Your holy and precious name.
by RobertCummins | May 26, 2015 | 21. The Story
The Story – Luke 7:36-50
Simon was nervous already, having invited Jesus, a known sabbath-breaker (and yet a possible prophet?) to his home for a meal. Simon knew that Jesus was performing miracles but he was also deeply troubled that Jesus so easily mingled with the uneducated and unclean people who were beneath the status he and his Pharisee brethren had attained. He was deeply conflicted. God was obviously with this man but how could that be when he regularly contaminated himself, mingling with the rabble and working on the sabbath? Simon’s righteousness, in fact that of his nation’s had been maintained through their meticulous attendance to the Law which this Jesus seemed to so easily disregard.
The room was already filled with awkward social tension when a prostitute, the most defiled person in the city, found her way into the gathering. No one escorted her back outside; she was far too unclean to be approached by men of Simon’s stature and purity. Besides, to make matters worse, she was crying uncontrollably. The only thing that brought the noise level down was when the woman’s eyes met those of Jesus. She rushed to him, falling to her knees and with convulsive sobs drenched his feet with her tears. She added perfume to the pool that was forming there and used her hair to mop up the mixture. With that concoction, she washed Jesus’ feet.
Jesus, knowing Simon’s fragile condition as a Pharisee and a dinner host jump starts the conversation. He said, “Simon, I would like to say something to you.” Simon, relieved beyond telling, said, “Please, by all means say it.”
Jesus then relates The Parable of the Two Debtors. We know both the story and its punch line….
She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal. (MSG)
Simon realized that Jesus had just exposed him and most of his guests as the ungrateful minimalists in the parable. What Simon didn’t know yet was that while this seemed to easily be the worst day of his life, it was, potentially speaking, the best. Jesus said, astonishingly to Simon, that this woman’s sins had been forgiven on the basis of her profuse gratitude. It was quite clear, Jesus was implying that his sins (and those of the other Pharisees present) were not forgiven because they had, as yet, no thankfulness alive in their hearts.
In God’s sight, whose sin is actually greater? Is it a woman who repeatedly sells her body for the money needed to survive or is it that of those further up the social ladder who repeatedly pass judgement on others like her, who they perceive to be beneath them morally and socially? In the sight of God, blessed are the poor in spirit, those who have come to see their spiritual bankruptcy before a holy God. And also…. how hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God. This explains why tears flowed from one and not the other.
In some circles today, a heart broken by God is way down the list in terms of its worth as a spiritual experience. Stories containing a healing, a deliverance, a blessing or an answered prayer are much preferred. In some circles it would be unthinkable that God might coordinate the circumstances, as he did for Simon, to expose in us some impoverishment of heart. We are told that our hearts are not impoverished. They are brand new, intrinsically good and above such old-time religion. I actually agree with this theology but I have a problem; I believe God has broken into my new heart on at least three occasions since first coming to know Him 39 years ago. And I would not trade those encounters for anything. They were answers to my deepest and most heartfelt prayers…..
One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. Ps 27:4
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Ps 139: 23-24
Had it not been for these break-ins (and the accompanying gift of repentance), I could have never wept over my heart (however new it may have been) for the hurtful and anxious ways it had learned to live independent of God, while making, I might add, quite a showing (religiously speaking). I read about Simon the pharisee and I have hope for him because I recall Rob-the pharisee. It is just like Jesus, in his kindness, to step into a party (or a human heart) and disrupt the false and fragile equilibrium of the status quo.
I know from experience that this process of brokenness is a rare and precious thing. Without having passed this way a few times I would never have arrived at the place of my present declaration…
….that God is able to keep me from stumbling, and to make me stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (from Jude 24)
Having experienced this kind of blessedness, I can only pray to Him who is the fulfillment of the Law for all those who have and will believe….
Father, would you cleanse us from every pharisaic attitude operating in our hearts. Please help us to see where, in any way, we are carrying around judgements toward those you have bled and died for. Grant us the same compassion You have for the oppressed and discarded. Break our hearts where they need broken and let us rise cleansed – free and joyful, ready to proclaim your name in both word and deed before a world that is lost and rightly skeptical about religion. Through us show them Your Life!
Now to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever.
by RobertCummins | May 26, 2015 | 21. The Story
The Story– Luke 15:11-32
All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language, and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God’s hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall be open to one another. (from Meditation XVII by John Donne)
Today’s passage is The Prodigal Son. I believe The Prodigal Father would have been an even more appropriate title. However in a religious culture largely bent on saving souls from Hell, the traditional focus on the wayward son is predictable. I feel very fortunate to have learned there was so so much more to this story when God, very recently, began writing new chapters in my life. In a real way, MwM is simply my commentary on these new chapters.
I wasn’t a youngest son, instead I was an only son but I was nevertheless a classic prodigal. Nor did I ask my father for any share of his estate. I did take enough of it though to get myself the heck out of my home town and off to college where I faced an unprecedented opportunity to squander time and money without restriction which is what I think the original prodigal son wanted as well. Sweet freedom! Or so we both thought.
I too spent everything I had and experienced a severe famine of sorts; it was a famine of the soul. In that season I didn’t even know what I was hungering for. All I knew was that somewhere deep within I was dying. In the desolate landscape of my heart no one was giving me anything that my spirit could digest. My attempts to nourish my soul with hard work, reading, eastern meditation each promised hope but did not deliver.
Then I came into real contact with Jesus Christ – the one I had heard about in those Presbyterian Sunday school classes I infrequently attended. This Jesus was different though. He wasn’t just the Lord of Easter bunnies, Christmas trees and high church. This Jesus was the Lord of Life. Incredibly, he rescued me from my toxic and condemned life. All I did was say to Him, “Since I am destroying it, You can have my life.” To my utter astonishment, He imparted something into my deepest being that began to undo and remake me. I was no longer starving! A peace that surpassed anything I had ever known filled me up. To this date, I account for this miracle by simply saying, “The Lord of Life miraculously and mysteriously imparted His own Life into me.” I became a new creation in Christ only because the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within my heart. It’s that simple.
But now, glowing brightly as the restored prodigal, I decided I must commit to a way of life that is pleasing to God. (Where did I get the idea that He wasn’t pleased with me?) Plus, I heard the preacher say that the laborers were few so I reasoned that He must be calling me into those fields that are white for harvest. Yes, that was it, “I have been called into ministry!” (It rattles me to this day when I hear people, particularly young ones, utter this phrase. But, that is another chapter which I will call; How I Was Called Into Ministry (And You Weren’t). If you know me at all, this is dripping with sarcasm.)
Sarcasm excised, my story should be titled; Confessions of an Older Brother – How Prodigals Become Elder Brothers. The short version: Many churches and ministries are starving for laborers to enter into the harvest fields of their defined visions. In the execution of their vision, in the hirings and the firings and the preaching and the teaching, it is all too easy to make human-doings out of human beings, pharisaic elder brothers out of innocent and authentic prodigals who were legitimately restored to their Father. The problem: Modern western Christianity is not reproducing disciples who each understand their indespensible kingdom calling. It is reproducing (not surprisingly) church attenders who exist apparently to fund real ministry with their tithes which is carried out by professionals. (Did we find this vision in the bible or in corporate America?)
This unfortunate mutation into elder brothers can happen as we begin to think, as I did, that it is our labors (not we ourselves) that give God pleasure. As Adam’s descendants we are born into this world with a crisis of identity that unfortunately can survive our rebirth as Christians. How does this happen? We were evicted from Paradise and exiled into a land where we learned to survive by our wits. However, that eviction notice was branded into our souls and predisposed us to rejection. At the core of our being, let’s call that place our identity, there is something that says, I am unworthy. This misshapen identity is a magnetic attraction for religion which most churches will gladly exploit to fuel their version of the original vision.
Religion: Any system of thought or practice whereby the thinking or the doing of it causes me to think that I have gained the favor of God.
We therefore begin compensating in any and every way to avoid that singular worst case-nightmare of being rejected again. Let’s imagine our new convert’s entrance into the kingdom. He is legitimately born anew; Christ has entered his life and begins putting things right in his heart. However, this poor soul is exposed to a shrunken vision of Christianity where he has been saved and is called to nothing more than a survivalist – church attending mentality while the world Jesus died to save continues its inevitable slide toward immorality and judgement. The believer’s role is to submit himself to the covering of the Pastor’s authority and vision. In this vision the kingdom grows as we invite our friends and family to church so that they too can avoid hell and get to heaven.
The insecure soul has had no spiritual father to tell him the rest of the story and how he is destined to find his place in the Father’s ever-expanding kingdom. He hasn’t had a father who can remind him that he is now God’s very own beloved new creation. The culture of spiritual poverty this poor lamb is subjected to is sustained by many heresies. The biggest is that even though he has been born again, he is still, in his primary nature a “sinner” with a wayward bent. Another lie following close on the heals of the first is that God is justifiably angry and wields the rod quickly and harshly. The idea of a laughing or smiling God is inconceivable.
Our new convert with his young heart is grateful that he has been accepted into the fellowship of the righteous. The rejection that is still operating within his saved yet unconverted heart, finds that fellowship (especially the new found attention) is a balm to his lonliness. He may not be doing the soul-math consciously but he has calculated in his heart that he now belongs and will do whatever is necessary to continue belonging. The insecurity of his heart has not been dealt with, it has only been appeased. The identity that should have been forming in-Christ alone is now attached inordinately to the group.
As time passes and the convert is faithful in little he inherits more and more responsibility. Our prodigal is becoming a leader inside the shrunken vision of their local church. The value of having some visibility and receiving kudos for his labors has not escaped his insecure heart’s notice. However in his moments of reflection (which are incredibly sparse now that he is a leader) he is haunted by the notion that he has lost something precious and, if he could be honest, still feels isolated. Something is missing. But, pastor has assured him that hearing this disturbing fleeting voice is normal. His council, “Just keep being faithful and God will reward you if you remain faithful (especially in regards to tithing.)
Pastor was right (as always), over time the disturbing voice diminished. The problem is that in its place a hardness and rigidity of spirit took shape. Where there were once innocent questions, there is now mostly dogmatic certainties upheld by collections of bible verses. Even though he has never spent any meaningful time with him, the disciple has become like his pastor/mentor. (We always do.) He is busy, and having less and less time for people (like Pastor) of necessity becomes further isolated from people. Ministry obligations consume all his time! And, he thinks to himself, “I am being paid less than minimum wage. GIven the pressure pastor (and God?) place on me to perform, there is an inordinate weight of responsbility on me. If only somebody (preferably Pastor) would say thank you occasionally!” And as to how he feels about God, he dare not express that! His identity, his purpose and livelihood are all dependent on not rocking that religious boat.
“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.” And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
If I may personalize what comes next;
(Because the father expressed his joy and love openly and extravegently toward my so-called brother)….
I became angry and was not willing to go in; and my father came out and began pleading with me. But I answered and said to Him, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.
My paraphrase in its entirety…..
“Because you have expressed your joy and love openly and extravegently to my so-called brother, I am reminded that this is always how you are with everyone but me! I’m the reason this place keeps running and You have not treated me fairly.”
The story leaves us hanging. In a real sense, 2000 + years after the original telling, this is where we find ourselves today. We have those who label themselves Christian yet misunderstand God and what he is endeavoring to do in this age. If the earth’s future depends on the vision of us elder brothers we have great cause for concern.
Father, would you continue putting this world to rights, renovating our hearts, sweeping them clean so that no demonic lies can return there, imprisoning us in walls of our own pious delusion. Restore identity to your sons and daughters that we might be a generation of people who live out of Your LIfe within us. May we live as the sons and daughters of a new creation – kingdom children and co-heirs with You; those who see Your delightful smiling face and who never sacrifice a thing in regard to true righteousness and holiness. Amen.
by RobertCummins | May 22, 2014 | 21. The Story
Jesus, like every kingdom-proclaimer, has the burden of awakening hearts to the preeminence of the inner life of the spirit (which is eternal) above the outer life of the flesh (which is temporary). As is always the case for men conditioned in their thinking by a material world, this task is an uphill battle. Jesus would probably say…
How hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God.
On this day Jesus is pressed by a huge crowd. People, as usual, are clamoring for solutions to the external problems of their lives. One man makes what seems to be a reasonable request, “Order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.” Jesus said, “No”. That’s not my job.” This was because Jesus knew this man’s real need was not material. To do His job (which was to proclaim and expand the kingdom of God), it was going to require Jesus to say things that would likely offend this man. He must expose the real issue at hand, the kingdom-issue, which was the greed that prompted the request in the first place. “Greed?” We might think, “That’s a bit harsh isn’t it? Didn’t the man say he only wanted his fair share?” Let me ask you a question; From God’s perspective, is “fair” a word that even applies to us as sons and heirs of the kingdom?
“Behold”, Jesus announced, “The kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts].
Jesus is building His kingdom one heart at a time. His tools are innocent sounding stories with razor sharp edges that have the potential of piercing the heart where it is resisting the kingdom. I think of these types of words as facilitating the ongoing aspect (mentioned earlier this week) of the circumcision of our hearts, which is the indicator of our participation in the new covenant as was physical circumcision a sign of belonging to the old covenant.
Kingdom proclaimers endeavor to increase true wealth for others. They are conscious of the brevity of this life and desire that when men stand before the Lord, their portfolios are invested heavily in the invisible things that moth and rust will not destroy. To do this they have to live and speak a different language (often one that cuts and may offend). Listen to Jesus…
“Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”
How alien and sharp these words seem to us. Why would Jesus say such disruptive things? Because he knows that it is always possible that; “This very night our soul is required of us; and now who will own what we have prepared?’ Jesus does not want anyone to die whose heart has stored up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Jesus continues..
For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Now Jesus reveals another unbelievably sharp edge of His scalpel. He is not only after what we may want in order to protect us from greed, He is now slicing away at our needs in order to protect us from worry. We might be thinking, “That not fair.”
“Fair?”, Jesus might ask.
With stories of birds and flowers he makes his case for the invisible yet unending kingdom. He wants to see men dressed suitably for that realm. He knows that none of the external things we tend to focus on will transfer when we die. And besides, if we have strived to possess them, we are even now shabbily dressed.
But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you?
Here is how he suggests we approach our wardrobe. First…
Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
Then….
Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
Have we ever asked ourselves if we are resisting or promoting the kingdom of God in our hearts? Maybe, in light of this story, we can simply pray and ask God to show us where we are obstructing the kingdom. When we are walking through the isle or looking through the catalogue, we can become more in tune with our hearts when they say, “I want that.” Could watching over our hearts diligently as we are commanded to, involve distinguishing in our motives between wants and needs? Perhaps if we become aware of edgy words like fairness, want or worry, it is a signal that He is opening a new conversation with us, one that will expand the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Father, Our hearts are yours to shape and mold as you will. Cut away fleshly obstructions to Your kingdom. Show us how to die to any undersized and misplaced wants so that You might give us Your kingdom and its accompanying abundant Life. Thank You for saying these sharp and essential things to us. Help us to cloth ourselves for Your Kingdom which has come and is coming. Thank You Father that even though these things seem impossible to us, all things are possible with You. Amen.
An entertaining story with many of its own sharp edges (which dovetails with today’s passage) would be The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. I highly recommend it.
