Asides

April 24
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Uncategorized Aside

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:20-21, NIV)

What may be regarded by the common person as foolishness is tactical brilliance in the eyes of God.

Today’s scripture is a blueprint for how the Christian disciple is to engage his or her adversary.  The benefit of this counterintuitive approach is two-fold: (1) It confounds the enemy beyond words, and; (2) It assures the positive notice of our heavenly father.

To act in this way toward our enemies requires faith in God, and courage. Do not be ashamed or afraid to stand firm and fast wherever it is that God has directed.  – Luther

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April 23
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Uncategorized Aside

“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.’” (Luke 17:20-21, NIV)

Resist the urge to make the kingdom of God real “out there” before it has become real “in here.”

In today’s scripture reading, Jesus tells us that His kingdom is personal, not geographical; spiritual, not temporal; hidden from natural observation, yet growing by leaps and bounds within the life yielded to Him.

As much as some of us might want to “Christianize” (or “spiritualize”) the law, the government, the marketplace, the neighborhood, and the school — as the Pharisees desired to do in Jesus’ day; it always becomes a fool’s errand when such changes are imposed from outside. Change that is positive, lasting, spiritual, and liberating always begins within an individual — and manifests itself in the choices that that individual makes.

Is God’s rule (kingdom) growing within you?  – Luther

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April 22
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“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?   Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'” (Luke 17:7-10, NIV)

Today’s scripture reminds every disciple of Jesus of two critical aspects of our discipleship: (1) We are servants, and (2) our service in no way obligates God. 

As servants, the end of one kind of service is the beginning of another service.  Furthermore, as noted by the bible commentator Matthew Henry (1662-1714): “Whatever we do in the service of Christ, we must be very humble, and not imagine that we can merit any favour at his hand, or claim it as a debt. . .” 

Such ideas are both peculiar and anachronistic to a society that esteems the quid pro quo; but as citizens of the kingdom of Heaven, we esteem and emulate our Master who, “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)  Service is our duty.  To serve is to be like Christ.    – Luther

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