Late, Brief Pasta...

Got to squeeze this one in quick and short!! Sunday's comin...

In thinking back to our discussion of Luke 14 and the parables of the tower and the king, there are a few thoughts that come to mind.

The first is, again, how much I value and appreciate this class. It is such a privilege to be a part of it and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to get together and discuss the scriptures the way we do each Sunday. I continually pray that as I prepare lessons and outlines that the whole experience will be beneficial for all who are a part of it. I am just very grateful for a group of people who will bring their hearts and minds each week.

The other thing that is on my mind as I think back to this passage is the way Jesus would, every once in a while, throw out something that would sound repulsive on the surface. He did it in John 6 (as I mentioned Sunday) when He said things like "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6: 53-54).

Let's face it- at first hearing this sounds a little crazy. Not so much to us now because we have some historical perspective and we know the symbolic nature of communion... but for them? These words would have been a little hard to hear and I think Jesus knew that. I think that, like someone said Sunday, He said it to find our who was really serious.

A bit of the same thing is happening here in Luke 14. By saying that you have to "hate" your family and your own life in order to be a disciple, Jesus has thrown out an idea that needs a little further investigation. Through our discussion and our historical perspective, I think that we can come to the conclusion that the word "hate" in this scripture did not mean hate like we normally think of it. In this case it is more along the lines of "to love less".

I also think that similar things happen to people now. It might be scripture, it might be difficult things that happen in our lives, it might be shattered expectations- it could be any number of things. But sooner or later we face things that seem, on the surface, to be at odds with all we know and understand about God. It is at those moments when we find out if we are like the man who built the tower and the king in Luke 14, or if we are made of a different kind of stuff- the kind of stuff that lasts.

The 8th chapter of Isaiah speaks of Jesus being a rock that makes men stumble. I guess there are a handful of ways to look at that passage. I think that one way is to say that, in the course of our lives, hard things will come our way. And when they do, we will have to decide whether those hard things are going to make us walk away or not. Will be allow ourselves to become discouraged or will be continue to dig for understanding and peace and continue on.

In John 6 and Luke 14 we see instances where the hard teachings of Jesus made some walk away. I say, let's not walk away. Let's stay. Let's continue to work for understanding and stay right where we are- with Jesus.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon