Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the relationship of the Ten Commandments and the Parables of Jesus and the first thing that comes to my mind is that they are the words of the God who has redeemed us. We tend to overlook the relationship of the law of God to the grace of God. Thankfully sometimes they merge to guide us into a relationship with God and discover that the keeping of the law is not the means of salvation but a response to the gift of God of our salvation. Interestingly, these moral commands and divine duties are summarized by Jesus as loving God and loving others. And so, this morning as the Tokyo Olympics Ceremony starts with new rules and races, I hope the Holy Spirit guides you to an answer that engages your heart.
So, Are You Being Cultivated To Grow Out Of A Stone Carved Law To A Fertile Love?
Scripture: Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Exodus 20:1-17 (NRSV)
“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13:18-23 (NRSV)
Message: Have you ever wondered why some seem to embrace God’s good news of salvation and others do not? It is not such a simple thing. Jesus used parables to talk about people’s varying receptivity to God’s word but equally important he described the nature of a God that sows seed everywhere for everybody. Jesus knew, as the Master Teacher, that people pay attention to stories with a heavenly meaning. They grip us. They grab our attention. Thankfully these earthly stories turn our attention to Jesus and to the power of love. There are seven parables in Matthew 13 and in today’s lectionary reading an interpretation. This specific parable allows us to imagine Jesus spotting a farmer sowing seed somewhere nearby and using this to illustrate His own ministry even while sowing the seed of God’s message in the flesh. The message is clear. The Word of God is good seed, but it only takes root in hearts prepared by the Holy Spirit. There are those who hear and do not understand. There are those who seem to receive the Word in an emotional moment, and with much celebration but fall away at the first sign of trouble. There are those whose life is affected by the cares of this world in a way that smothers the good work that God would do in their lives and finally there are those who hear and understand, trust, and obey. And this group brings forth fruit in their lives. What is interesting here is the diversity of the harvest. Some produce a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. This is a matter-of-fact observation, rather than a criticism. Maybe the real message this morning is that we are to be moved by love to do our utmost and our best, in proportion to the gifts and opportunities which the Lord has given us. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear. Whoever has life, let them love.
And So, before we teach a person to fish or learn ourselves, we need to trust enough to act. You see living truly productive spiritual lives takes not only the movement of the Spirit but some cultivation of our minds and hearts to receive the word of God as an offer to follow a different path. Sometimes we need a plan but then there are those times when one needs to just let go and see what happens as we move from doing what we want to do for God, to doing what God wants us to do. Things can look impossible or risky or even pointless but there are those times when our heart says why not try and see what happens when we trust and obey. Such is the journey with Jesus. Here the journey can be compared to farming, as in today’s scripture, or even fishing. In both we need practice and patience. But we need understanding of how things work together for good. Courage, joy, and faith must converge in the experience of Jesus. We must have courage to let go of our security of earthly things as if our life depended on it. We need a conversion of not just the head and heart but also the pocketbook. So, this morning we consider the relationship between courage and earthly security, and I must conclude that we need to give more than we think we can spare. We need to risk. We need to raise our standard of faith. We need to risk enough and love enough to be generous in giving and thereby release the energy and joy that is trapped. Friends we are to be alive in our living. Let us realize that risking to give brings more joy than hoarding. What we keep, we lose. What we give, we keep. A seed given and grown in good soil produces a harvest of abundance. We are to trust not just what we see but also what the Spirit allows us to believe. We are to forsake the cares of the world because Jesus has promised never to forsake us. We are to risk the love of God in a leap of faith and be blessed in the doing.
Pray we desire a relationship with God as much as God desires a relationship with us. Pray we do not restrict our spiritual lives to a specific time and place but cultivate our relationships with God throughout the week. Pray that as we seek God out that we would grow into the person God wants us to be. Pray we share the good news of God’s love with others. Pray we realize that the father of tomorrow is today. Pray we are faithful enough to labor under difficult circumstances. Pray that we trust God to bring the growth but also work to do our part to be productive. Pray we marvel at the amazing harvest of love in our lives. Pray we take the cure of obedience to the Spirit when our belief falters. Pray we risk enough to live. Pray we keep focused on the goal and take a leap of faith.
Pray we are productive but also finish the race as winners.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 