Reading 15

Luke 13-16

Jesus is alternative. Everything that he did seemed to go against the grain, against the culture, and he was just not what people expected. As I read the New Testament, I am struck by the number of times he surprised people by his actions. And the people in the Bible who really loved him for being different and sought him out were those who weren’t in high positions; they were other alternative people who needed something.

I was really convicted yesterday about needed and seeking God. John the Baptist was weird too (this is related, it will make sense in a minute). He wore weird clothes and ate messed up food and was baptizing people in the wilderness. If you wanted to be baptized you would have to go out to the wilderness to do it. I would suspect people who did go out to see him felt like they needed something too.

Whenever Jesus talks about the kingdom of God there is an element of seeking involved, of valuing what he had to offer above all else. Is that me? Do I need God like that? Sometimes I think I am just too comfortable. I want it, but not at a great cost.

Nils has been talking about his trip to the Congo and how one of his friends there said the prayer life of American’s suffer because, “Our hands are full.” In the story of the great feast the man throwing the party has friends that are too busy to come to the party. Instead the man opens up the party to those who would really find value in it, those who do not have their “hands full”. So even if I have much, I must become like one who has nothing. I must get to a place where I want what God has to offer so much that I am willing to go out into the wilderness. I bet God knows how to throw a cool party and I don’t want to miss out on that because I enjoyed my own party.

Luke

Reading #15 (audio)