Blamed or Beloved?

John 9:1-2

As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples questioned Him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,  that he was born blind?”

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The disciples asked a very backwards question about the blind man, which revealed their theological confusion.

"Whose sin is to blame for this man being blind?"

If that reminds you of Job's foolish friends, then you are halfway to the point I'm about to make. It is very tempting for people, especially religious people, to jump to blame and sin when trying to understand just about anything. Plans fail, circumstances get hard, emotions get raw, relationships are strained, or some kind of suffering or disappointment arrives, and we are the first to say, "I told you so." I see my 5 year old do it all the time. And the rest of us have yet to grow out of it too.

Why do we do this?

Because we forget that we are image bearers before we are sinners.

Sin is not fundamental to man's design, though it has become part of our nature after the fall of Adam. It is vital that we see man's nature as both noble and fallen, not one without the other. Though we now sin and live under sin's curse, the image of God is very much alive in fallen man, however distorted. Likewise, we don't have to attribute every calamity to some sinful root cause, like the false accusations of Job's friends. When we accuse in this way, we look more like the devil than our dear Savior, though he has every right to accuse and every ability to do so accurately.

Yet, he didn't.

Observe the Pharisees and Jesus in their response to this man born blind.

The Pharisees are obsessed with keeping the Sabbath rules and using the fine print of religiosity to try and entrap the would-be king of the Jews. So, they accuse the one-blind man of lying. They can only see sin and will stop at nothing until there is a plausible target for blame. Even when they can observe the evidence of his healing, along with clear character witnesses and eye witnesses to the event, they choose to deny the truth.

They choose blindness.

Jesus, on the other hand, returns to be with the man when he learns that he's been kicked out of the synagogue. He goes to comfort and befriend the outcast, not accuse him. And he reveals his true identity to the man, who responds in faith and worships him - another clear statement of Christ's claim to be divine.

Jesus offers himself, the source of life and joy, rather than the blame we deserve. We are beloved rather than blamed.

Lord, search my heart and help me to never jump to blame but to have eyes to see how you are redeeming every hard and frustrating moment each day. Let me love those in my path today, with patience and intentionality. And remind me of the only One who can really do this, who alone can fill me and empower me to do likewise.

God and Money

Luke 16:10-13

"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." 

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You cannot serve God and money.

This statement seems simple enough. But world history and the story of our own hearts show there is much misunderstanding and distortion of this very topic. We are a species who regularly twist God's good gifts by either ignoring them or worshiping them - and both are sins. Money is no exception.

We see the worship and service of money on a daily basis. Workaholics, gluttons, Wall Street fat-cats, white collar criminals, blue collar criminals, street corner drug deals, endless commercialization - the greed of the human heart can be expressed in the overindulgence of luxurious mansions, in the bitter envy of the suburban "Jones's" next door, and even in the materially poor who may have become chronically dependent on substances and disability checks. Greed can be found in any human heart and we are all prone to it - prone to be consumed with what we want, rather than being grateful and generous with what we already have.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:10)

Here, Paul reminds us that money is a dangerous temptation that can lead us to all kinds of evil. Jesus makes the same point when he cautions that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He also tells the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in this chapter to drive home this point. Money can easily take the place of God, luring us away from faith in him with empty promises that claim to satisfy our deepest desires. Money is so dangerous because the fantasy of limitless buying power seems to offer so much and distracts us from the (actually) limitless promises of love and life offered in the gospel.

But there is an opposite sin related to money - ignoring and devaluing it completely. Notice that Paul condemned the love of money - not money itself. Just because something is falsely worshiped does not mean it is not really a good thing created by God to be used for his glory. Sex can be worshiped too, but we know it is a good gift if enjoyed in the way He designed it to be enjoyed. Money, at its core, can be seen as not just morally neutral but actually good - a tool that was invented to make human creativity more efficient and productive. The cultural mandate of Genesis 1-2 conveys that having dominion and wise stewardship over the earth's resources is integral to what it means to bear God's image. We image him when we build, when we create, and even when we use money in wise and generous ways.

The parable of the dishonest manager in this chapter speaks to both the sin of greed and the sin of ignoring money completely. Jesus clearly calls the manager dishonest, thus highlighting his greed and sinful behavior. But his shrewdness and cleverness is commended and given as an example of wise dealing with money. He's saying "If the greedy liars of the world can manage to turn a bad situation for a profit, how much more should the sons of God be able to make wise decisions with the resources and opportunities they are given?" He says we should be faithful with money in this life so that we can be entrusted with true riches. In other words, when we keep a budget, save for retirement, invest in a business, and give generously, we are using scarce resources creatively to image God and prove our wise faithfulness before God.

We must model his wisdom in dealing with the good gift of money, while simultaneously running from the temptation to put all our hope in riches which will never satisfy the longings that only God himself can fulfill. To fail in either extreme is to sin against our Maker. Mark Driscoll sums it up this way: "Wealth is a wonderful tool and a horrible god."

Fortunately, the gospel provides the solution to our problems with riches. At the cross, Jesus gave up the riches of heaven to make us rich in eternal blessings:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

We have been given limitless wealth in being given God's own Son! Paul says we now have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm (Eph. 1:3) and if he gave us his Son, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things! (Rom. 8:32). Likewise, we are now called to use our time and money wisely and generously, fleshing out this gospel of grace in our own lives day by day. By doing so, we show that our treasure is in heaven and others may turn from the false idol of money and find riches in Christ as well.

The Bitter Son Who Stayed

Luke 15:1, 2

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luke 15:25-32

"Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 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." But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, "Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!" And he said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found." 

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It was tempting to focus today's meditation on the parts of the chapter where forgiveness, compassion, and joy are so colorfully portrayed. The shepherd rejoicing over his lost sheep, the woman rejoicing over the valuable coin she had searched for so diligently, and the emotional reunion of a patient father with his wayward son - these parables tug at our heart strings and whispers to us that God has reached across the chasm of human evil and welcomed us home to be his children forever. Few chapters of the Bible receive more attention and rightly so.

But, if the opening and closing statements of this chapter are any indicator, Luke appears to be drawing our attention not only to the mercy of our Abba Father, but to the folly of ignoring and spurning this mercy. Jesus is telling us that there is something about this heartwarming narrative that many people will ignore and even despise.

Perhaps what is considered folly here is the idea that God has welcomed even those that we ourselves hate and distrust. Jesus dined with sinners and tax collectors - the outcasts of his day. This was outlandish to the religious leaders.

Perhaps it was the quickness of God's mercy that struck the leaders. Jesus paints the older son in the place of the Pharisees, and his reaction to the feast for his brother is anything but positive. This feast seemed completely unfair and seemed to ignore completely the gravity of the younger son's shameful lifestyle. He had humiliated his father! Now he is being celebrated? And so quickly? So soon after the shame had took place? This was scandalous!

Perhaps what seemed so foolish to the religious leaders was that the gravitational center of their worldview was so publicly discarded by Jesus and his love for sinners. The older brother's objections revolved around himself! Where's my party? How about a goat? I've served you and I get nothing!

Which shows so clearly who they were really serving, doesn't it? They were serving themselves, even with all their knowledge of Scripture and zealous practice of rituals. It was about justifying themselves in the eyes of their Father, rather than admitting their utter inability and running to him for the unfair grace that he so freely offers.

Unfair grace.

It is unfair for the younger son to get a feast! Ever fiber of our sense of justice agrees with the older son. But that's because we have gotten things so wrong, and missed who is really at the center.

My confession is that I've often acted like the older son, especially at my job at Humana. I get pretty competitive sometimes, and I am often tempted to wish for the misfortune of others, rather than celebrate when they succeed, even if they are promoted or recognized before me or more than me. This feeling of envy is the opposite of Christlike love, as Schaeffer pointed out in his True Spirituality:

"Natural desires have become coveting against a fellow creature, one of our kind, a fellow man, when we have a mentality that would give us secret satisfaction at his misfortune. If a man has something, and he loses it, do we have an inward pleasure?"

To covet, envy, and lust for my own superiority is the height of self-idolatry and is utterly offensive to God. The lesson for us is to apply the picture of the younger son to our immediate context, instead of living out the self-righteousness of the older son.

For me, that means working at Humana in such a way that seeks the betterment of others, that serves them without expectation of return or even recognition. It means being more shocked at my selfish interest than I am shocked at God's unfair grace. It means trusting that the feast will come and that my Father himself alone is reward enough for life's trials and tests.

It means joining the feast, for it is really all about Him.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Luke 10:30-37

Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'  Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"  He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."

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Interpreting parables is a notoriously difficult task. This parable in particular has been the victim of various allegorical interpretations over the course of church history which seek to find one-to-one correspondence for each and every character in the story. Such a method of interpretation requires far too much conjecture to be considered even close to the author's intent. Alternatively, there are four main principles for interpreting parables that should be employed, which I am here borrowing from Robert Stein's An Introduction to the Parables.

1. Seek the one main point of the parable.  Stein observes quite rightly that Jesus tended to reveal the main points of his parables in the opening and concluding remarks that frame the story. In this case, the story is framed by two questions (1) who is my neighbor? and (2) which of the three proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers? So, it is fair to say that the main point of the parable is related to the nature of neighborly love.

2. Seek to understand the historical context in which the parable was uttered. Since Jesus' parables are filled with gritty tangible imagery that is rooted in first century Palestinian culture, it is imperative that we try to gain some insight into what these images might have meant to their original audience. In this parable, the Samaritan was not the benevolent person we think of today, but rather a fiercely hated religious minority. As evidenced in Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well in John 4, Jews normally had no dealings with Samaritans. By seeing this context, we can grasp the shocking aspect of this parable, which makes us question our fundamental assumptions about what God requires of us in relation to our neighbor.

3. Seek to understand how the Evangelist interpreted the parable. This is somewhat easier to discern when there are multiple versions of a parable recorded in the synoptic Gospels. In this case, we can still put this parable in the context of the Evangelist's broader themes. Stein points out that this parable fits at least two of Luke's overall themes: (1) the love of God toward the outcasts of society, and (2) the call for the generous use of our possessions. The good Samaritan is exemplary in showing love for his religious and ethnic enemy and for showing great generosity without any expectation of reciprocity. These themes are fundamental to the uniquely unconditional grace of God displayed in the life and death of Jesus.

4. Seek what God is saying to us today through the parable. The immediate application for us today must be to include even our enemies in the definition of "neighbor" and act lovingly at every opportunity. Who is the Samaritan for us today and how specifically can we love like he did? I will conclude the way Stein does in his chapter on the matter:

"For whom should we especially prove to be a neighbor? Is it our cranky next-door neighbor? Is it the starving child in a far off land whose name we do not know? Is it the person next door who just lost a job? Or is it...? Until the parable speaks to us on this level, we shall never know what it is teaching."

You Must Be Good

Psalm 15:1-2

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walk blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart...

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The first impression I receive when reading this psalm is that the criteria for being accepted by a holy God is quite simply this: complete holiness. It is, after all, a "holy" hill that is described here as the desired destination of believers. What else should we expect as the criteria for entrance into the presence of God?

The problem is that we fall short of this list in Psalm 15 almost every day. We continually fail to do the following:

- speak truth in our hearts
- avoid slanderous speech
- avoid doing evil to our neighbor
- avoid taking up reproach against our friends
- despise vileness
- honor those who fear the LORD
- swear to our own hurt and never change
- avoid lending money at interest
- avoid taking bribes against the innocent.

The temptation here is to finish reading this psalm and immediately despair. We know that our salvation is by grace, but these verses seem to contradict that reality. Is it really fair to the text to say that this list of rules is no longer applicable for the Christian who lives under the forgiveness that was purchased at the cross?

Well, I believe this conundrum can be solved using two very simple (and fair) interpretive tools: proximity and parallel. First, it is easy to miss, but the proximity of this psalm to the one before must not be overlooked. As we have already discussed, Psalm 14 is very clear about man's depravity. If it's not clear enough for you by itself, see how Paul refers to it in Romans 3. This is clearly a final verdict on man's inability to please God on his own. Second, the parallels between the lists found in Psalm 15 and Romans 3 are too close to be coincidental. Romans 3:13-14 speaks of humanity's propensity for evil speech (parallel to Psalm 15:2-3). The psalm requires us to honor those who fear the LORD (v. 4), but Paul says that there is no fear of God in the eyes of any man, period (Romans 3:18). The psalm describes a man who swears to his own hurt (v. 4), while Romans describes humanity as continually hurting others (3:15-17).

Clearly, these passages create a paradox that, on one hand accords completely with reality as we know it, but on the other hand, must somehow be resolved by a divine intervention alone. Gladly, the gospel tells that story exactly. While our God is completely holy and welcomes to himself only those who match the list, our Savior was also completely holy and has made a way for us to be welcomed into the presence of God through his shed blood and imputed righteousness (see 2 Cor. 5:21).

I pray that we can face these realities with awe and gratitude for the God who is there and who has intervened on our behalf. Let us sing of these truths along with the hymn-writer:

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus' name
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.

Oil, Talents, and Mercy

Matthew 25:34-36

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

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There once was a master. He left his servants in charge of his possessions and told them what to do while he was gone. He came back one day to see what his servants had done with what he gave them. Some were not ready, so they were condemned. But, some had used what was given and had achieved incredible results.

This is a bare bones sketch of all three of these parables in Matthew 25. I don't think I've every considered the parallels between them, but right now it is almost too obvious - and quite helpful in interpreting them. Much like the parallel parables of Luke 15 (the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son), these three parables tell the story of the Last Judgment and the kinds of responses people will receive from Jesus upon his return. Some will be wise, having preserved enough oil or invested properly. But, some will be foolish, having been ill prepared and performing poorly with the blessings they were given.

What is most striking to me, if these parallels are fair to the original intent, is how the third parable sheds so much light on the first and second. Namely, that the mysterious oil and the cryptic reference to talents are both symbolic of the MERCY of God that we have received and of which we are now stewards.

We are stewards of the mercy of God.

He will return one day and he will ask each one of us how we have used the mercy we have been given. Did we use it as a license to sin, or a security blanket to insulate ourselves from the world? Or, did we share that mercy with those who are called the "least of these" - the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. I am challenged now to always look at the parable of the talents especially in reference to this parable that follows. I hope and pray that I will invest the blessing of mercy I have received so that it multiplies into blessings for all of the many needs in this world. Lord, help me to be that good and faithful servant.

"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."

The Heart of a Prophet

Matthew 23:37-39

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

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After flawlessly answering the well-designed questions and attacks of the religious leaders, Jesus turns the tables and lets loose one of the most scathing critiques of the scribes and Pharisees ever uttered in his teaching. He blasts their hypocrisy, their pride, their futility, their false logic, their poor priorities, their insincerity, their hidden uncleanness, and concludes by making them complicit in all the murders of the prophets sent from God. The blood of every martyr was called down upon their heads. This is Jesus the prophet.

Based on what I know about the Old Testament prophets, here are a couple of parallels I see between this passage and the classical prophecies that came before:

1. The Emotions of God. The earmark of a true prophet is that he feels and communicates the heartbeat of God Himself. He is a living, breathing channel for the words of God. And, in the cases of Hosea and Ezekiel, he communicates God's message through actions as well as words. The point is, that God feels very strongly concerning the rebellion and heart-break of human sin, and even more strongly concerning the people who perpetuate that sin when they should be living to correct it - in this case, the hypocrisy and duplicity of the scribes and Pharisees.

2. The Justice of God. Another common thread in classical prophecy is God's desire for justice. Whether it's the rolling stream of justice described by Amos, or the true fasting of justice described by Isaiah, this theme presents the motivating vision behind the prophets' words. God will not tolerate the destructive and oppressive consequences of human sinfulness. Rather: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

3. The Mercy of God. People often fail to see the mercy that is inherent to the harsh statements of the prophets (and of Jesus). We hear Jesus saying "Woe to you" and "Blind guides!" and "Hypocrites!" and we naturally cringe, wondering where is the gentle shepherd who we know from most paintings of Jesus. Well, in reality, these apparently judgmental statements communicate a message of mercy. Just the fact that God sent warnings, rather than cutting straight to annihilation, is evidence that we have received abundant mercy. Jesus' threatens the Pharisees with the fire of hell, but he does not send them to hell right then and there!

There is an implicit and explicit offer of forgiveness and new life, if they would hear the warning and turn from the injustice and hypocrisy. This is why almost all of the classical prophets (and this chapter in Matt. 23) conclude with a brief message of hope, a window into the heartbreak of God. Hosea revealed the heart of a father longing for his wayward son (11:1-9); Jonah revealed the heart of a king saddened by the hedonism of a pagan city (4:10-11); Zephaniah wraps up his fire and brimstone with a glance at the future, where God will rejoice and sing over the ones that he loves (3:17). Jesus is no different. He reveals here the heart of a mother desiring to gather her children to her bosom, but being rejected. And sadly, though the prophets offered hope in the midst of injustice, they were almost always rejected, beaten, and killed.

It would be no different for Jesus. Except, that his death would not be the end of the story.