Fields of Perfection [part three] ...

A journey can sometimes be an arduous thing.  The voyage from point A to point B is not always painless.  But that pain is nearly a guarantee when an enemy works to insure it.  I always find it remarkable that folks who ascribe to atheism do so while blaming God for everything bad that happens in the world (if there was one); but fail to ever attribute any of the pain and suffering to the devil, His enemy.  It is as if there is only one responsible party for anything bad, but the other guy just continues to not exist.  Even in atheism, the devil continues to pull off the great deception of just never being there for anything bad.  But in Christianity, this deception takes the form of “forgetfulness”?  Somehow Christians think there are bad people in the world, but seem to forget they face the chief of all evil in their journey away from self.  On occasion we remember there is a devil, but in general seem to think he couldn’t possibly affect “our” lives (perhaps with disease, temptation that leads to failure, or even death itself).  But he does, and he remains very active as Jesus reminds us so long ago.

Imagine planning a vacation to Disney World (home of the 6ft rat 😊).  But then everything that could go wrong, does go wrong.  Some call that Murphy’s Law (perhaps the devil’s middle name is Murphy?).  Bad coincidence is survivable, though not enjoyable.  It would however not make for a great vacation to say the least.  We think of our vacations as an escape from stress, not a deepening of it.  But now imagine that same vacation plan you create and begin to set in motion.  This time, the circumstances beyond your control are cooperating fully, but your wife is not.  This time, your wife not only resents going, she is determined to make your vacation as miserable as possible.  You do not just lose your wallet, she steals and hides it.  You did not just forget your reservations number at the hotel, she not only stole your paperwork, she secretly cancelled the reservations without anyone knowing.  This behavior is not designed to keep you from going, perhaps she is unable to do that, but it is designed to make every inch of going as hard as possible, and as miserable as possible.  That, is the role the devil plays in your spiritual journey.  He is unable to stop you from movement, but he is unwilling to concede a single inch without inflicting as much distraction, failure, pain, and misery as it is possible to inflict upon you along the way.  And it is not the will of God, it is the will of His enemy.

So the argument emerges, why not just prevent him (Satan) from doing it – perhaps kill him to keep him from this?  But then, without any kind of test, would you ever know what you “truly” believed, and how much you truly believed it?  Without test, would you really know how much you trust God to save you, or would you believe you did it all yourself?  And when the devil uses human agents to accomplish his goal of making your journey miserable, can you possibly consider killing the messenger who needs redemption and reconciliation as much as you do?  Bad children are still children.  You do not execute your two-year-old because she intentionally throws milk at you.  You do not kill her because she hits her sister.  These behaviors are what need to go.  But your daughter remains your daughter even when her actions cause pain to others, and ultimately to you, and God.  In the eye of God, “bad” people, are children He is still trying hard to redeem.  And sometimes your spiritual journey is made more difficult by people who act as agents of the enemy whether they know it or not.  Something that again, is not new.

Matthew documented a parable of Jesus in a continuing line of parables that addressed this in chapter thirteen of his gospel.  He picks up with the words of Christ beginning in verse 24 saying … “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: [verse 25] But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”  Before we decipher the meaning of this parable which Jesus explains in further texts we will read before proceeding, there are a few other items of notice.  First, this is the second parable in a line of them that uses farming as the analogy.  As stated before farming is not an instant process, it is a growth process.  It takes a farmer’s care if a harvest is to be gained.  The seeds respond to the work of the farmer, they do not work for themselves.  They will need planting, fertilizing, water, sunshine, and earth before what God intended them to become happens.  This is in a perfect world.  This story begins with introducing intentional means of destruction.  Here we learn, that the farmer has an enemy, and the enemy has done something to intentionally hurt the farmer, the seeds are only a mechanism to hurt the farmer, that was the enemy’s only goal, the seeds mean nothing to him.

Jesus decodes this parable beginning in verse 36 saying … “Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. [verse 37] He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; [verse 38] The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;”  Duh!  The explanation of this is kind of exactly what you might expect, but the disciples asked for one anyway.  It is good being stupid.  Think about it, you could have made assumptions about this story, and hardened those assumptions until no other truth gets in.  That is what we do all the time, and we call those assumptions and interpretations – doctrine.  Once hardened in tradition we call it core beliefs and we would rather die than open our minds to some other interpretation of the same set of facts.  The disciples were smart enough, or rather stupid enough, not to make assumptions of their own, but instead TO ASK TO BE LED by Jesus before putting “anything” in their minds.  And this approach works, even today.

As it turns out, the farmer is Jesus the Son of Man.  The field is the world.  That sentence is sometimes one Christians like to forget.  We associate “the world” as being the mission fields, someplace primitive and far away.  But the world includes Hollywood, and New York City.  It includes gay bars, and for that matter, bars of every kind.  It includes places like Kansas, Alabama, and Arkansas.  It includes the families within our own churches, and the people within our own families.  The world is not exclusive, it is inclusive of everyone, everywhere – in places that are primitive, and in places where sins are committed on purpose by people who should know better, like us.  The good seed are the children of the kingdom.  We like to think that is us.  But we forget that word “children”.  We gloss over it like a phrase so often repeated it loses meaning.  There are only “children” in this explanation.  No adults identified and everyone in the world is included in the meaning.  That means you are either following God, or His enemy, and you are not old enough to even think there is a third option.  Folks convinced they are adults, are actually children following the enemy who tells them they are adults and in control, they are deceived and they do not know it, because they do not want to admit the truth, told by The Truth.

These weeds however are not wicked supernatural agents, they are just humans, doing the bidding of who they follow.  And your spiritual journey can be impeded by them.  It is like having your husband hide your purse everyday before you leave the house, or your wife hide your wallet.  People clinging to false ideas, they are certain are correct, and wanting to share them with you whether you want to hear them or not.  Better to both come in surrender and humility before Jesus and ask Him, what does The Truth say in this matter or that one.  That act of following, combined with that acknowledge in humility that we need His wisdom, is becoming children of the kingdom.  It is attempting to become perpetual students at the feet of Jesus to learn, ignoring all other distractions and purported “wisdom” of men.

So let’s go back to the parable in verse 26 as Jesus continues saying … “But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. [verse 27] So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? [verse 28] He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?”  Before we get the explanation a couple things to notice here.  Notice that question of the “servants” to the farmer – didn’t you sow good seed, why does it have weeds?  Nearly everyone blames the farmer, or God, for the weeds.  We do something bad, we blame God for it.  We suffer from the bad actions of someone else, we blame God for it.  But God says … “an enemy has done this”.  There is more than one supernatural actor in this story, and in our world.  Satan tempted Adam and Eve, God did not.  God warned them how to avoid temptation (stay together, and stay away from it).  But we treat the warnings of God lightly believing in strength we do not have, and stumble right into failure without even a second thought, until the guilt of our failure sets in again, or the consequences have immediate effect.

Jesus deciphers more in verse 39 saying … “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”  In case there was any debate about how weeds get there, they get there because the devil sows them.  The devil tempts people into failure after failure until they no longer believe anything but failure is possible.  In truth it is less the sin he wins them over by, but instead the notion that “they” could control the sin if they just wanted to try hard enough.  Instead of looking to Christ where victory over sin is guaranteed (we do nothing, and Jesus beats it for us).  The devil gets people to try to fight him one-on-one, over and over again.  He tells Christians you must do your best first before God can help you, or will help you.  Christians believe the lie, and so are doomed to a life of failure after failure.  If the world would look to Jesus to save them, truly let Jesus do the work for them, salvation would be assured.  The kind of salvation that changes what you do, because it changes how you think and how you love.  The only thing you “do”, is keep surrendering to Jesus and stay out of the fight.

We return to the parable with Jesus answering the servant’s question about getting rid of the weeds early, picking up in verse 29 saying … “But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. [verse 30] Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”  More here than first meets the eye.  The argument about “soon” should have faded a bit.  The servants ask the farmer if He wants to move early to get rid of the weeds, and the farmer does not.  The farmer wants to wait, give it time.  He wants to save everyone, and everyone has that chance.  Only this farmer could turn weeds into wheat, and that is what He longs to do.  God would prefer to return to a world entirely occupied by wheat, where every weed gave themselves to Him to be transformed.  But alas, too many weeds, choose to be weeds, and do NOT want transformation of any kind, even Christians sitting in pews, singing hymns since they were children.  A hardened heart, is a hardened heart – where it is sitting, and what it is singing – are not important.

Jesus interprets picking up in verse 40 saying … “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. [verse 41] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; [verse 42] And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. [verse 43] Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  Here is where the rubber meets the road.  The criteria for the angels as they sort weed from wheat is perfection.  Things that offend, and they that do iniquity – are the weeds that are cast out and burned at the end of all things.  Notice it does not read, well Christians that only do iniquity or sin on occasion should be spared.  This is not a partial-pass method here.  Those that still sin, that still offend, will be cast out.  It means that our journey does reach an end, a maturity in Jesus where we will stop sinning, and stop offending.  Stop sinning that is our actions and motives coming in harmony with God and the Law.  Stop offending, that is we stop teaching others incorrect methods of salvation, stop teaching them to rely upon self, and rely ONLY upon Jesus, to TRUST Jesus to save them, for only He can.

This is the end of our journey, and there is an end to it.  Those who remain alive at the second coming of Christ will have already reached the end of our spiritual journey’s.  Those who died in that quest, will have the remainder fixed in the twinkling of an eye at the resurrection of the righteous.  But the wheat will be perfect at the end of all things, sinning and offending no more.  He who has ears, let him hear, are the words of Jesus, The Truth.  The criteria of perfection is not a threat, or a death sentence.  It is a promise.  It is hope.  It is a description of what the end of your journey looks like within who you are.  It is the gift of Jesus Christ to you, and will happen within you individually.  The church does not bring it.  Your wife or husband does not bring it.  It happens because you submit and surrender to Jesus one-on-one, and only Jesus brings it about within you.  Your failures do not prevent it, they are but guiderails to point you back to Jesus, to surrender more, and trust more, to let Jesus bring it about in you.  Do not focus on failure, focus on Jesus.  Stay your eyes upon Jesus and He will do everything that must be done to save you.

What these stories teach us, is that there is no quick fix, no instant, no one-and-done.  But what they also teach us, is that the Farmer will see the harvest complete within each of us His seeds, if we but let Him.  The farmer does the work, we become the benefit, and perhaps feed the world, or at least our corner of it, turning every eye back to the farmer Jesus Christ.  The seed is not the hero of this story, the farmer is.  The harvest itself is not the event of this story, the transformation of the seed is, that transformation happens before the harvest can begin.  We must be transformed by Jesus, before our actions matter.  We must love before showing kindness has the full effect it could have.  Our motives behind what we do matter.  And the perfecting of our souls, minds, and hearts IS possible through Jesus Christ as we submit ourselves to Him, and trust Him to do the work.

And there would be more parables in this line before it was over yet …

 

Fields of Perfection [part two] ...

Why not simply “arrive” where it comes to spiritual growth?  Why take a journey that we know it is possible to complete in the twinkling of an eye?  It is easy to blame God for the delay, or perhaps develop doubt there is a God, because of the delay.  One of the effective arguments atheists and nominal Christians make, is that people have been talking about the “soon coming return” of Jesus Christ since the days of the disciples and over 2000 years have passed in that time.  Oh sure, if you stack that against time in Universal measurements or against the stars it is short, but against human life spans, it is well beyond any of them.  A belief in “soon” that does not come true, can sometimes equate to a belief that transformation just takes too long, and there are too many failures that keep occurring along the way.  Perhaps transformation too is just one of those “soon coming” things that for me will never seem to arrive; always to be lost in the journey.  There comes a time when even progress is not enough, the destination is just too much what we long for.  Not the destination of heaven, so much as the destination of perfection, even in the here and the now.

And if our “standard” is no less than perfection, we cannot just shrug it off, and act as though it is “OK” that we are imperfect.  It is never “OK” with God that we carry the cancer of sin, that we suffer from the pain and death it brings and causes.  God longs to give us the cure.  So when our failures teach us we are obviously not cured yet, we return to the question of why, or as with His long awaited return; how long?  And if knowing it must be a journey is not hard enough, it turns out the other complicating factor is … us.  What we believe, and how certain we are of our beliefs, can delay the journey entirely.  Even the beliefs that we are taught from the church, or from spiritual leaders we trust, or things we seem to have discovered on our own.  It is not even the incorrect beliefs that are our problem nearly as much as the certainty to which we cling to them.  We hold the mind of the unconverted even while we occupy the pews of the church we call home.  And because of it, our journey takes even longer.

This is not new.  There was an example provided in the gospel of Matthew in the thirteenth chapter.  Right in the middle of telling parables about the Kingdom of God, and salvation, and heaven; the reason why stories are being used is provided.  And those reasons are just as applicable today as they ever were, so much to sorrow over it.  Matthew picks up in verse 10 with the most obvious question … “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?”  This is the gospel after all.  We are not just trying to explain how to build a kite; we are trying to save lost souls here, trying to provide the roadmap to doing it right.  But instead of providing direct, frank, and explanative words; Jesus chooses to tell stories to get the point across.  And it looks as though no one is getting it, sometimes even the disciples are having a hard time admitting they too, are not getting it.

Ever ask the question, if Jesus wanted us to know what to do about [insert some modern problem here] why didn’t He just say that in the New Testament?  The question about Sabbath observance is sometimes put in this category.  What you can do or not do.  Or which day is the right one.  There is a lot of other scripture to answer these questions, but it might have been nice since Jesus knowing what would happen later, if He would have just given some direct counsel on the matter in question – rather than bury it among tons of other texts that must be read in context to even get close to answering it right?  Homosexuality is another idea floated this way.  While the Bible is full of condemnation for it, Jesus never said one word in first person against it.  If Jesus is our final authority why not just state what His position is?  Instead we have stories, historical events, and societal prejudices that influence our ideas on any given topic we research in the Bible.  Seems like the lead is buried.

But Jesus answers this question picking up in verse 11 saying … “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. [verse 12] For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. [verse 13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”  So a little flattering that the disciples are going to be the privileged few who get to understand the mysteries.  We take that by extension to mean “us” as well since we get to read the written works of those disciples where it comes to the gospel.  The idea that to those to whom it is given, will be given even more in abundance sounds really good to us.  We think that must mean - to church folk, to folks who are searching, or are already in the aisles and pews.  But we missed one subtle word printed plainly there that perhaps our brains just wanted to miss.  To him shall be “given” more abundance.

The remainder of the answer of Jesus applies to those who believe they already know what they need to know.  They have learned it through joining a church, or having conducted years of study on their own.  They might have learned it by going to a Christian school system, or Christian University.  They are not newbies, but people long-in-the-tooth where it comes to spiritual matters.  They are not the nominal believers who never “do” anything, but they are the people who act on their faith and make it a point to get out there and serve in the plain light of day.  These are the people who hath … not.  Their eyes work or function, but they see not.  Their ears can hear just fine, but they hear not.  And worst of all, they, or rather “our” comprehension and understanding is poo-poo.  To “us?” shall be taken away even what little even what we have.

That reads like a punishment.  It reads like a punishment for well-meaning folks.  But again, this is actually about salvation, and what is needed here for “us” is exactly that.  We need a reset of what we are so certain about.  We need a reset of what University, or our local church has been pushing into our heads for so long we can nearly rote repeat it.  We must unlearn what we have learned, and be taught what we should know through a mechanism we have least tried out (becoming a direct student of Jesus).  Matthew reminds his audience this entire scenario was predicted long in advance by the prophet Isaiah, lest we think this only applied in the days of Christ, or will never be relevant again.  He continues in verse 14 saying … “And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:”  The prophet Isaiah had a relevant message to his people in his day of the same phenomenon that Jesus fulfilled in His own.  And that prophecy had no time stamp on it.  The same plague moves forward through time through the same people even within the true churches of God.

The reason is heartbreaking to hear continuing in verse 15 saying … “For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”  Queue the weeping and gnashing of teeth please.  We are “tired” of hearing.  We have closed our eyes to “The Truth”.  And perhaps worst of all, and the most telling sign, our hearts have waxed gross, we love very little anything that does not resemble ourselves.  And it appears that understanding will only come through the heart, which in this case has grown cold.  All of the signs of people or believers who would have made excellent members of the Sanhedrin in the days of Jesus.  People certain of their spiritual knowledge and completely unwilling and not inclined to submit that “knowledge” to the higher power of Jesus Christ.  Our journey is stunted because we refuse connection with Jesus that could have resulted in our conversion, and our healing.  Could sadder words ever be uttered, particularly when they are squarely directed at “you?” or “me?”.

So what made the disciples different? … They were stupid.  And they knew it.  And they depended on Jesus for their wisdom, looking to learn anything HE had to teach them, never even daring to teach Him anything.  The only beliefs they brought with them from before Jesus and they ever clung to, were WRONG!!  And those beliefs were taught to them by the church.  Freedom from Rome was not in the cards from a Messiah bent on freeing them from sin, freedom from sin was more important.  But the church disagreed.  And it still does.  So many churches continue to teach that freedom from sin is nothing more than forgiveness bundled with a license to continue sinning.  Dangerous doctrines that equate infinite forgiveness with the ability to infinitely keep sinning with nothing but a little guilt.  Or worse, they teach us that freedom from sin comes only when “we” try hard enough.  Neither is true.  But we cling to error in our beliefs about salvation that stunt our journey and prevent us from a connection with Jesus that would in fact actually save us, from us.  We don’t need a partnership with Jesus, we need a hostile take-over by Him (us out, Him in).  We do not have permission to sin because God “understands” our weakness.  We need a cure from God as we direct our weakness and everything else about us to Him in full surrender of what “we” think needs to be done about it.

Recognizing one’s own stupidity has an upside.  Seeing our true need has benefits we cannot imagine as Matthew continues the words of Jesus picking up in verse 16 saying … “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. [verse 17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”  Being willing to be taught by Jesus begins by recognizing we have nothing to offer Him, and everything to gain by listening and being taught by Him.  And on that score, “church” is not the same as personal submission and surrender to Jesus Christ.  Before accepting what others say about scripture (including this author), pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of Jesus Christ.  Otherwise, group think, or who you think may have a point, may not.  Jesus does not want to leave you blind to His word.  Nor is His word dangerous to you.  But your pride in your learning is dangerous to you.  Being unwilling to expand, alter, or change your mind about what you know when something new is brought to you by Jesus is very dangerous to your journey.  It can stunt it badly.

We have the wealth of scripture, not only of the New Testament, but of the Old Testament as well.  BOTH are views of our God’s intense love for us, and His work to redeem us.  If the OT does not read that way to you yet, you need to view it more through the lens of Jesus Christ.  If what you get out of the OT is a vengeful God who wipes people out because He feels like it, you have entirely missed the lens of Jesus Christ.  For the life of Christ was in full submission to His Father’s will from day-one to day-last.  He never did His own thing, and what is more, all those acts of love were His Father’s thing for you.  That intense love for you is not only from Jesus but from the Father as well.  That means when people die in the OT, it was not a time for joy, but a time for GREAT sorrow.  If the embrace of sin had to be cleansed; you should know that it made God sorry His efforts to redeem were so soundly rejected.  It did not give Him glee.  Jesus was saddened at the hearts of the Sanhedrin who would rather have killed Him, than learn from Him.  Have you joined those Sanhedrin ranks some 2000 years after they fizzled out?

Or, are you ready to see the stupid in you, you call certainty of knowledge.  Are you ready to be taught, that is to be the perpetual student ever willing to give up an incorrect belief for the right one as Jesus reveals them to you?  Pay no attention to the vehicle for The Truth, only insure it is Jesus you follow, even if the messenger is flawed or not what you would expect, or through a means you otherwise never thought possible.  Or has your heart waxed gross, have you decided you have enough love for your lifetime and could not possibly need more.  Have you grown ambivalent to need, particularly the need of others you hardly know.  Have you closed your eyes to the new, believing the old will save you?  Have you shut off listening because you do not like the method or messenger the sound comes from, an imperfect vessel like yourself.  And we wonder why we need a journey, and why it takes so so long for us to learn to trust and fully surrender our own will.  Because what we “know” is likely the thing we need to relearn.  How desperately we need that connection to Jesus.

And the parables were not over yet …

 

 

Fields of Perfection [part one] ...

So many of us look for gratification in an instant, or at least, I do.  It’s easy to do so because in some senses our brains are wired that way.  Take the first bite of food when meals have been long delayed and in that first bite you will find a chemical release in the brain to the effect of “aaah”.  Its better if the food is something we like, but satisfying a hunger is not something that takes an inordinate amount of time, just sit, eat, and in 30-45 minutes (on the high side), you go from hungry to satisfied.  If you chose healthy foods, your body will continue to thank you for several hours, and if your choices are consistent in healthy foods, your body will thank you with a richer life generally over a longer span.  But you can’t feel that same gratification of health and long life in a moment.  That takes time and history to demonstrate.

Relationships provide a similar gratification model.  Courtship, when romance is new, provides those immediate chemical lifts in the brain.  A body just feels good in the presence of that one we seek, and long to pour out our affection upon.  Intimacy may be the height of that expression, but even simple human contact can go a long way in the brain in satisfying our need to love and be loved in return.  Like healthy choices in our diets, healthy choices in our relationships can yield a level of satisfaction and comfort in our entire lives the depth and breadth of which we cannot contain in just a few moments in time.  Looking back over years however, into relationships founded in Jesus, intimacy will have grown, unity will have grown, even similarity in tastes and interests will have grown (never identical, but enriched from the embrace of tolerance and a desire to please).  None of the real benefits of a loving relationships can be captured completely in any one moment.  Instead moments accumulate, and aggregate over time.  The present and the end being ever better than yesterday ever could, defying imagination.

But still we search out the gratification that happens in the moment.  Even rising from a night’s deep sleep has a satisfying appeal.  And on occasion, when any gratification is not fast enough, we tend to make worse choices to try to compensate for the delay we are reluctant to wait out.  I want the good health, and I know my life will be better with it, but a string of donuts just seems to have my name on them.  For me, this “Dunkin Donuts” phenomenon is not isolated just to my choices in diet.  The same, get rich-quick-ideas, begin to infect my notions of spiritual growth.  In fact, I wonder who ever coined the phrase “spiritual growth”, isn’t it possible to just get there, and be there, and not have to wait?  I mean, look at what happens in the resurrection of the righteous; everything is transformed in the “twinkling of an eye”.  Whatever work that has not been completed in us by then, will be completed in a moment.  So why is that moment delayed in the here and now?  Why do we have to endure “journey”, instead of just attain immediate “arrival”?

Matthew wrote about this rather unpleasant notion of delays in his gospel in chapter thirteen.  Don’t get me wrong, the fact that there is journey gives us hope.  Being stuck in our sins, just as we are today, would be crushing.  But being freed from them quickly is a hard idea to let pass-by without human regret.  Strangely, these concepts emerge from the lips of Jesus Himself, through the mechanism of parables.  And while a parable is obviously not a direct examination of facts, the themes and concepts reveal a truth that only stories do.  And when every parable in a series are based on the same commonality, the same underlying theme, it is even more difficult to ignore, or press for some other way that “we” might prefer, but the Savior clearly does not.  The context for the preaching begins picking up in verse 1 saying … “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. [verse 2] And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. [verse 3] And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;”

The same day Matthew talks about is a continuation of the preaching Jesus has been doing, likely in the home of Peter, where Jesus’ mother, brother, and sister were unable to gain access to Him because of how packed the crowd size was.  It looks as though crowds continue to grow there, so Jesus decides to go down to the shores of the Sea where there might be better acoustics and more room for such a great crowd.  But even here the people continue to press in upon Him, to the point where it is getting impractical to preach even here.  The solution presents itself in the form of a small boat which Jesus gets in and takes just a little way offshore.  Jesus is then able to preach there while the people make themselves comfortable on the beaches, and up the nearby hills around the water, somehow able to hear every word He utters.  Jesus opens with a parable (or targeted story) about a farmer.  Any story about a farmer does not present a get-rich-quick model, the farming model is anything but.  And so this story stays in the lane of a journey, not an instant arrival.

Jesus continues in verse 4 saying … “And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:”  The notion of planting seeds itself creates an entire series of events that will need to follow in order for a harvest to be gained at the end of what is clearly a process.  No farmer goes out, plants a seed in the morning, and harvests an orange tree in the afternoon, or wheat, or any other kind of fruit, vegetable, or nut we eat from plants planted in the morning.  It is going to take time from seed to harvest, that timing fact is indisputable.  Thus this parable relies upon a model of journey, not instant arrival.  The other ideas of this story are worth examination.  This farmer would appear to be a bit careless to us.  Instead of first plowing only a dedicated place in the earth, and only there planting His seed, He throws it nearly everywhere He goes.  And so this story is about how the earth and conditions react to having seed thrown there, not about a restrictive Farmer who only plants in a dedicated place.

Before we continue with the story it might be worth getting the explanation in real time (for those of us who hate waiting) 😊.  Jesus offers that interpretation Himself beginning in verse 18 saying … “Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. [verse 19] When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.”  The Word of God is the seed.  The Farmer is Jesus.  The folks who hear it are us, the people of the world, and of the church.  And as sad as it is to say, even when Jesus, through the means of the Holy Spirit, brings to us His word, we sometimes are reluctant to hear His word, delivered His way.  Instead we maintain our own ideas about what His Word says.  We look at the same words, and continue to hold to an entirely different interpretation than the lens of the Love of God might reveal to us.  This stubborn internal interpretation stands against what Jesus says, and what Jesus means.  It might even have the complete support of the church, as it did in the days of Christ Himself.  It is entirely possible “the church”, that is “any” church could be wrong about what Jesus is trying to tell them.

And in this error is found a foothold for the devil to use this stubborn point-of-view as leverage to bring down the rest of our faith, until no faith remains.  He only needs on stubborn point-of-view we refuse to yield, whether that is church doctrine, or our own stubborn ego that will not let go to the leadership of Jesus trying to get us His message, His way, into our stubborn hearts.  To refuse to be led is to open this door wide open.  The phenomenon is no different than what you have in your real life every day.  You watch CNN or FOX news, and you must make a choice what to believe.  The same events are portrayed widely differently, from widely different perspectives, and you must choose which one you believe.  That choice is often governed by your point-of-view long before you turn on the television itself.  You watch the one that already fits your point-of-view, and perhaps only consider changing the channel when the story or presentation does not.  You likely have some friend which you can listen to, and believe implicitly.  Others you listen to, but take nearly every word with a grain of salt.  This comes from experience that has likely taught you (perhaps the hard way), who you can believe, and who you should validate highly before you do so.

Understand here though, it is not just the fact that you have an incorrect point-of-view that leads to the trouble of a lack of harvest.  It is that you refuse to be led.  It is that you refuse to hear what Jesus says, clinging rather to what you want to believe, or what your church tells you to believe.  What Love has to say, what Truth has to say, what the Holy Spirit is prompting you to reconsider; are all things you discard in favor of the certainty of your point-of-view.  You lack trust in Jesus to perhaps know better than you, or the church, or anyone else might “know”.  And in this condition, the devil attacks.  You are not just left alone, you are under attack by satanic forces.  And with this improper understanding you leave yourself open to a chain of events, which eventually deny a loving God, and embrace the “power” of self-reliance and self-love.  This attack is relentless and spoils what otherwise might have been a full harvest based on Trust in the Truth, and the Love of God.

Let us return to the parable in verse 5 saying … “Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: [verse 6] And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”  Yikes, this sound like me, and folks like me, who look for the quick fix, instead of the recognition of the journey itself.  The interpretation is found in verse 20 saying … “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; [verse 21] Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”  Yup, looks like I was right.  We have moved from an audience of folks outside of the church to an audience of folks inside the church (in case that was not clear).  This section of the story talks about people who hear the word, understand it, and embrace it, at least at first.

The Love of God has a very strong initial appeal to anyone who hears it.  It is a very strong lure, as only love can truly be.  So in this case, that love is embraced with joy.  Folks in the church might remember when the gospel of Jesus saving them caused joy within them.  But for Jesus to save you, you must allow Him to save you, just like you did when you first heard the word.  What happens here is not a day-one problem, it is a day-two problem.  You hear the word and then after the feelings subside, it comes down to “now what”?  Forgiveness has been assured so you have that.  Salvation has been promised so you believe you should have that.  But 2 months after a baptism, or first acceptance of Jesus, comes the nagging question “now what”?  And to answer that question, your friends, family, and the church have an entire list of things for you to do to fill it that are missing one critical ingredient. 

You are told to pray more, read more, study the word more, attend church more, and perhaps even take a leadership position in the church ministries area somewhere.  This list is not a bad one.  This like might have secondary benefits for you and people you serve.  But at its heart, this list is a list, a set of activities designed to distract your brain from asking the critical question “now what”?  The entire list is designed to bring you closer to God, but that closeness is based on what you do, what actions you take.  Then there is the experimental learners list.  These are the folks who do and recommend to you, that you do what Jesus did.  Instead of reading and praying and being largely alone, or relying upon group think, they ask you to do what Jesus did with others.  Get out there and feed the homeless, shelter those in need, reach out to the poor, the sick, and the ones in prison.  Don’t just focus on kids in the church, reach out to kids on the street, or kids who have little to eat.

Another excellent set of recommendations that constitute nothing more than another list.  And frankly both lists are awesome sounding lists of distraction designed to keep you from asking the nagging question “now what”?  The essential problem here is that by following both lists, you “do” the work of getting closer to Jesus in your own hands, for your own reasons.  You are not being led, you are leading.  You are busy in doing this, perhaps too busy to hear a still small voice.  “Who” you are has not changed.  Not at all.  You may find pleasure, and spiritual “joy” in following the lists, or you may just be getting tired of following them.  The basic problem there is that you are “doing” your salvation, instead of having Jesus “be” your salvation.  Any changes in you, are likely coming from what “you” do, and therefore are short lived.  You are not truly trusting Jesus to save you, because you are not submitting first and asking Him what He wants.  Being led, is entirely different than presuming leadership, or taking action blindly.

When Jesus drives your car, you will go to places you did not imagine.  Not because they were on a list, but because that is where Jesus wants you to be.  Like Jonah, you may highly prefer NOT to go.  Like Saul, you may believe you are not worthy of being there and are the “smallest” of your church or faith.  But where Jesus brings you is where He wants you to be.  Who you encounter then, becomes who He wants you to reach out to.  That may just be an old nemesis at work, or a long-estranged family member, or worse one of those “sinner” people who exist outside of the church and commit plain and open sins on purpose with no regard for the law or obedience or any other list.  But if you submit, submit your desires, and submit your thinking, you will grow and have a testimony only you can actually have.  Submission leads to transformation, and a harmony with how God loves.  Without that in you first, all the actions are fruitless, or highly dwarfed compared to what they could be.  Actions must begin with submission, and come from being led, not forever laying out your own pathway.

But folks who follow the distracted list method eventually wind up in the same place … offended.  They are not ashamed of following Jesus, they are irked that they do not get enough credit for what they do.  A great minister should be a GREAT minister, recognized by his congress and congregation for what he does.  A great worker for the poor should be honored for his work, and cheered on by his peers.  Humble service is only humble when other people are watching, and great works for those in need are only great if they are cataloged somewhere.  When disputes over doctrine arise, churches split because the ego of believers would rather split than find resolution, common ground, or failing that, tolerance.  Instead the ego of these believers leads them to equate “the Word of the Lord”, with the position they hold in their minds, the other guys clearly wrong, and the survival of the faith dependent upon separation with those others, who are now clearly wicked people.  They offend us with their presence.  We must depart from them immediately.

Whether conservative or liberal in positions and inclinations, the result of following the list-based method of distracting yourself from the nagging question “now what?” leads to the same result … offended.  The joy of first hearing that Jesus would save you, is lost in trying to figure out what to “do” next, instead of figuring out how to “submit” next and let Jesus drive the car completely.  Instead of learning to follow His leadership we assert ourselves believing “we” must do something.  And the still small voice is over-shouted.  And the ones who truly need us never find us, because we never go there, preferring to stay out of Nineveh, leading a quiet happy life in the hills of Judea, never having encountered a whale let alone be saved from its belly by a force far greater than ourselves.  And the potential Jonah becomes an influential member of the Sanhedrin, “doing” what he believes is right, while the people of an entire city perish for lack of him following God and reaching out to the broken when called.  For who could hear the call, we were talking too loud already.  And besides those Ninevites offend me, with all their wicked ways, and unrepentant attitude about it.  This section of the parable was targeted at those in the church.

Returning to the parable we pick up in verse 7 saying … “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:”  The usual thought here is that the company we keep acted as the devils agents in our demise but hold that thought.  Jesus interprets in verse 22 saying … “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”  Aaarrgh!  American idealism exposed for what it is in two quick verses, a method of finding your way out of harvest.  Again the audience is inside the church, those who did hear the word, but were pragmatists.  The pragmatic believer thinks the wealth of his church depends upon him, upon his gifts of tithe and offering.  The pragmatic believer thinks his family should be safe and sound first, before charity can truly begin.  The pragmatic believer accepts the ideas of the ”blessings” of wealth, not of destitute dependence.  And so is deceived by riches.

How many of us have prayed to “win the lottery, so that we can fund various ministries in need”.  How many of us have prayed for that job, that promotion, that bonus, so we can pay off our debts and keep our family secure.  And how many of us have been willing to work to get there, skip the vacations, work the excessively long hours, miss meals, miss kid’s events, be more or less an absent parent in favor of providing bread on the table and a roof over the head.  How many families use day care, because both parents work, because “they have no choice”.  How many of those same families skip tithe or offerings all together because there is “no” increase, too much debt, and are barely scraping by at the moment.  We shun charity because of our pride.  We buy things that perpetually keep us in debt.  And the deceitfulness of riches is something we consider a message for somebody else.  After all, we are in the church, and we are only being pragmatic, relying upon “doing our best” and waiting for the Lord to “do His part”.

But that is not how salvation works.  That is not how total trust in Jesus works.  It is how we try to hold on to control, keep our faith in ourselves and what we “can do” not in the nebulous promises of some old book 4000 years in the making.  Faith, in the world of pragmatism, is the last straw, the last option, after all other actions have already been exhausted.  It is never the first thing, the first option, only the last.  And deceitfulness robs us of what could have otherwise been real blessing and real salvation and real change in us.

Jesus concludes the story of this particular parable beginning in verse 8 saying … “But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. [verse 9] Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  He then interprets in verse 23 saying … “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”  The journey is not the same for everyone.  The potential of every life is not the same.  But the theme is.  The results are similar even if the path taken, and the end result differ in expression.  Hearing the word is the beginning.  Understanding it, that is letting it change “who” you are.  This is understanding not based in lists of activities, but in full submission and surrender to Jesus, for Jesus to do ALL the work of saving you and perfecting you.  Throw the lists out the window and let Jesus decide what today will bring, and only today.  Because today is all you get.

And what happens to your life?  What is the answer to “now what?”  It is submit, and open your eyes.  Some will have thirty, but not just thirty people they influence towards the kingdom of heaven, not just thirty but thirtyfold.  Thirty times some number.  Or sixty times some number.  Or a hundred times some number.  Maybe the base number is only you, but maybe they multiply against each other – thirty times sixty times one hundred.  Or maybe they multiply annually, each year taking 30 times 60 times 100, and multiplying that sum again each year.  The point is not the size of the harvest, it is that there will be one.  The reason why giving you instant attainment is not the right idea, is that you would miss the harvest every year and lose the testimony that comes from growth.  The failures may not be your proudest moments, but the redemption from those failures point others to “how” to connect to Jesus to see perfection begin in them as well.  Learning to trust, instead of do, takes time.

And other people are impacted and affected along the way.  To lose your own journey is to lose your opportunity to accompany others in theirs.  The point of redemption is not just about you, it is about the entire world.  Instant attainment of perfection leaves you with too big a mystery to explain, and too little time to learn to truly trust in Jesus to save what ONLY Jesus can save, namely you.  What we miss, will be completed at the end of all things.  But what we might impact before then could be substantial.  Not because it was a line item on a list of things meant for you to do to keep you focused on the fact you were doing something.  But because what you do, is what He leads you to do.  It will not always go perfectly.  You will make mistakes.  But you will learn from them.  And when your motives come from a harmony with God, through a submission to Jesus, then “who” you are led to, will make all the difference in the world.

I pray we have the surrender to be “Jonah”, and not just read his story.  I pray we have the submission to be “Daniel” or make a different ending for “Saul” should the temptation of power and wealth ever come our way.  Instead of doing what we think is right, and believing we have certainty in His word – let us be led to what He thinks is right, and hear His Word the way His Love shows us, through a lens of Jesus Christ, and through a still small Voice, that we do not ignore, or over-shout with our arrogance and pride.  Even when our beliefs are grounded in the church and its traditions, there is room to be wrong, and room to hear Him over the noise.  And these thematic parables had only just begun …

 

Blood by Choice ...

You can’t pick your family … or can you?  Blood relations are supposed to be the strongest on earth.  But this is a myth quickly undone by simple logic.  Your parents chose each other.  No one compelled them (ideally), and no one dictates they stay together, or crumble apart.  It was and remains (ideally) a choice of two people to become one and remain that way.  Your parents are not related to each other by blood relation, unless that blood relation is quite distant.  Yet the bond a husband can have with his wife, and she with him, is a bond capable of being stronger than titanium dipped in Jesus more permanent than any other on earth; or as flimsy as the tissue paper of self-will that demonstration will show.  But the core of a family is at its core, a choice to love.  And where perhaps our hearts are still fickle in the choice of our partner for life, they seem less so in our choice of son, daughter, or parent.

Adoption is yet another choice to make blood, what inheritance failed to create.  Adoption does not diminish the love it states, it perhaps makes it greater.  It is a greater commitment.  Taking in a child, who is not blood, and make that child part of a family, is a statement about how deep the choice to love can truly be.  Even in the face of divorced couples, children remain children, adopted or not.  The love shown to them, the care taken of them, does not diminish because it began with a choice, it deepens because of it.  And over time, when the child’s curiosity about biological parents emerges, love for adopted parents remains a choice in nearly every life.  At the root of the bond between a parent and a child, is a choice to love, whether by inheritance or by fortune.  The choice begins the journey, the choice remains throughout the journey.

These choices do not only reveal themselves in marriage and in adoption of any form.  They can emerge in the relationships we form with our closest friends over time.  Because the choice to love is by definition a choice; other close relationships can form where brothers of no relation think of themselves as brothers in any case.  It may be a different kind of love, but it is a love nonetheless.  Situations where friends of the family become part of the family are common, blurring the definitions of family altogether; and frankly emulating more what heaven will ultimately be like.  Agape love is no less a love than any other kind of it.  And the love Jesus, The Father, and The Holy Spirit have for you is the pinnacle of what love can be defined as.  Not a romantic love, but a love so deep, the God of the Universe would die to save only you if that is what it took.  In every situation, love remains a choice.

This is a lesson the sons of Abraham were reluctant to learn in the time of Jesus, and perhaps we are today as well.  Jews in the time of Christ believed that bloodline led to salvation.  Christians in our day believe that tradition, church, and religion do the same.  Jews in the time of Christ were proud to call Abraham their father.  Christians in our day are proud to look back at the patriarchs of our faith and claim association with them over common beliefs.  But the average, or particular, or singular Jew in the Sanhedrin at the time of Jesus did not have the exact faith of Abraham.  It is why Abraham is remembered, and the average Jew is not.  It is the same with you and I.  Neither of us were pinning the list of church reforms on the door, knowing it was likely insuring our own death sentences today.  We like to look back at reformers like Luther, but we do not face Luther’s danger in the face of death in our world.  Strange though, the propensity to look backwards for assurance that salvation is ours, when all along, Jesus is right in front of us and how seldom we seem to look there.

But Jesus has different ideas about family, than perhaps the tradition Jew did in His day, or the typical Christian does in ours.  Matthew wrote of this in his gospel in chapter twelve picking up in verse 46 saying … “While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. [verse 47] Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.”  This is a simple situation.  Jesus is preaching, likely from inside Peter’s house in Capernaum.  Likely the crowds are thick there, inside and outside the house.  It makes it difficult for anyone to get inside the house.  You will recall the men who took the roof apart to get their friend close to Jesus for healing.  This is likely a standing room only crowd, and every single listener is intent to hear the word of God from the mouth of God Himself.

But despite this, the family of Jesus wanted to see Him.  Perhaps they had important news, perhaps they only wanted to socialize.  It did not matter.  They were unable to get anywhere near close enough to Jesus to accomplish what they had in mind.  The reason; too many other people were so desperate to hear what salvation was, and how it comes.  In spite of this, His family persisted.  They get a messenger to get the news to Jesus so He can remedy the situation.  Jesus responds in verse 48 saying … “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? [verse 49] And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! [verse 50] For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Much to unpack here.  Jesus begins by questioning the messenger with a very strange question.  “Who” is His mother, and His siblings?  The answer should have been obvious.  But even in this question is an implication that “blood” does not grant one special privilege.  Beyond this, is a subtle message to our Catholic friends who so venerate Mary.  Jesus places His mother Mary in the same category as He does everyone else, nothing more special about her.  And Jesus is clear that He has siblings.  As Jesus had to be first born (according to Jewish tradition), having further brothers and sisters, makes Mary a normal wife, not a virgin for the length of her life.  But even the mothers who read this text cringe with the idea that their child might look at them with the same eyes He looks at the entire rest of the world.

Next, the ideas of Family are radically expanded in the view of Jesus.  Everyone who shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven … becomes the family of Jesus Christ.  Jesus does not just say, every Jew by birth.  Nor does He say, every Christian who claims to follow Jesus.  He states everyone who like Himself defers His own will, to do the will of the Father which is in heaven, becomes His idea of family.  Being Jewish by birth, or being Christian by faith, does not make you in harmony with the Father God.  It gives you a good start, but is nowhere near enough to finish the job.  For that you need a deference of your will, and an embrace of His will.  That only happens as you surrender the core of who you are to Jesus, so that He can bring you into harmony with God.  Doing what you think is right, is not enough.  Jews did that.  Christians still do.  And it is not enough.  The blood relatives of Jesus were doing what they thought was right, at the moment, and were going to be disappointed.  What Mary and the siblings of Jesus were thinking was the right thing to do, was not, at least not right then.  More important things were going on.  The salvation of others was going on.  On that scale, everyone can wait.

While Jesus has only One Father, He is quite liberal with titling anyone else who submits to the will of His Father in heaven as being “brother, sister, or mother”.  Here again His mother is not a title He makes sacrosanct above all others.  She is only another member of His family.  Here is where the ideas of family get radically expanded in the eye of Jesus.  In heaven, outside of the spousal relationship Jesus created at Eden, everyone else we encounter will be our family – by choice.  We will choose to love them as we love our siblings or parents or children, because we will choose to love them that much.  I can entrust my children with you in heaven, because I know you will love them as much as I do.  You can entrust your children with me, for the same reason.  I will not covet your wife, as you will not covet mine, not just because the Law forbids it, but because we love each other that much.

You will note Jesus does not include husband or wife in His list of family members.  His “bride” is the church, as He loves it that much.  The church is special to Him and unique, and singular, even though it is made up of many of us who believe.  At the core of all of this remains a choice to love.  At the core of love itself is a definition that includes choice, or it can be no real love at all.  We were not created as robots for this very reason.  God is love.  God chooses to love.  We were created in the image of God.  We are capable of love, or not.  We must choose to love God, or not.  Our love for God cannot be forced and He will never force us to love anything or anyone.  We make a choice to do that.  This is how God wants it.  He reveals His love to us, long before He ever asks for ours in return.  There is every reason for us to love God, and only one not to.  Selfishness is the enemy of loving God.  It turns out you can only love yourself or God, not both. 

Many Christians believe that loving one’s self is healthy, and must be done before they are capable of loving others.  This is a lie, evidenced by the very life of Christ Himself.  Jesus did nothing to love Himself, and everything to demonstrate love for us.  Jesus never took vacation.  Jesus never ate all the food first, He gave everyone else the food first, served everyone else, and only then would consider eating.  Talk about not being strong enough.  But Jesus got His strength from doing the will of His Father, which like Him, was to love everyone else before anything resembling self-love.  Not a single evidence in scripture of self-love, or using His power to help Himself, not once.  And somehow, we think it is different for us?  It’s not.  The choice we make to love, is a choice we make to love someone else.  When instead we choose to love ourselves, divorces ensue, families dissolve, everything that ever really mattered is sacrificed on an altar of pleasing self that has no end to it. 

Family bonds are as strong as the depth of our surrender of will to Jesus Christ.  Choices to love that stem from this kind of surrender to Jesus are like titanium dipped in diamonds.  The choice to love self instead, can form bonds only as strong as tissue paper waiting the next form of self-gratification.  As for me, I prefer the permanence Jesus can offer, and the fulfillment only Jesus can bring; than the mess of things I know I make, and history is quick to reveal …