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There is more than one way to pray, however, |
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the workers who showed up just before quitting time were paid the same as those who worked all day. Do you understand that this really isn’t a story about labor and wage practices? Some people spend a lifetime walking with me before passing beyond, and others squeak in under the wire. Are these to be envied by the others? Don’t you breathe a sigh of relief when you hear of such an event? The issue here is the perceived value of serving me. If you really understand it you won’t resent it but will be glad you worked all day.
Do you give to the poor? The Bible teaches you to do this. Do you pay your taxes? The state expects you to and the Bible supports this activity. Render unto Caesar. Do you see these as related activities? If you live in a country where government support for the poor is funded by taxes, you can claim that they are linked. Yet taxes are not donations, and compulsion can take the virtue out of giving, but it doesn’t have to. If you are called to be a cheerful giver in what you donate, would it make you feel better about paying taxes to know that some part of it goes to the poor? Don’t let your ministry to the poor be limited to this.
Do you see me as a liberal or a conservative? Liberals tend to see me as a liberal, and conservatives tend to see me as a conservative, so you should be aware of observer bias in your perception of me. I was not considered a conservative in my own time, but conservatives may rightly point out that I came to show the way that the Father had intended from the first. Be careful in the way you perceive transcendent truth. I am not owned by any ideological label. Let go of your own attachments that cause you to see me according to your own image, and let yourself be transformed into my image.
Do you want mercy for yourself? Do you want it for others too? If you are grateful for the mercy you have received from me it is only logical that you would want others to receive the same benefit, but don’t be quick to assume that this impulse comes automatically. Consider the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son, and of those who went to work in the vineyard early when it was time to be paid at the end of the day. They wanted justice rather than mercy. My word instructs you that it is the merciful that obtain mercy, and I delight in you when your impulses follow those of your Father in heaven.
Do you understand that the Bible was written cumulatively? The earliest characters in the Bible had no scriptures at all to validate their experiences. Those who came later had a larger and larger canon of scripture given by those who had gone before them. Do you consider the canon of scripture to be closed? You would do well to be suspicious of anyone wanting to add new books to the Bible. Yet the history of the New Testament church in the book of Acts ends without a real conclusion. Even without expanding the scriptures you can do your part to continue the book of Acts by your own actions.
What is the essence of your faith? Isn’t it a relationship with me? This is accepted across all Christian denominations. The Bible is clear about this, but I want you to distinguish between having a relationship with me and having a theology about having a relationship with me. Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, and they testify of me. Yet salvation is not found in any book, not even the Bible. Salvation is found in a relationship with a living savior, and that is who I am. Come to me that you may have life and you will see that life flow out of your connection to me.
Have you heard it said that no one is perfect? You see the visible evidence of this every day. Yet my word tells you to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Does it appear that I have set an impossible task before you? If you think of it in terms of achievement you are right. Are you familiar with the idea of convergence? This is a mathematical concept but it has real-world examples. If you are moving toward something you are said to be converging with it even before you arrive there. I am pleased if you make perfection your goal and I will perfect that which concerns you.
From Linda Burton – Mark, I appreciate the things you said in response to the Supreme Court rulings. I too went down this other road and it did not leave me with the peace that the Scriptures talk about. I was keeping my eyes on those things and I could not see Jesus.
Do you know who your neighbors are? When I told someone to love his neighbor as himself he asked, who is my neighbor? I replied with the story of the Good Samaritan. The implied answer was that everyone is your neighbor, even those from other cultures, faiths, countries, and all other means of arbitrary distinction. You start life in a small circle comprised of your family. As you grow your circle should grow as well. If you make your circle a sharp rigid boundary favoring those inside and excluding those without, you limit your own growth and transformation into the Kingdom of God.
