Do We Have A Heart For Making God’s Thoughts Of Justice Our Own?
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday I mentioned that the parables of the patched cloth and the wineskins were sandwiched in between two similar confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees. Today’s lectionary selection has the other side of the sandwich and indeed, no joking it is related to bread…Holy Bread. And it relates to the challenge of following laws that are no longer helpful and moving the cultural needle toward healthier community. In the scripture, we see the importance of the character of David and why God choose him to be King. We see a new way being formed, and it is instructive for us in understanding the purpose of the law of love being substituted for the 613 laws that put a hedge around behavior. You see, Jesus uses this to teach us something very important about subtracting to add. In the story of David, Jesus describes a discerning of the law related to David’s role and to his relationship with God and with people. As David guides his hungry troops to eat the Bread of the Presence in the Temple he realizes it is against the law but also that it is God’s will for him to eat. And that prompts today’s reflection about the purpose of laws in our church and society and our response to them. Maybe we cannot all be Rosa Parks. But, Do We Have A Heart For Making God’s Thoughts Of Justice Our Own?
Scripture: For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:10-20 (NRSV)
One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
Mark 2:23-28 (NRSV)
Message: We all like compliments and especially regarding the spiritual fruit we produce. Mark Twain said that he could live on a good compliment for two weeks with nothing else to eat. He was not a a holy man, but I think he was on to something. As a Christian, I can think of no higher compliment than to be described as a man or woman with a heart after God’s heart to produce fruit for the Kingdom, and when that compliment comes from God Himself, we had better take notice. If you read the Bible on a regular basis one of the things you may start to notice is that it rarely flatters its characters. It tells us the complete truth, good and bad, about everyone we meet. This is one of the reasons that it is Holy, for it rarely shows us in a good light but instead a true and fair light. And because of this it gives us a wonderful glimpse into the grace and mercy of God and yes, difficult though it is, even the thoughts of God. Now today’s scripture touches on one of those men that exemplifies the desire of making God’s thoughts his own thoughts and it gives us some insight into how to think about all the legalistic limitations that confront our existence and the reality that they can stunt our spiritual growth. Here what appears less is amazingly more. The concept of the heart I am writing about this morning is exemplified in the person of David for he overcame the challenge of the laws and instead sought a heart for God that allowed him to open his mind to the thoughts of God. Now more has been written about David than about any other biblical character. David has sixty-six chapters dedicated to him, not including fifty-nine references in the New Testament. He is important to today’s devotional because David is dedicated to God in every aspect of his very earthly life but still breaks the law. Yes, he had God’s spirit working powerfully in and through him, but he was still capable of the most glaring sins, both public and private sins, as well as private sins that went public. He was capable of tremendous grace, huge faith, deep emotions, incredible courage and immense financial generosity. But he was also subject to deep depression, fits of rage, tremendous lust, lying, and deceiving. Thankfully God chooses him as King anyway, for God chooses nobodies and makes them into somebodies. And thankfully God takes all the time necessary to develop people after His own heart. So, embrace the life-long process realizing there are some laws we were meant to break. Being perfect is only found in a relationship with God. Friends, God is still looking for in men and women whose heart is fully engaged in following Jesus. This is the only way to true obedience.
Pray we are honest. Pray we produce fruit. Pray we repent by directing our heart to God. Pray we are Spirit-filled. Pray we spend time alone with God. Pray we are obedient in small things so we might be prepared to be used by God for divine purposes. Pray we realize that God’s laws were made for humans not humans for the law. Pray we develop spiritual integrity. Pray we realize that in our fighting, praying, loving and sinning God is still at work molding us. Pray we better understand each day what God is looking for in our behavior. Pray we are a people that have a heart for God’s heart. Pray our individual and collective heart is a home for God. Pray when things get tough that we reassure our heart to trust God. Pray we are confident of God’s presence in us. Pray we accept God as an anchor for our souls. Pray we realize that it is a long, long journey and we will get hungry on the way. Pray therefor we eat scripture daily so we might learn the thoughts of God and make them our own. Pray we find in them encouragement from God to do the right thing…. the thing that produces fruit for the Kingdom.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 