“Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into Hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!” Luke 12:4-5 ESV1
We all fear something. That which we fear has the power to influence our characters and determine our destinies. Jesus emphasized this truth in the context of the next parable we will examine.
And Jesus said to him, “You go and do likewise.” Luke 10:37b ESV1
Quite a while ago, God laid upon my heart to pray for those He brought to my mind or pointed out to me as I went about my daily activities. The Lord made it clear to me that I should not only pray for the situations in which these people found themselves but for their salvations too. So, one day when I was traveling into the city nearest my home to run errands, I saw a man parked alongside the road with car trouble. I immediately began to pray that he would get the help he needed and that God would work through his situation and his day to bring him to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Then it occurred to me, that although I was faithful to God’s leading to pray for the salvation of man I had seen, if I were in an actual conversation with him, I might not even attempt to steer the discussion toward Christ. I felt like a hypocrite. As I prayed for forgiveness, I told God, “All I have ever really wanted out of life is to take care of what I have, love the people I have been given, enjoy the simple pleasures in life, be a breath of fresh air to everyone I meet, and to, hopefully, through those things, bring a smile to Your face. But if that is not enough, You are going to have to help me.”
Evidently, 1,900 people were invited to the wedding service of Prince William and Kate Middleton of England. It has been reported that one million people crowded the streets of London on April 23, 2011, hoping to get a peek at William and Kate’s wedding parade. Additionally, an astonishing two billion people watched this royal wedding on live television across several media outlets. It is estimated that the whole amazing affair, including flowers, rings, cakes, Kate’s dress, and security, cost a whopping $50 million. In terms of numbers and cost, the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018, was comparable. In fact, most royal weddings cost millions of dollars and are watched by people numbering in the multi-millions.
Considering the enormous expense and interest in royal weddings, one would imagine if any person was specifically invited to such a celebration, he/she would make every effort to attend. And if anyone who had been invited found that he/she must decline the royal invitation, it appears that any one of millions of others would have gladly taken his/her place. That is what makes the following story, told by Jesus, about those who snubbed their invitation to a royal wedding so astounding.
Revolutions are as old as history itself but no two such revolts are exactly the same. Some rebellions throughout human existence have brought about small changes; others have caused a complete overhaul of the previous administration. There is no set length of time it takes to complete a social revolution, nor is there a determiner of any one’s lasting influence. Though revolts often occur due to a perceived inadequacy or abuse of power, they actually happen for a variety of reasons. Many uprisings are violent, while other spirited protests are largely peaceful. But what all revolutions have in common is that they create some kind of change. A story, told by Jesus, illustrates the significant change which occurred as a result of the most fundamental revolt of all time.
You have undoubtedly heard it quoted and seen it in print as much as I have—2 Chronicles 7:14—“If My people … pray … I will hear from Heaven … and heal their land.” Believing in the power of this promise, many sincere Christians gather and call out to God pleading for His intervention in a variety of situations that affect them, those around them, and the countries in which they live. But when those prayers are seemingly unanswered, most of those who came together to pray, go back to their normal lives disillusioned with the power of prayer and doubting the goodness of Almighty God. The trouble is, whether by intention or merely through emphasis, we have reduced the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 to the words above. There is a whole lot more to that verse than we usually stress or remember. The following parable which Jesus told to the sincerely religious who questioned Him reveals that which they, and we, so often overlook.
I have spent the majority of my adult life working as a homemaker or holding volunteer positions. That means caring for my family and creating a peaceful sanctuary in my home has consumed much of my time. But I have had the privilege of using the remainder of my time to participate in a variety of activities that have had eternal and life-changing effects. But it has also meant that I haven’t received a paycheck.
Once, in the presence of my children, when I was sharing what I would do if I had some money I could call my own, my son responded, “Take your goat and have a party!” What he meant was, “Dad has adequate resources. In the eyes of God and the law, you two are one; what is his, is yours. He loves you, and he appreciates the work you do to contribute to the family and the community. I am sure he would be more than agreeable for you to spend some of the money he has made on that.” My son was serious; he didn’t mean to be funny, but we all burst out laughing.
“Take your goat and have a party” has since become a family saying. Whenever anyone in our home complains about a perceived lack in the presence of actual abundance, he or she will hear, “Take your goat and have a party!” We all know who came up with the saying, but the idea didn’t originate with my son. He got the idea from the following parable of Jesus.
One February day in the late 1980s over a bucket of chicken, my then-boyfriend got down on one knee, pulled a ring box out of his pocket, opened it, and asked me to be his wife. After my initial shock, I said, “Yes.” We were still in college but we planned on getting married as soon as we both graduated. We were so much in love and spent as much time together as possible as we looked with excitement to the future.
One day, shortly after I accepted his proposal and the sparkling new engagement ring, my fiancé and I went together—probably hand in hand—to the campus gym to get some exercise. When I changed into my workout attire, I slipped my brand new, precious piece of jewelry, which represented to me all that love and hope had to offer, into the pocket of my blue jeans for safekeeping.
After exercising, I decided not to change back into my street clothes. Instead, I planned to shower and put on fresh clothes at home. So, I picked up the clothing I had been wearing before I worked out and my fiancé and I walked toward his apartment talking and laughing as we went. At his door, we intended to part ways and each go on with the day in our separate ways. It was then that I remembered my engagement ring.
I expected to put the ring on my finger and admire it as I walked to my car. But when I reached into the pocket of my jeans, my ring was not there! I had lost it! My husband-to-be had spent all he had saved for several months, working many hours of overtime, to purchase that ring. There was no hope that it could be replaced—at least for quite some time. Immediately, a mixture of shock, fear, panic, sadness, and disappointment fell upon us. What should we do now?
The idiom, out with the old, in with the new means to leave old ideas or things behind so that one is free to embrace new views or objects. To move forward, one must get rid of the old to make room for the new. There are a number of possible scenarios for the use of this phrase. And there are a variety of opinions on who came up with the expression. But the idea of setting aside the old to take hold of the new originated with God. God consistently chooses the second over the first and prefers the new over the old.
There is an account in our translations of The Holy Bible which most of the earliest manuscripts do not include. And those that do contain it, don’t always have it placed where we find it in our Bibles. Those who study language, word usage, and writing styles don’t know for sure who recorded this event or why it was placed where it now appears when the Canon of Scripture was compiled. It seems as if some really religious and learned individuals don’t know what to do with this passage. But I assure you, the most common sinner who understands the meaning of this portion of Scripture will know exactly what to do with it.
It has been a sad week for me. I found out that two well-known, influential, Christian leaders are not getting along. This disharmony pains me because I greatly respect both of them, and I have learned much from each of them. Their books sit side by side on my bookshelf. Apparently, that is the only place where they can be in such proximity to one another. The one has publicly, pridefully, and unlovingly condemned the other. Is the berated one off-base? Possibly. Has she been fraternizing with others who, in some areas, are even more mistaken than she? Probably. But is she any more in error than one rebuking her? I don’t think so. His faults are just in different areas than hers.