Tag: grace

God Calls Me to Manage His Gifts Faithfully

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(2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

I may have lied last Sunday. After touching on the topic of discipleship, we reviewed some of the characteristics of disciples of Jesus – holding to his teachings, loving others, fruit-bearing, and disciple-making, for example. That’s when we got into the challenge of bearing one’s cross. Now if I made the point that cross-bearing was the most challenging aspect of discipleship, I may have to take that back. Cross-bearing may have some competition: giving. 

Have you noticed that none of Paul’s letters start out with, “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I am writing to you to address the matter of offerings and your giving”? If you have been through the first 15 lessons of our membership class, you may have noticed we didn’t even touch the matter of giving and offerings. That doesn’t come until the second half of the class. If the matter of giving and offerings is so important – and it is extremely important – then why don’t we touch on it sooner?

There is a reason. Well, there are a number of reasons. But, there is one that stands out among all the others. Godly, generous giving is built on a solid foundation of grace, and a solid foundation of grace takes time to build. It isn’t a foundation that is poured in one shot, like the foundation for our storage building north of the school. It is a foundation that is made solid by continuous amounts of grace poured into it over time. So if the topic of Godly, generous giving makes you uncomfortable, leads you to roll your eyes or tune out, be patient – your foundation of grace is still being poured. But please don’t give up – keep pouring more and more grace into it, and eventually your foundation will be sturdy enough to experience the genuine joy of generous giving. 

Paul’s encouragement to the Christians in Corinth demonstrates that growing in the grace of giving requires ongoing attention. In our verses today, he is revisiting the matter of a special offering that was being taken up to support ministry. He concluded his earlier letter to the Corinthians with encouragement and directions on how to proceed with that special offering (cf. 1 Cor. 16). Now, as he reports on the status of that offering here in 2 Corinthians, he cheers on the Corinthians with more grace to equip them to finish what they had started. He is reminding them of their calling to manage God’s gifts faithfully. As he does this, we want to take note of how Paul encourages the Corinthians. 

One way: He points them to other givers, the Macedonian churches. “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we had expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (v.1-5). Paul held up the cluster of congregations in Macedonia as examples of godly givers. What made them stand out? They overcame an obstacle – a pretty significant one when it comes to giving! – they turned poverty into generosity. They pleaded to participate. They exceeded expectations. 

Turning poverty into generosity would seem to be impossible. It would be, but God is in the business of doing the impossible. If you aren’t familiar with it, there’s a great book you should read that provides examples: it’s called the Bible. Whether providing an abundance of food out of nothing for the Israelites wandering in the desert or miraculously multiplying bread and fish to feed families by the thousands, God can turn poverty into generosity. The Macedonians were examples of this. 

They also pleaded to participate in the offering. If you’ve been around long enough, you know that isn’t natural. When someone approaches me and asks how they can go about directing an offering to this or giving a gift for that, such a request doesn’t come from coercion or law-driven duty; it is rather a reflection of the same attitude present in generous giving, an attitude that realizes that in Jesus Christ we have everything we need and more. That realization compels a person to seek out opportunities to thank God through giving, to express gratitude through giving.

That in turn results in exceeded expectations, just as it did in the Macedonians. If we limit generosity to something that can only apply to the well-off, then we might as well write-off a significant portion of Christ’s church! But the Macedonians are evidence that anyone can exceed expectations when it comes to giving. From a giving standpoint, this is also perhaps easier to understand when we consider that generosity isn’t solely defined by amount, but by attitude. The widow in the temple didn’t give much in terms of amount, but her attitude was more generous than anyone else there – she gave all she had (cf. Luke 21)! Attitude – not merely amount – has as much to do with generosity. Remember that God is the one who enables anyone to manage his gifts faithfully. For that reason, it shouldn’t surprise us at all that Paul used the Macedonians as an example of turning poverty into generosity, pleading to participate, and exceeding expectations. 

How did they achieve all of these? They gave themselves first to the Lord. When we decide not to let greedy hearts govern our giving, but instead give ourselves to the Lord, there is no limit to what he is able to accomplish. In terms of giving, he made the Macedonian churches into a rags-to-riches story, taking their poverty and transforming it into generosity. How does that happen? It’s easy for God to do, for when we give ourselves first to the Lord, he transforms our attitudes, and generosity flows from there in all kinds of amounts. So when we give ourselves to the Lord, perhaps he’s eagerly waiting to make modern-day Macedonians out of us. 

In addition to pointing the Corinthian Christians to other givers, there is a second method of encouragement which Paul uses: he reminds them of their gifts. “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (v.7). Paul had touched on the matter of spiritual gifts extensively in his first letter, which would lead us to conclude that the congregation had been richly blessed an abundance of such gifts. In that case, not only did Paul encourage them to use their gifts to build each other up, but to continue pursing them and growing in them. In the same way here, then, he parallels the matter of giving with their gifts. “You excel in the area of spiritual gifts,” Paul was saying, “now apply that same pursuit of excellence in the area of giving. Just as God blessed you exceptionally with gifts, so also he can bless you exceptionally in the grace of  giving.” 

Really, in pointing to givers and gifts as encouragement for Godly giving, Paul is appealing to the same underlying ingredient in both examples: he appeals to grace. If you’ve been paying close attention to all of these verses, you’ll see that grace isn’t just one aspect of giving – it’s really woven throughout the whole conversation. Grace is so overflowing in abundance in these verses that you can see it seeping through the cracks of everything Paul writes! Here’s what it sounds like: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (v.9). I don’t need to know what your gross income was on your last tax return was – I already know you are rich! No matter how a shaky stock market affects your investment portfolio – I already know you are rich! Regardless of what your checking or savings accounts say tomorrow or twenty years from tomorrow, I already know you are rich! It doesn’t matter how much – if any – your family member leaves you in the inheritance – I already know you are rich! But here’s the question: do you? Do you know how rich you are when you have everything you need in Jesus Christ? Because when you know that, you will give generously as you manage his gifts faithfully. 

If you’re not there yet, here’s why: even though you might love the idea of grace and think it’s the best thing in the world (it is!), and be absolutely thrilled that grace means you have a place in heaven (it does!), still… you haven’t let grace into your wallet. You haven’t let grace into your purse. It hasn’t yet made its way into your bank accounts and your investment accounts. Because when grace makes its way into those places in our lives, God makes sure that it multiplies into rich generosity. 

Do you notice a common theme here when it comes to this important matter of offerings, of managing his gifts faithfully? God is not a groveler, he’s a giver. God has not, does not, will not, ever come to you begging for money. He doesn’t desperately need your giving to make ends meet. No, God is the one who gives. But as long as you view this spiritual matter of offerings as God taking something from you instead of God giving everything to you, you’ll continue to miss out on experiencing the joy of the grace of giving. You may give, but that’s not the same as enjoying it.

Suppose someone had never experienced the joy of sleeping on a feather pillow. Once the idea of sleeping on feathers had been explained to him, he grabbed a handful of them and placed them beneath his head before going to sleep for the night. After a restless night and a headache in the morning, he was frustrated that he had actually believed that sleeping on feathers would provide him with a good night’s sleep. 

What was his problem? He had not gathered nearly enough feathers! Had he gathered fistful after fistful of feathers and held them together in a bag or a sack, he would have experienced the joy of sleeping on a cloud-like feather pillow! So it should not surprise us that giving for many Christians is not a matter of joy because they cheerlessly give so little. 

Grace, however, changes that. Paul pointed to the Macedonian churches as a prime example. The final question is this: will you let grace make an example of generous giving out of you, too, as you manage his gifts faithfully?

“Habits of His Grace: Humility”

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(Mark 11:1-10)

A mutual friend recently sent this message to my wife: “What I love about myself is I work hard to gain humility.” We realize the irony of a statement like this is quite humorous. It also shows why humility is such a challenge for us – we want to be recognized for it when/if we achieve it! To demonstrate that truth, how would you rate your development in this department over the past year or two? Would you give yourself a fairly decent rating on a scale of 1 to 10 for having gradually improved in being more humble? And here’s the meta question: if you would be inclined to give yourself a strong or even respectable score in growing in humility, wouldn’t that actually be an indicator that you haven’t grown? If you were truly humble, wouldn’t you consistently give yourself a very low score? And, to take it a step further, if you’re now saying to yourself, “yes, I do give myself a low score in the area of humility,” doesn’t that come from a place of wanting to be recognized or acknowledged for your humility, which is of course the exact opposite of humility?!? Ach! Our lack of humility is humiliating!

The reason behind this frustration has been quoted frequently by C.S. Lewis: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” The greatest concern that man has had ever since the Fall is self-preservation. Putting others first is not our default mode. Thinking of how we might serve others with all that we are and all that we have is not the first thought that fills our head when we wake up in the morning. We don’t think of how the day’s events affect others, but how they affect me. Humility isn’t natural; it is a habit of his grace. And Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), the start of Holy Week (Passion Week), puts Jesus’ humility on display. 

The colt is a picture of humility. A donkey was not a picture of greatness or royalty, but a work animal, and nothing more. A horse, on the other hand, can be a fickle animal, prideful even. If it doesn’t want to be ridden, its rider won’t have an easy time mounting it. But a donkey puts up no fuss when being forced to labor or carry a burden. It humbly does what it is asked. Little girls don’t clamor for a donkey, but a horse. No one says they want to buy a farm and raise donkeys. We associate them not with greatness, but with humility. So how appropriate that a donkey would be the animal chosen to carry the humble Savior to Jerusalem, his final destination.

But perhaps you’ve found yourself wondering the same thing I wondered this recently: if this is an act of humility in the first place, then why is Jesus riding anything into Jerusalem? Why not quietly sneak in the back door, unnoticed? Why not just walk into Jerusalem without making a big scene? Why ride? Why all the fanfare? Is that really humility?

The colt and the praise-proclaiming parade of people have less to do with humility or some overt attempt on Jesus’ part to draw attention to himself, and much more to do with fulfilling Scripture. The Word of God said these things would happen, and so they had to happen that way. The prophet Zechariah prophesied that Jesus would enter into Jerusalem amidst rejoicing and on a donkey. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (9:9). 

Maybe it isn’t a surprise to see people shouting in the middle of a parade, but… why were the crowds present in the first place? They hadn’t received a text message that the Messiah was coming. There weren’t billboards announcing Jesus’ arrival. There were no television or radio ads publicizing the date and time of the Savior’s arrival, so from where did these crowds suddenly appear? God’s divine hand was clearly intervening to clarify the magnitude of this event. And they didn’t just shout any old thing, but very specific words that Mark recorded: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (11:9-10). Was it mere coincidence that the shouts of the people echoed Psalm 118? No – prophecy was being fulfilled. 

So no, these details don’t detract from Jesus’ humility so much as they draw attention to the fulfillment of Scripture. For that reason, Jesus’ humility is ironic and one-of-a-kind: his humility is by its uniqueness attractive. The one quality that goes against drawing attention to oneself is exactly the quality that makes Jesus so attractive. It wasn’t pride – to be known for the sake of being known, or to be famous for the sake of being famous – that compelled Jesus. Rather, his perfect humility set him apart. His humility is attractive because it’s unlike any other humility the world has ever seen.

There are two elements of Jesus’ humility that make it stand out (aside from the simple fact that his humility was perfect!). First of all, his humility is remarkable because of who he is. Don’t you love how Paul put it in Philippians? “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage” (2:6). Jesus, eternal Jesus, God-in-the-flesh Jesus, answers to no-one Jesus, did not use his divine nature to trample over every earthly authority – which was itself established by him in the first place! 

Aren’t those the examples of humility that stand out most to us? When we see the highly regarded and those to whom society looks up act in humility, it is more noticeable because of who they are. So when Jesus acts in humility, it stands out so much because of who he is.

The other element of his humility that makes it stand out? Who we are. We know who Jesus is, and that he would humble himself for anyone defies our understanding; that he would humble himself for the likes of us takes humility to a whole other level. Turn the table for a moment. For whom are you more likely to humble yourself – a king, a president, a brilliant professor, or… your garbage collector, the barista who messed up your order, or the less-than-helpful customer-service rep on the phone? It’s one thing to humble ourselves before those we look up to, but to humble ourselves before those we perceive to be beneath us? That’s not so easy. 

Jesus achieved both in his humility. His divine nature didn’t go to his head, so to speak, and he humbled himself for you. For you, who think too highly of yourself too often. For you, who think too little of Jesus too often. For you, who stumbles back into sin so effortlessly. For you, so disinterested in really putting any effort into your life of sanctification and these habits of his grace. He, who is everything, humbled himself and “made himself nothing” (as Paul put it in Philippians 2:7) for you, who are nothing apart from him.

The One who is everything made himself nothing so that you, who are nothing, might have everything. And because of what he humbly rode into Jerusalem to do, you do have everything. Do you understand that? His humility is the reason you have everything. Humility that will see him serve the least of his disciples on Maundy Thursday. Humility that will see him scorned and suffer on Good Friday of this week. Humility that will see him die and be damned by the Father. 

All so that you could not only avoid all of that, but also in its place receive everything. Your sins are forgiven. You have peace. You have no reason to fear death. You have the promise of never having to go without what is needed. What does the world offer that compares to the “everything” you have through your humble Savior? Nothing that lasts. Nothing that endures. Nothing that makes a real difference. Nothing but fickle, fleeting, empty promises that will never satisfy. Let go of your attachments to the nothing of this world in favor of the “everything” you have in Jesus.

And then take seriously Paul’s encouragement: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Be humble like Jesus. You already have everything. Treat others as better than you. Think of others before yourself. Serve others before you serve yourself. Let the person cut in front of you in line. Let the driver into your lane. Let her go first. Put yourself beneath everyone else and in your humility find genuine joy that comes from being able to because you already have everything through him who made himself nothing for you.

“Habits of His Grace: Forgiveness”

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(Luke 7:36-50)

What would the scenario have to look like today? You are the host of the party. You are Simon. While unlikely, perhaps your motives in inviting Jesus are pure and you’re still searching to discover what you should think of him. Or, the whole thing is just a setup to see to hopefully see him stumble in a sticky situation. So in comes the woman with a sordid reputation… only in our day and age, we’d have to replace her with someone else? Whom might that be? Who would it really ruffle your feathers to see Jesus interact with in this way? A leading politician of the other political party you can’t stand? An outspoken activist for social justice? A proponent pushing pro-choice? An advocate for sexual or gender fluidity/orientation/preference? Because honestly, we’re so familiar with interactions Jesus had with sinful women in the Bible that we find ourselves rather sympathetically siding with the sinful women when we know those “no-good rotten Pharisees” are looking down on them. But would we have the same sympathy if we replaced the sinful women with the types of people that would make us cringe if Jesus were to treat them the same way?

In other words, forgiveness is nice and tidy when we see Jesus extend it to a sinful woman in Scripture, but perhaps that leaves us unable to see in ourselves a bit of Simon who was so offended that Jesus would engage in any way whatsoever with such people. But maybe we’d see more of Simon in ourselves if we replace the sinful woman with one of today’s equivalents that would bring our blood to a boil to see Jesus treat them as he did the woman. Then perhaps we would grasp what is central to understanding the unique challenge of this habit of his grace, forgiveness: that the problem is rarely the way we prefer to frame it – with the sinner on the other end, but rather the sinner on this end who by nature is selectively stingy with forgiveness toward others.

That’s the real reason this habit of his grace is so difficult. It’s honestly because it shows what’s wrong with ourselves more than what’s wrong with anyone else. It shows how unlike Jesus you truly are. It shows how undeserving of Jesus’ forgiveness and mercy you truly are when you can’t apply forgiveness to someone else. It shows how unworthy of heaven you really are to choose a to bear a grudge rather than to forgive. It shows that hell is not actually some really awful place reserved for really awful people, but that it’s a place for people like you who cannot forgive. So when you’re ready to stop hanging on to the idea that forgiveness is so hard because of what someone else may have ever done to you and instead accept that it’s so hard because it shows the painful picture of how unJesus-like you actually are, then progress can be made. 

Because that’s when Jesus’ forgiveness for you reaches a new depth of meaning and significance. Like, say, such a stream of tears flowing down your cheeks that they are substantial enough to wash Jesus’ feet. “As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them” (v.38). Compare the night and day difference between Simon and the sinful woman in the presence of Jesus. One can’t keep it together because she’s so emotionally overcome by the gracious forgiveness that rightly connects with its source, Jesus. The other can hardly keep it together because he’s nearly emotionally overcome with outrage by the sight of supposedly upstanding Jesus allowing a sinful woman to touch his feet! One was well aware of her sin and the joy of forgiveness; the other knew nothing of either. 

This was not only evident to Jesus, who alone can see the heart of each individual and know what is in it; but, that forgiveness had taken root in one heart and not the other was evident in their outward behavior, which Jesus didn’t hesitate to point out in front of everyone. “Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet” (v.44-46). That’s what forgiveness does – it won’t be kept concealed or hidden away to remain unseen; rather, it flows seamlessly into service. It blossoms into fruit. Forgiveness is the fertilizer which brings forth an abundant harvest of good works of love and service to others. The whole life of a Christian and anything good that comes from us can be traced all the way back to the radical power of forgiveness. Jesus connected that forgiveness to the woman’s humble service of gratitude: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown” (v.47a). Forgiveness had made itself so evident and obvious through her act of great love.

And in that respect, faith’s forgiveness is so radically different than any poor imitation forgiveness the world tries to offer up. The world is willing to grant forgiveness only when it determines the guilty party to be deserving of it. The world demands certain qualifications must be met. A level of remorse must not only be expressed, but also shown by actions. The world decides when punishment must be rendered in place of forgiveness. Appropriate actions must precede forgiveness. And, if these qualifications aren’t met and someone still extends forgiveness, it leaves a bitter taste in the world’s mouth. It resents it and sees that kind of forgiveness as weak and powerless. That’s why not everyone had the same reaction when Brandt Jean extended forgiveness to his brother’s murderer in the courtroom about a year and a half ago. Some expressed disgust and disappointment over video of the high-profile case that showed him leave the witness stand to hug Amber Guyger, who murdered his brother, Botham Jean, in his own apartment. While many applauded his powerful words and actions expressing his forgiveness, others saw no place for such mercy.

While every one of us knows that we ought to praise such a fine example of forgiveness and imitate it, too often we imitate the world’s poor excuse for forgiveness instead of faith’s forgiveness. We take up our gavel as judge to determine when others deserve forgiveness. We decide who is forgiven and who is not. And sometimes we are even less inclined to forgive each other – fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, justifying it because we have a different standard for Christians… instead of remembering that being a Christian does not mean one has ceased to be a sinner. So if we decide that forgiveness is applied on the basis of one’s actions, then we have forgotten how forgiveness came about in the first place.

The sinful woman’s forgiveness wasn’t earned by her actions. Her washing of Jesus’ feet did not open the floodgates of forgiveness. Rather, it was the other way around! The floodgates of forgiveness brought on the tears and grateful foot washing. She was forgiven so much that it burst forth from her heart in a loving act of gratitude.

That was the point of the quick illustrative story Jesus told. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” (v.41-42). We all know the type of story Simon would have preferred, the same type of story that little Pharisee in each of us would also prefer. That’s the one about the moneylender to whom two borrowers owed a certain amount of money. One of the borrowers was always on time with his payment. In fact, sometimes he was even early! Other times he even paid back more than his monthly payment. And, he had even been known to help others with their payments on occasion! The other borrower, however, was rarely on time with his payment and had a habit of just coming up short each month with what he owed. The moneylender was delighted in the borrower who was on time and went above and beyond to pay back his debt. But he was displeased by the other borrower who clearly was less than desirable. Simon and the proud Pharisee in each of us would love to have Jesus tell that story just once in his ministry! Oh, that we could find such a story somewhere in the Bible that would validate why we’re so deserving of what God gives us, because we are fine, upstanding Christians, doing our part to pay back the debt we owe!

Alas, Jesus never tells such a story. His story is always one about the borrower never being able to pay back a debt, and the lender having to cancel his debt. But if the other story would be told then we would be justified in withholding forgiveness from others who have wronged us or whom we perceive to be inferior in their Christian faith – those who never seem to pay back what they owe on time! But there is no such story. For there is no such borrower who can pay back a single cent of what is owed to a Holy Righteous God. Luther said it best: “wir sind alle Bettler” (“We are all beggars”). If we ever approach God with even an ounce of expectation, confident in self, thinking we just might have earned so much as a crumb from him, we will always be underwhelmed by what he gives us. But when we come to him with the heart of a humble beggar, holding out our hands desperately to receive whatever he might give us in her mercy, we will always be overwhelmed by what he gives us. And when we are always overwhelmed by what he gives us, we are on our way to establishing this habit of his grace as we overwhelm others with the same forgiveness Jesus has lavished on us.

At the beginning I asked who we’d have to replace the woman with for this account to strike a chord with us today. Who would really get under your skin to see Jesus interact with and lavishly forgive? But the greatest takeaway from this account is not to leave you today feeling more like Simon, guilty for being selectively stingy with forgiveness. No, today see yourself as the sinful woman. Because that’s who you are in this account, by God’s grace. We are always the sinful woman, which is to say we are always the forgiven woman. Let Jesus speak to you daily the words he spoke to the woman: “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (v.48, 50). Then, let our love show that we are forgiven. We have been forgiven so, so much. Let us love as much as we forgive others. 

“Habits of His Grace: Patience”

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(Luke 13:6-9)

In what area of your life could patience make the greatest impact? Would your relationships be better off if you were able to slow down and not rush them along so fast? Would you lose your temper less? Would patience enable you to be a better listener? Would it help you make better decisions if you patiently thought things through a little longer? Most of us would see some sort of benefit in some way if patience was a little more prevalent in our lives.

As we consider this habit of his grace – patience – though, would you really find it all that valuable if I spent the rest of this post focusing on tips and tricks to help you become more patient in your life? Would “5 Steps toward More Patience” or “3 Things you Can Do Right Now to Practice Patience” radically impact your ability to be more patient? I don’t think so. The truth is, to help us become more patient we don’t need more information, but rather transformation. Real patience requires real change. And the good news is that Jesus is in the business of changing people. Jesus can transform us because Jesus alone can provide the patience we’re pursuing. 

Let’s start with where I think we most often tend to go wrong. When the matter of patience comes up, the way we frame the discussion around it is that we need more of it. We tell others they need to be MORE patient. As we reflect on an incident when we lost our cool, we tell ourselves we should have been MORE patient. But consider this: what if MORE patience isn’t the solution to the problem? Have you ever found yourself pressed for time, knowing you needed to jump in the shower before rushing to the next thing, but you just didn’t have the time? So what is the quick fix? Throw on an extra swipe or two of deodorant. Spray on a quick spritz of perfume or cologne. And it works… kind of… briefly… maybe. But not so well. You can try to cover it up, but inevitably the reminder that you didn’t actually shower has a way of coming back to haunt you later on at some point. In the same way, hoping that MORE patience will solve the problem is like a smelly teenager trying to cover up a bad case of B.O. with half a stick of deodorant – it doesn’t work! 

Why doesn’t it work? Because it doesn’t address the real problem. Just as the stink needs to be scrubbed away in the shower rather than covered up, so something else is needed rather than just thinking MORE patience will solve the problem. Do you want to know what the real problem is? Do you want to know what question you should be asking yourself, rather than “Why am I not more patient?” Instead of “How can I become more patient,” here’s the real question you ought to be asking: “Why am I so impatient in the first place?” That’s an entirely different question, isn’t it? So if we want to see more of this habit of his grace in our lives, if we want patience to prevail, the solution isn’t seeking how to add more of it; the solution must address the root problem – our impatience.

“How do I become more patient” is really asking “Why am I so impatient?” My guess is that as you wrestle with that question more, you will likely uncover a lie or two that you have been believing. Why is it hard for you to be patient with other people in general, even those you’ve never met? Might it be that the lie replaying itself over and over in your head is the lie that all your problems are someone else’s fault? If you actually believe that lie, of course it will be difficult to be patient with anyone else if you view everyone else as the cause of all or most of your problems. Why do you lose it so quickly with your children? Is it because you believe the lie that they should somehow be perfect, perhaps even stemming from your own upbringing under the impression that perfection was what your parents demanded? Why do you have so little patience with your spouse? Is it because you believe the lie that your spouse should be more like you by now, and every time you are reminded that they aren’t, you perceive it to be a deficiency instead of just a difference? No, the solution to our problem is not to cover up the stink of our impatience by adding more patience; the solution begins with determining the source of my impatience. That may very well mean uncovering a lie that you’ve allowed yourself to believe for too long.

While it’s easier and far more tempting to blame others for testing our patience or causing our impatience, if others were actually the problem, we’d spend the rest of our lives trying to fix something we can’t fix. You’d perpetually be impatient, because you cannot possibly fix everyone else who “makes you” impatient. But you can fix you. You can fix your impatience, if you are first willing to acknowledge that you are the real issue and not someone else. But if I continue to deny that the real issue is me and my impatience, I’ll never really address the problem in a way that will bring about meaningful change, and I’ll miss out on the grace that is able to make a real difference.

Consider the parable Jesus told. What was the real issue? Was the fig tree not given the opportunity to produce figs? Was it not planted in good soil? Was not enough time allowed? No, the tree had been given every opportunity to produce fruit, but failed to do so. The tree was the problem, not anyone or anything else! It wasn’t producing fruit. So as we apply this parable to the fruit of patience, we must take ownership and realize that whatever fruit of patience we’re looking for in our own lives is our own responsibility and not anyone else’s. The scary part of the parable is that as much patience as the landowner exhibits, even extending the life of the tree for one more year, there still was the very real possibility that failing to bear fruit resulted in being cut down. That is really the sobering reality of each of these habits of his grace – to realize that a failure to produce them in our lives gives the landowner – God – every right to cut down the trees that don’t produce!

Jesus, the master storyteller, has a way of making things very personal, and when he gets personal, he leaves his listeners with nowhere else to look but in the mirror at ourselves. If you look at the discussion which led up to Jesus telling this parable, he took it from a general question to a personal point. Tragedy had struck when Pilate had murdered some of the Galileans and disgraced the Jewish faith by mixing the blood of those murdered in with the blood of the animals scarfed in the Temple. Just as they do today, people at that time presumed that it must have been karma – for those people to be on the receiving end of such tragedy, they surely must have done something wrong to have had it coming. But Jesus quickly shut down that line of reasoning and made the whole thing very personal when he concluded, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Lk. 13:5). 

What came next was the parable in these verses of our text. Rather than pondering the status of others who suffered in this way or that, Jesus said the real issue is where do you stand? What do your branches look like? Where is your fruit? And through the parable, Jesus wants us to take away two important points: 1 – God is very patient in looking for our fruit, and 2 – God’s patience with us has its limits. 

Notice that God patiently extended the time for the fruit tree to bear fruit! Isn’t that just like God? And why is he so patient? Peter explained it: “[God] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God is patient because he wants to save everyone. One of the points that came up in our recent discussion of the book, Rooted, was the honest struggle of reading the Bible – especially the Old Testament, because there are parts that drag along and simply aren’t all that exciting. But you know what the Bible is? A record of God’s patience. His people turn away, and God patiently sends one prophet after another to turn them back to him. His leaders display one sinful character flaw after another, and God patiently corrects and uses them anyway. God’s people turn away; God waits for his people to return. God is patient, so the parable captures that habit of his grace by providing more time for the tree to bear fruit. 

But notice this also: God appointed a limited time for the tree to bear fruit. It wasn’t open-ended. It wasn’t indefinite, until “some day.” It was one year in the parable. What does that one year represent for us? Right now! This very moment! For today might be day 364 of the one-year extension given to the tree to produce fruit. If so, then tomorrow is day 365 and the year is up. Time to cut down the trees that still aren’t bearing fruit! 

God is patient – don’t worry! God’s patience is limited – don’t wait! Both are true, depending on which message you need to hear. If we think little of God and his Word right now, don’t wait! If we are concerned about not measuring up before God, don’t worry – Jesus is our patience! 

John realized that. In the Book of Revelation he wrote, “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus…” (Revelation 1:9). John recognized what the gospel leads us to recognize: in Christ, my impatience doesn’t disqualify me, for not only has that sin been paid for, but it has also been replaced by Jesus’ perfect patience. So my impatience has been paid for and replaced with Jesus’ patience! That means God does not judge you on the basis of your impatience, but rather on Christ’s patience, and his patience passes the test of perfection for you. 

Now then, go and bear the fruit of that patience. Your impatience has been forgiven. It isn’t who you are. In Christ you are patient, so let the repentant fruit of patience flourish on the branches of your life. We don’t have to cover up what we aren’t anymore. In Christ, we can blossom into what he has made us: patient. We have everything to gain in dealing with others patiently. And I believe that patience can be one of the most notable qualities that Christians can demonstrate today if we are going to show how attractive grace is, because patience is sorely lacking in our world right now. It is a precious commodity that is exhibited far too infrequently. So let us make the most of the time we have, the year we have been given to allow God to dig around us and fertilize us with his Word and Sacrament, that we might produce abundant fruit of this habit of his grace, patience.

“Habits of His Grace: Compassion”

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(Luke 13:31-35)

To faithfulness and determination on our list of habits of his grace, today we add compassion. What is compassion? Compassion changes people. It can change the way we look at others and treat them. Compassion can change those receiving it. It can change those extending it to others. 

Author Stephen Covey, in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, shared a personal experience of his.He recalled one subway trip on a Sunday morning that was a rather quiet, uneventful ride. That ended when a man with obnoxious and loud children got on. As his children were being disruptive and terribly misbehaved, much to the annoyance of the rest of the crowd in the subway, the man himself seemed clueless and irresponsibly uncaring about his children’s behavior. That only made the whole situation even more disturbing to everyone else in the subway car. When he had determined enough was enough, the author turned to the man and, pointing out his children’s inappropriate behavior, asked if the father would intervene and do something about it. The man came to attention, as if he had been lost entirely in another place. He apologetically explained that he and his children had just come from the hospital where about an hour ago their mother had died, and he supposed that he and the children weren’t sure how to deal with it. In an instant, the author explained that frustration and irritation were washed away by a flood of compassion. It brought about a complete shift in perspective, away from selfish personal annoyance to an earnest desire to offer any assistance whatsoever to serve the man in his moment of need. Compassion changed everything. 

As Jesus provides us with the framework to explore this habit of his grace today, here is what I hope we take away: that in our reflection on compassion, we give a good amount of thought to the tension that exists between feelings and action as they pertain to compassion. Furthermore, depending on how we might be inclined to weigh in on that discussion right now, can we have a better understanding not only of the difference, but also of how we might personally need to lean one way or the other (more feeling or more action) in striving for more compassion in our lives? 

The root definition of compassion is “to suffer together.” While we think of it as an emotion or feeling that we experience when seeing someone else suffer, it’s a fair question to ask if one can truly suffer with another without any action being taken. Suppose each night for a week a different needy person knocked on your door asking for any food you could spare. While your heart went out to them each time, you explained that you were just not in any position to help them. As you later retell that story to someone else and explain how much compassion you felt toward those people in need, but that you didn’t do anything to help any of them, how convinced would the person listening be that your compassion was genuine? Isn’t it fair to say that as we describe ourselves, feelings of compassion are justified as sufficient, but as we look at others, frankly we’re not all that convinced unless their feelings lead to some sort of action? 

I don’t know if it’s unique to me or if many of us tend to do it, but I have found myself being sure to point out my good thoughts, intentions, or feelings to my wife and others, even – or maybe especially! – when I didn’t actually do anything. “I was going to” or “I thought about,” is then of course followed by some effort at providing an understandable, legitimate-in-my-own-mind reason for not actually doing the thing. Does “I was going to take out the trash” count the same as actually doing it? Is “I wanted to fix that clogged drain” pretty much the same thing as unclogging the drain? I think we know the answer. 

Actually, I suppose we acknowledge this must be a pretty common thing, as we have an expression that lets us off the hook a bit, right? “It’s the thought that counts.” But is it? Especially in our culture today, people are not satisfied with thoughts or good intentions. The only thing that is acceptable is when any action is taken. While this isn’t really the place to discuss social activism, it does raise a fair question about how genuine compassion really comes across if not accompanied by action. How much am I really “suffering with” someone else via feelings or emotions? Does compassion require action?

Do you notice something about compassion when we look at it in the life of Jesus? Compassion as Jesus demonstrated it resulted in action. Every time. In fact, at no point in any of the Gospels do we come across the word “compassion” in connection with Christ that doesn’t involve him doing something. The Gospel writers point out that Jesus felt compassion… and then describe what he proceeded to do. So while the literal definition of compassion is “suffering together,” what we see in Jesus are demonstrations that show the extent of his compassion by virtue of the action that follows. He had compassion on the hungry crowds, so he fed them (Mt. 15:32ff). He had compassion on people who were like sheep without a shepherd, so he taught them (Mk. 6:34). He had compassion on the sick and demon-possessed, so he healed them (Mt. 14:14). He had compassion on the blind, so he gave them sight (Mt. 20:34). Do you catch the theme? Compassion produces action. Say it with me: compassion produces action.

But… not just any action. And here’s where else compassion becomes a tricky thing. Suppose we are convinced that compassion produces action. What action? And for whose benefit? Here’s why we have to wrestle with it: if I am not careful, those good feelings that flow from compassion (Did you know studies reveal that experiencing the feeling of compassion does in fact release what we refer to as the “bonding chemical,” oxytocin?), may merely lead me to take action that makes me feel better. In other words, if the action that results from compassion is merely action that makes me feel better, but doesn’t really meet the need of the person for whom I feel compassion, am I really serving that person, or am I just serving myself?  

Let me explain with an example I believe I have shared before. Two years ago in this same month on a Friday, a young homeless man had come on to the property while hot lunch was being prepared for the school kids. Since we are very cautious about strangers on the property while school is in session, I engaged the young man and began talking with him on the bench outside the church entry. While there were some signs of mental and cognitive issues and a little paranoia, after several hours I got to know his name, his story, and he even showed me his Facebook profile. The longer we sat together, the more I found myself internally frustrated by the fact that this was not how I had planned to spend my day off. Finally, I started to explore how we could help, thinking the sooner I can move him along, the sooner I can get back to my day off. The usual offerings came to mind, so I asked if he needed food or clothes, or if there was someplace I could take him. Then he told me what he really needed, and that’s when I was faced with the ugly reality that my offer to help him was really an effort on my part to wrap up the inconvenience he was causing me. What did he need? A shower. A washing machine to wash his clothes. That was when I was convicted. I realized that while I had the ability to provide him with both of those, I wasn’t really interested in meeting his needs, but rather my need, my desire to be rid of him while convincing myself I did something nice for him. After thinking it through and realizing that my wife was working and the kids were at school, leaving our house empty, he spent the next couple of hours getting a shower and washing his clothes. After a meal and contacting a family member, I later took him to the trolley station to get where he needed to go. 

I had compassion on him, but never had I been so convicted that my compassion was extremely limited. It was defined more by what I was comfortable with than what he actually needed. I wasn’t interested in compassion that produced action in service to him, but rather in service to me. Now that does not mean that everyone would or even should do the same thing in that situation. Not at all. There would be some very legitimate reasons for another compassionate Christian not showing compassion the same way. The point is this: compassion does not necessarily start by asking what others would do in this situation, or even what I should do, but rather “What does this person need from me right now?” 

That was what was always on Jesus’ mind: what does this person need from me right now? And while his compassion didn’t hesitate to take action to address immediate needs, his heart was always set on meeting the most important need. Even when it came to his enemies. Whatever their intention truly was behind warning Jesus about Herod – whether they had ulterior motives for speeding up his demise in Jerusalem, or because they were genuinely trying to help Jesus avoid the same fate as John the Baptist – Jesus’ compassion poured out in his heartfelt response to them. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (v.34). And even their own rejection of him was not enough to sidetrack Jesus’ faithful determination to do what he was born to do! “In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! (v.33). Compassion produces action. Faithful, determined Jesus would take action; he would suffer and die.

It’s interesting isn’t it – “compassion” has the word “Passion” in it? We refer to the final week of this season of Lent as Holy Week or Passion Week. That final Sunday, Palm Sunday, is sometimes also referred to as Passion Sunday. Why do we attach this label to that final Sunday and week of Jesus’ life? Because of his suffering that took place, his Passion. So Jesus’ compassion toward us would be of little value if it didn’t also include his Passion for us. It was his compassion that prompted his Passion, his suffering. Jesus wasn’t just about empty words for you. He wasn’t just about feelings or emotions regarding your situation. Jesus was about action – specifically, suffering, dying, and rising again for your sin and salvation. His compassion prompted him to carry out the one course of action that only he could, the one course of action that we all universally need, the one course of action that alone could serve to reconcile rebellious sinners with a righteous Father. Jesus’ heartfelt compassion carried him to the cross. 

Have you noticed something yet about the three habits of his grace that we have looked at so far yet? They all have that in common. They all end up at the same place: the cross. Faithfulness, determination, compassion – all of them meet up at the cross. And guess what? Spoiler alert: so do the remaining three habits of his grace. 

How then, do we establish in our own lives this compassion, this habit of his grace? We start by letting go of the lie, “It’s the thought that counts.” If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve been far too comfortable living with that lie for far too long. Let’s either let it go, or at least be honest with ourselves that when we’re not willing to allow compassion to produce action, then it’s not really compassion. It might be sympathy or empathy, but it’s not compassion, because compassion produces action. And that’s OK – there is a time for empathy and a time for sympathy! Just realize they’re different from compassion. 

So how does the Holy Spirit work this habit of his grace into our hearts and lives more and more? Each time we must begin our journey of compassion at the cross and go from there. We start with the compassion Christ had for us. Then, as we leave his cross and look to pick up ours as faithful, determined disciples look to do, our eyes will suddenly see myriad ways to carry out compassion toward others, and the Holy Spirit will help us to see how he has enabled and equipped us in such a variety of ways not just to feel, but to act. Not out of guilt – remember Christ’s compassion removed that! – but out of real, genuine compassion. It changes us when we receive it. It will change others when we extend it. 

“Habits of His Grace: Determination”

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(Mark 8:31-38)

He wasn’t any more than eight years old when he was dragged unconsciously from a schoolhouse fire. The severe burns over the lower half of his body had the doctor convinced that he wasn’t going to live, or at least never regain the use of his legs if he did live. But he didn’t accept that his legs would never again support him. One time, after being rolled out into the yard in his wheelchair, he threw himself out of it and crawled across the lawn to the fence. He pulled himself up on the fence and began to drag himself along it. He repeated this exercise so frequently that he wore out a path. His resiliency paid off. 22 months after the tragic accident, he finally managed to stand up on his legs. After that, he walked. Then, he ran. And ran. And ran. And ran… until eventually he broke the world record in the mile. Glenn Cunningham, one of the greatest American mile runners, the badly-burned boy who wasn’t going to make it, who was never going to walk again, staked his claim in history because of his determination.

We love stories about determination. We love it when a person overcomes the odds and makes some monumental achievement. We cheer on others who aspire to persist in doggedly climbing mountain after mountain of failure until they reach the peak of success all the way at the top. Movies are made about such stories. Books are written about them. We eat it up. We can’t get enough of it. What is it about stories of determination that draw us in and capture us? Why does determination make for such an attractive trait? Maybe because it is so rare.

When is the last time you were determined to do something… and actually did it? We get inspired to take action. We have good intentions. We start strong. But the repeated ditched efforts in our lives reflect why determination is so rare. If you’re the resolution-setting type, how many of those have you managed to hit this year? How many “someday I’m gonna”s have you been stuck on, and for how many years now? How often have you traded in your determination to do this or that for settling for where you’re at? Why do we struggle with determination?

One thing that gets in the way of our determination? Distraction. We can let ourselves off the hook and blame those distractions on external factors, but that denies that we’re the ones who not only permit them, but actively seek them! We want to be distracted, because it’s far easier than being determined. I’ll say it again: we want to be distracted, because it’s far easier than being determined. Netflix needs me. Facebook flirts. The suddenly super important to-do list that has us whirling around the house like the Tasmanian Devil is – if we’re honest – a replacement for that other thing that we’re avoiding. The longer-than-normal phone call with the person I haven’t talked to in so long is really just another justified distraction. We welcome them all with open arms and we will continue to do so until we admit that it is no one’s fault but our own for allowing them to serve as distractions to determination.

Now it’s one thing if a person wants to stagnate through life denying that these distractions are his own fault, but there is a point when a lack of determination becomes an issue. When is that? When it impedes our relationship with Jesus. And remember that we’re not even talking about distractions that are themselves inherently sinful or wrong! Anything, anything – good or not – that reduces my resolve to maintain and make the most of my faith in Jesus has got to go. 

Satan used a perfectly understandable human concern of Peter’s in his attempt to use him as a distraction to Jesus’ determination. Jesus had explained to Peter the ugly reality of his impending rejection, his suffering, and his death. No one can blame Peter for not wanting to see Jesus experience that! None of us would have acted any differently in the same situation. But when Peter’s concern, normal as it was, threatened to hinder Jesus’ rejection, suffering, and death, it was no longer normal. It had at that point become an instrument of Satan to stifle the Savior’s necessary mission. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men’” (Mark 8:32-33). Peter didn’t realize it at the time, but if Jesus had heeded his rebuke and sidetracked his suffering and sacrificial death, Peter – and all the rest of mankind along with him! – would have ultimately had to suffer the far worse fate of eternal punishment for sin!

Jesus then seized that very moment to teach one of the most important lessons of all for his followers to learn: determination and discipleship are a package deal for Jesus’ followers. Are we determined not to lose what Jesus has already won for us? “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?’” (v.34-37). 

Jesus said quite clearly we “must” deny ourselves. That’s a tall order in today’s self-serving culture! Why did you buy that thing? Because self wanted it. Why did you shatter the sixth commandment? Because self wanted it. Why did you cut someone else down with your words? Because self wanted to. Why have you remained so distant from Jesus, worship, and his Word? Because self has other interests that are more important. And it is to lives consumed with serving self that Jesus gives the warning of losing life – eternal life. 

The other part of what Jesus said is that we “must” take up our cross. But, in order for that to happen, have we ever realized that doing so may require that we first must let go of something else? How much can you carry? Are you carrying the right things? What good is it??? If it doesn’t serve your relationship with Jesus, do you need it? Is it really harmless upon further inspection, or is it leaving you carrying so much that you don’t have any extra hands to carry what matters, to pick up your cross and follow? And, are we carrying so much, piled up so high in our arms that we cannot even see Jesus to be able to follow him? Drop it. Let go of what doesn’t matter! It isn’t serving you if it isn’t serving your relationship with him. God help us if the qualification of being a disciple is measured by the perfect requirement of denying self and taking up our cross, for if so, we are doomed!

But always remember what Jesus taught first. “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (v.31). Jesus “must” suffer and “must” be killed because we can’t meet the “musts” that are required of us. We don’t have in us the determination to follow through. No amount of our own determination can save us from damnation. So Jesus stepped in with his “must.” He must do these things because we cannot. And he must do them because he wasn’t OK with the alternative of eternity in hell for anyone. So he must carry them out so that no one “must” go to hell. Even if it made Peter squeamish to think about him suffering and dying. He must.

And he did. Gaze up on Good Friday and see it. There he is. There is your Savior. There is the price of your salvation. There – that – is what determination looks like. 

The “must” has been met. Where our must is a mess, Jesus’ must is the only one we can trust. Jesus’ determination, this habit of his grace, has been carried out perfectly in our place. So we now look to make determination a habit in our lives. 

Jesus also said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (v.38).  Shame over Jesus and/or his words in this generation is not because his words by themselves are so offensive, but rather because this adulterous and sinful generation has made them out to be by making acceptable what is unacceptable. The world chooses filth over faith and so makes faith out to be filth. It calls good, bad and bad, good. So Scripture’s teachings which at one time served as society’s moral compass have become black-listed. And we sense it when we feel as if we must apologize to others for holding to and believing certain truths. But stay the course! Remain determined! Be willing to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel, lest we lose both our lives and the gospel for the next generation!

We love stories about determination. Will our own be a story of determination? Will we let our Savior’s determination for us drive and direct our own? Will we add this habit of his grace to our tool belt, along with faithfulness? Will we combine the two – faithfulness and determination – to become a resolute force unafraid to face Satan? Will we set self down to free up our hands to pick up our crosses in pursuit of Jesus? May God’s grace galvanize all of us to make our mark in history as a time when Christ’s church, God’s people, you and me, displayed unparalleled divine determination!

“Habits of His Grace: Faithfulness”

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(Mark 1:12-15)

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear describes habits as the compound interest of self-improvement. In other words, more often than not, the big changes in life aren’t actually big changes at all, but rather little changes, consistently carried out over time. That is precisely the magic of compound interest – it is nothing more than incremental growth multiplied exponentially over time that builds wealth. 

Of course, for anyone to find this perspective attractive enough to consider implementing any new habits, one monumental assumption is necessary: an individual has to see the value of self-improvement. It may shock or surprise you, but an astounding number of people actually choose to simmer and stew in their current situation, retaining a woe-is-me victim mindset that prefers the narrative of negativity. They can be so committed to holding on to that view that it goes well beyond just the glass is half-empty perspective; they’re convinced that everyone else but them even got a glass in the first place! But, if we embrace that God’s call for us to grow is not optional, then establishing healthy habits is foundational to that growth.

So why has it been so hard for you to establish habits? The answer may very well be found in determining the driving force behind our efforts at establishing habits. What is that? Often times it’s guilt – guilt used positively or guilt used negatively (“I should do this; I shouldn’t do that.”). Ultimately guilt will give up, because guilt is not a sustainable driving force. It is a rather cruel slave-driver. It cares not where one’s heart is, but only about the end result, only about whether or not the action itself being achieved. Guilt is relentless and suffocating.

But Christians realize that we have something else at our disposal, something far more powerful than guilt: we have grace. Grace-motivated habits instead of guilt-induced habits is really what this series is about. And our approach will be different. While we will spend a good amount of time focusing on Jesus and his habits, we need to be crystal clear on why we’re doing so. We are NOT doing so to reduce Jesus to something so insulting as merely an example for us to follow. You don’t need more examples to follow. There are plenty of good ones in the world. The problem isn’t finding examples to follow; the problem is our inability to follow them. And frankly, Jesus came to be far more for you than just an example to follow anyway. 

He came to be your Savior, your Substitute. And to do that, we want to appreciate how he carried out what was necessary to be our Savior: his active obedience and his passive obedience. They aren’t the same thing, but they’re both instrumental to our salvation, and they’re both crucial for helping us establish grace-motivated habits.

What do we mean by Jesus’ passive obedience? This is the work of Jesus that we most frequently associate with carrying out our salvation. Jesus passively endured the punishment, suffering, and death that were carried out against him. This is not only remarkable because he was innocent and didn’t deserve it, but even more so because as God, he had the power and ability to keep it from happening. Yet he chose not to! He passively allowed others to inflict it all upon him because he was experiencing it as our Substitute, enduring the punishment and judgment that our sins deserved. He passively paid the price so that we wouldn’t have to. 

Less commonly addressed is the importance of Jesus’ active obedience, which refers to his ability to actively maintain holiness in his thoughts, words, and actions throughout his whole life. As a God of justice, the Father’s requirements for a right relationship with him are that sin must be paid for and that 100% round-the-clock perfection be maintained. So if Jesus had only died for our sins, our salvation would be incomplete. We needed a Savior, a Substitute who could also live perfectly for us. Jesus actively resisted all temptation and conducted his entire life with complete perfection. He actively obeyed all of God’s demands. It is his active obedience that will serve as the focus of this series, and the grace flowing from that active obedience that will enable us to pattern our Habits of His Grace.

So let us appreciate the first of our habits of grace: faithfulness. How do we define “faithfulness?” Often times it is used almost interchangeably with “commitment.” Being faithful is viewed as being committed to doing what you said you were going to do. You work at a job faithfully for years. You are faithful in your marriage. To be faithful is to be committed to staying the course. While I don’t think that’s a bad definition or way of understanding it, maybe we’re overcomplicating it a bit. Perhaps a simpler understanding of faithfulness is merely being full of faith. Filled with trust. Full of conviction. Being full of faith not in my own ability to stay the course, but in God’s promise to stay his course in my life.

We see Jesus being full of faith, even when he was virtually empty of the basic necessities of life. “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (Mark 1:12-13). Forty days in the dessert lacking – not being full of, but almost empty of – the things we take for granted. He had no suitcase with several changes of clothes. There was no cooler being pulled behind him to keep food fresh and ready any time he was hungry. No comfy cozy bed in which to sleep and no roof over his head. He was running on empty in just about every way imaginable. 

Except faith. Even without all that he was missing, Jesus was still full of faith, or faithful. When everything else is lost or gone, and faith is all you have, you see that faith is all you really need. Jesus faithfully stood up to each of the devil’s temptations, as the other Gospels record. And Jesus’ faithfulness was not only on display in his ability to keep from falling into the devil’s temptation in the dessert, but also in his faithful preaching, “‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (v.15). Making that even more noteworthy, John had already been imprisoned for proclaiming that message, yet Jesus did not put his message on mute, but proclaimed it faithfully. 

Jesus wasn’t alone in demonstrating this habit of grace, his faithfulness. The Holy Spirit and the Father got it on the action, too! The Holy Spirit faithfully directed Jesus into the dessert in the first place, knowing it was necessary for Jesus to succeed in battle against Satan and his temptation in our place. And when Jesus did succeed, God the Father faithfully sent angels to attend Jesus in his time of need, just as he had promised in Psalm 91:11, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” See how our faithful Triune God works in perfect harmony with the faithful obedience of the Son!

And what difference does his faithfulness make when it comes to you developing this habit of grace? All the difference in the world! His faithfulness not only fills in the cracks of your unfaithfulness, as if you were almost there but just needed Jesus to finish it up for you! No, it’s his whole record of faithfulness, not yours, or your lack thereof – that already counts toward God! Who of us would feel confident in making a case before God based on our own past faithfulness? Would we like to point to the number of times our actions were more reflective of a person without faith than a person of faith? How about the times that doubt and worry about our situation smothered any sense of faith and trust we ought to have had in God’s promises? Our general lack of commitment, our unfaithfulness just in our relationship with God, which hops all over the place from lukewarm to cold to hot – is that the kind of “faithfulness” we wish God to take note of on our accounts? Let us hope not, for we know what the eternal outcome of such flawed faithfulness would be!

Let Jesus’ faithfulness in the face of temptation in the desert be the source of confidence for the faithfulness God demands. Let the price Jesus paid on the cross be sufficient payment for your unfaithfulness. So you have been freed from the guilt of your unfaithfulness, which has been replaced by the grace of his faithfulness! Do you understand? You have been freed from your own disastrous track record of unfaithfulness and freed for a guilt-free life of becoming more and more faithful, with every ounce of fear of failure having been removed. The Father already has counted the Son’s perfect faithfulness to your account. You aren’t left lacking. You aren’t left in your unfaithfulness. You are faithful, for Jesus was faithful in your stead. 

So be what you are, be faithful, for in doing so, you are merely living up to how God already sees you in Christ. Be full of faith in your commitment to growing and developing your faith. Be full of faith in your marriage. Be full of faith in your friendships and interactions with others. Be full of faith as you let your light shine on social media. Be full of faith and stand out in a faithless world. Be faithful, not because you must, but because you already are in Christ Jesus. 

I don’t know about you, but I get excited about this kind of stuff. You may not consider yourself to be into growth and personal development, but let me challenge you to reconsider. That’s one of the many unique blessed perks of belonging to Jesus – he does the growing in us. The Holy Spirit will see to it that you grow and develop personally – that’s his job. We call it sanctification, or growth in Christian living. It’s who we have been made to be. It’s who we are. It’s how we can faithfully make an eternal difference in a faithless world that concerns itself with what is temporary. Your faithfulness matters. God can use it to make a huge impact! 

How then can you establish this habit of his grace – faithfulness – in your day-to-day life? Don’t overwhelm yourself with all the areas that you could develop this habit and then do nothing. Pick just one area and commit to following through with it faithfully. It might be daily Bible reading. It might be worshipping weekly. It might be giving consistently. It might be scheduling prayer. It might be witnessing intentionally. Be confident that the compound interest of this habit of his grace will not only lead to self-improvement, but will also build up and bless Christ’s Kingdom as well.

Free!

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(based on Galatians 5:1-6)

This week we elect the next President of the United States. Today we observe Reformation Sunday. What do the Reformation and a National Election have in common? How are they similar? One might say they both have to do with the important matter of freedom. Regardless of political party, each side has expressed its concern over loss of freedom, whether that concern is tied to the fear of an agenda on the part of one political party or the fear of unilateral actions on the part of the President. During the Reformation, the freedom Jesus came to bring was being stripped by the Roman Catholic Church.

Yet, it is that similarity that could potentially cloud how drastically different each event is. One deals with what is temporal; the other what is eternal. One deals with our role as citizens of an earthly nation; the other deals with our place in the spiritual kingdom. One may some day be taken from us or limited; the other never can.

During the month of November until Thanksgiving, we’ll be directing our thoughts not on the temporary, worldly freedoms we enjoy, which have undoubtedly been a blessing to us in this great nation for so long, but rather on the freedom that lasts forever and is a far greater blessing to us now and into eternity. We will see how the freedom we have in Christ plays a role in our lives on a daily basis. The freedom we have in Christ allows us to Face Judgment, to Face Death, and to Be Ruled. 

For starters, though, we must understand the source of the freedom we have as Christians, and why that freedom we have in Christ is so very important. It is not just because of the liberties it allows us in our Christian living, the freedom to live for and serve God and others not out of coercion, fear, or obligation, but rather with love and gratitude and thanks. These are tremendous blessings, indeed! But they pale in comparison to the greatest blessings of being free – the blessings of being free from the guilt of sin, free from Satan’s control, and free from the fear of death. These, friends, are the blessings of being free!

The Galatian Christians were at risk of losing those blessings of being free. They had heard and believed the gospel message that salvation was God’s gift to them through faith in Christ Jesus. They had experienced the joyful realization that a perfect Savior had fully satisfied every requirement necessary to be at peace with God, and had paid with his own life to cover the cost of their own inability to do so. But Paul wrote this letter to them because they were in danger of trading all of that in – and the freedom that comes along with it. He put it this way in the beginning of his letter: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all” (Galatians 1:6-7).

What was the big deal? What was Paul so concerned about? Some among the Galatians were insisting that being a Christian still had its requirements, that faith in Jesus didn’t mean that God had let his people off the hook of ceremonial requirements and restrictions, but that those were still binding. What a person ate and wore and the rules you kept – they were insisting that those were still essential. In fact, they accused Paul of deliberately removing such requirements from his preaching and teaching to make his message more attractive to his hearers. The scary part was that the Galatian Christians were starting to buy it. 

Have you noticed that the same threat to the gospel appears today? While it may perhaps be a bit more subtle, it’s present. In fact, you may even have been guilty not only of believing it, but declaring it yourself. Today’s version of it sounds like this: “No Christian would ever eat/drink/wear/watch/listen to [blank].” “You can’t be a Christian and support this company or that organization.” “No God-fearing Christian could ever vote for [blank].” “You can’t be a good Christian and [blank].” It doesn’t matter how one fills in any of those blanks, either, because even implying that there are such conditions to Christianity puts an asterisk by our salvation. It implies that Jesus and his work alone aren’t all that really matters for salvation, but that certain requirements and restrictions still apply. If we start believing that rhetoric or find ourselves speaking that way, are we any different than the enemies of the gospel that Paul was addressing in Galatians?

And if anyone thinks this is a little matter, listen to Paul: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (1:8-9). Those are strong words directed at anyone that wants to convey that Christianity is based on the good news of the gospel AND anything else! If anyone teaches that it’s necessary to “read the fine print” or that “certain restrictions apply” when it comes to the gospel, Paul says, “let him be eternally condemned!”

Do those words sound familiar? Ironically, it was the same threat directed at Martin Luther and others who questioned the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that works were necessary for salvation. So in essence, the church in Luther’s day was guilty of committing the exact same crime as those Paul was addressing in Galatians, implying that only the gospel AND works could save, but here the tables are turned and it is the church of Luther’s day condemning the very teaching Paul was defending in Galatians – that we aren’t saved by what we do, but through faith in Jesus and what HE did for us! Paul condemned anyone insisting that what we do saves, and the church of Luther’s day condemned anyone who denied it!   

In an effort to defend the good news of the gospel, Paul encouraged the Galatians and us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (5:1). Paul plays off the words of Jesus, who invited us to come to him when we’re spiritually worn out and need the rest of forgiveness that only he can provide. Jesus invites us to rely on the “yoke” that he bore for us to provide that rest. But to resort to the law is essentially to remove Jesus’ yoke of rest from our shoulders and replace it with the unbearable yoke of slavery to the law. Paul is trying to establish how ludicrous it would be to exchange the freedom we have in Christ for suffocating standards of the law. And he doesn’t just stop there, but goes on to highlight three devastating consequences of trading in the yoke of Jesus’ rest and forgiveness for the yoke of slavery to the law.

The first Paul lays out in verse two: “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.” What Paul is saying that if you want to insist on bringing observance of the law back into the equation, then Christ holds no value to you. Imagine an edited Bible that cut out out every reference to Jesus Christ, Savior, Messiah, etc. What would you be left with? You’d have nothing but law. Sure, there would still be talk of God’s love, but any assurance of that love would be entirely dependent upon one’s ability to keep the law – an impossibility! Without Christ in the picture, all that is left is the law. That leads into Paul’s second devastating consequence of putting on the yoke of the law.

To be bound to any part of the law is to be bound to all of it. Paul wrote, “Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law” (v.3). There is no middle ground with the law – it is all or nothing. The law makes clear that God isn’t interested in you giving it your best effort or the old college try. Only perfection from A to Z is acceptable. Martin Luther’s experience in a monastery enlightened him to how deceiving the appeal to observance of the law can be. He wrote, “Thus it is certainly true that those who keep the Law do not keep it. The more men try to satisfy the Law, the more they transgress it. The more someone tries to bring peace to his conscience through his own righteousness, the more disquieted he makes it” (LW, 27:13). He spoke about having seen many murderers facing execution die more confidently than “these men who had lived such saintly lives” [monks]. The law appears to offer the promise of a legitimate utopian oasis, but it is nothing more than a mirage that leaves souls parched with unquenchable thirst. 

Finally, if Christ is of no value and we have obligated ourselves to the whole law by thinking we could keep any part of it, the ultimate consequence is that we fall out of grace. “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace” (v.4). Picture God’s grace as him scooping you up in the palm of his hand. You did nothing to deserve it. He chose you, even working in you the faith to believe that Jesus is your Savior. As you rest, suspended up in the palm of his hand, you see the exemplary achievements of the law falling all around you, enticing you with their promise of acclaim and worth if only they can be accomplished. Wondering, imagining, that you can perhaps reach out and grab just one or two of them, you stretch yourself too far, falling out of the his palm, out of his grace, into the abyss that awaits all who make the mistake of thinking God’s favor can be earned instead of freely given by his grace. Shudder the thought!

No, friends, the law will never earn us the righteousness God demands. That is ours only through faith. Martin Luther rejoiced to discover what Paul wrote, “For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope” (v.5). Luther knew that his freedom wasn’t granted to him by the pope or an emperor, but by faith. Faith alone made him righteous before God – and free! Friends, faith alone makes us righteous before God – and free! No earthy election can ever rob us of that freedom. 

It’s God’s Grace

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(based on Matthew 20:1-16)

Parents can relate to the experience all too well. Mom or dad hasn’t yet made up their mind about whether or not dessert is on the menu for the night. Maybe it depends on how supper goes. Maybe the decision is based on how much junk food the kids have already had over the course of the day. Whatever the criteria, the kids pester with the same question all day – “Can we have dessert?” “Are we having dessert?” “Have you decided if we’re having dessert?” “So, how about dessert?” Finally, the joyous declaration resounds throughout the house, “Yes, we shall feast on dessert this evening.” And, as you would expect, cheers ring out and words of gratitude pour forth from the lips of the children. Only… that doesn’t happen. Instead it sounds like this: “He got more than I did!” “She got a bigger piece!” “We didn’t all get the same amount – it’s not fair!” What should be expressions of gratitude and thanks are instead replaced by outbursts of inequality and charges of unfairness. Parents wonder if their children will ever outgrow this phase. 

But at some point it becomes obvious – or should, at least; we don’t ever outgrow that phase, do we? We spend our entire lives being concerned about the very same thing – making sure that everything is fair and that everyone gets the same or at least no more than they deserve. We find other ways to belt out the adult version of “It’s not fair!” It’s not fair that I got a speeding ticket and that other guy back there going fast enough to zip past me doesn’t get pulled over. It’s not fair that I always get picked for jury duty and she never does. It’s not fair that they got their food first when we ordered before they did. This isn’t fair. That’s not fair. It’s not fair.

“It’s not fair” had the hired hands up in arms in Jesus’ parable, too. It just wasn’t right in their minds. Person A who showed up at the crack of dawn and worked all day long should earn more than Person B who strolled in at the tail end of the work day. That’s how it is supposed to work. That’s fair. And it would be fair if this was a parable to teach us about economics. But, like all of Jesus’ parables as we’ll see the rest of this month, their purpose is not to provide some temporal takeaway, but to provide spiritual insight that gives us a clearer picture both of who God is and who we are. Our parable today achieves both. 

Jesus introduces this parable using what for him is a typical introduction: something “is like” this or that. He is clarifying that what he’s about to say is not a literal occurrence or an actual historical event, but rather a story that is intended to illustrate a particular point or teaching. In this case, he is explaining what “the kingdom of heaven is like” (v.1). What is “the kingdom of heaven,” exactly? It is one way that Jesus reminds us that our sense of belonging in this world – a family name, a town in which we were brought up, or citizenship in a certain country, for example – is vastly different than what it means to belong to the Lord, to be his, or as Paul puts it in his letter to the Philippians, to have “our citizenship [is] in heaven” (3:20). The criteria for belonging to Christ’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, is unlike any criteria on earth for belonging in that it is based on one thing and one thing only: grace. 

We love grace. We celebrate grace. We just sang a hymn about grace that is near and dear to many of our hearts. Grace is what we’re all about. We know forgiveness is extended to us because of grace. We know salvation is ours because of grace. We know that even the gift of faith itself which clings to all these truths is because of grace. From start to finish, through and through, it’s all by grace.

But it is the very thing that makes grace so attractive – that it is underserved – that makes it tough for us to swallow when others receive it. The real irony? It irritates us to see others receive grace when we don’t feel they deserve it! It’s the very definition of grace – undeserved love, that ruffles our feathers when we see it extended to those we don’t think deserve it. But no one deserves it! That’s just it. I don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve it. No one deserves it. 

Yet God desires to extend it to everyone. “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). “All the ends of the earth” includes everyone – including you, if I’m not mistaken. But “everyone” also includes the estranged family member. Everyone includes that jerk from high school who treated you like garbage. Everyone includes the offensive co-worker. Everyone includes the alcoholic, the addict, the rapist, the racist, the sex-trafficer, and the pedophile.

Here’s where Jesus’ parable challenges us. We know that God wants everyone to be saved. We know that that means everyone needs his grace. So why is it that we can slip into the same thinking as the first hired hands who worked the longest and resent that those who worked the least got paid the exact same amount? Why should such resentment ever creep into our hearts? Well the truth is, it doesn’t creep into our hearts – it’s always been there. It resides there, and a parable like this just exposes it. But why would we ever resent God extending his grace to anyone else if, like him, we also want everyone to be saved?

I wonder if Jesus’ final words in this parable clue us in. He concluded with, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Mt. 20:16). And, if you look at how Jesus concluded his teaching in the previous chapter, he closed the same way. Why does Jesus need to make this statement repeatedly when teaching? Isn’t it rather obvious? It goes against our very nature. We are bent toward self first and foremost. When that happens, you know what we tend to do? We use ourselves as the metric by which we judge others. We are our own measuring stick. When that is the case, we lose our bearings and it throws everything out of perspective.

See what it did for those hired first in the parable? When they got paid the same exact amount as those who put in less time, “they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day’” (v.11-12). The metric by which they determined how things should be was on the basis of the long hard day that they had put in. By comparison then, the workers whose timesheet reflected fewer hours worked didn’t deserve the same wages. 

Worst of all, their skewed sense of comparison led them to resent the landowner who had hired them in the first place. He even called them out for resenting his generosity (v.15). So an ego-fed hard day’s work as their standard resulted in their despising not only all those hired after them, but also the generous landowner who had hired them all in the first place. And, how quickly they forgot that they had even agreed to work all day for the payment that was promised!

Rather than using our inflated sense of self as the measuring stick, there is only one metric by which we can explain this parable, and really understand the kingdom of heaven. Only when grace is the metric does all of this make sense. Grace makes room not just for those hired last, but also for the resentful workers hired first. Grace hires those who never even applied for the job. Grace pays out the same wages to every worker. What a beautiful thing that is for us! What a beautiful thing that is for everyone! Hired first? Work hard, work faithfully, work as long as it is day, because you know that Jesus means your payment in heaven is never in question. Hired last? It’s never too late to get working in the vineyard. Though even the majority of your life may have been a missed opportunity to serve in the kingdom of grace, Jesus means your payment in heaven is never in question. 

So what is our takeaway from this parable? Let it be two-fold: 1) thank God that he deals with us on the basis of grace and not our own standards, and 2) guard against allowing that grace to be taken for granted or despised when we see it extended to others. How do we keep these two points in our hearts and minds? We remember that it’s God’s grace. It’s his. Though he extends it to us, he doesn’t entrust it to us to determine who does or doesn’t deserve it. Then it would no longer be grace. For it to remain grace, it must remain God’s to give freely as he determines. 

Notice the arrangements of those hired later in the day. They didn’t agree to work for a set amount as did the first hired hands, who agreed to a denarius. No, they agreed to work for whatever the landowner determined was right (v.4). They were excited to be asked to work, not even worrying about the payment. They were totally fine with the landowner paying them as he saw fit. So their joy wasn’t based on how much they stood to earn. In fact they weren’t even worried about that. Their joy was found in getting to work in the vineyard. They were elated to be chosen. 

Actually, if we really want to get at the point of this parable, we have to admit that the landowner really was being unfair. Not only did none of the workers apply for the job or deserve to be hired, but none of them actually deserved to be paid. Yet they were all hired. They were all paid. 

When it’s God’s grace, not ours, to dole out, it isn’t fair. No one deserves it. In fact we all equally DON’T deserve it. But rather than grumbling and complaining about God being unfair with his grace, let’s celebrate it, work our tails off in his vineyard, and then when the time comes, look forward to being paid something far greater than a denarius, far greater than even the dessert your kids pester you for… let’s look forward to finding out what it’s like to be on the other side of the kingdom of heaven. We will, by God’s grace. 

Works Won’t Work (Sermon)

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We know that heaven isn’t earned, right? We know that our works count for nothing as far as our salvation is concerned, don’t we? So we say. Nevertheless, our way of thinking and our very lives themselves often reveal otherwise. This morning we take an honest look at our works and where they really rank in our lives.

“Works Won’t Work” (Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, March 8, 2020.