Luke 2:22-40: Why Does God Say The Same Thing A Second Time?

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. - Luke 2:22-40

It is interesting that Simeon's prophecy matches what Mary prophesied. Mary said: "He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. " Simeon said: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel." 

First, I am so thankful that God often says the same thing twice when he tells us something, because we often don't hear it well, we don't believe it well, we don't want to hear it or we just aren't sure it is God speaking. Even Samuel needed three times before he knew it was God speaking to him in the temple (1 Sam 3) so how much more for those who aren't prophets of God.

Second, this is another reminder that the place where we typically look for answers to problems may not be where God starts to answer that problem. In fact, our assumptions may cause us to look in the wrong place. God may not use the influential or well-resourced or smart or well-educated. Just faithful. 

I think that we have to look carefully when something unexpected happens. It might just be something weird or unusual, but it might be God up to something. Mary and Joseph were paying attention: "The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him."  This comes right after Mary heard the shepherds pay her an unexpected visit and she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:18b-19) and right before Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple teaching and she "treasured all these things in her heart." (Luke 2:51) I realize that I tend to dismiss or ignore things that are unusual or unexpected. They don't fit into my ideas, so I just shrug my shoulders and continue on with my life, when I should store them up to see if I can glimpse God at work.

Third, he used those like Simeon and Anna who waited patiently with eyes open for the signs where God was at work,. People probably thought of them as temple furniture. But they had positioned themselves  in a place where every citizen of Israel had to pass by: the temple. They didn't do anything special but they longed for God to show himself active and strong and God honored that. 

God is not quiet, but we are often not listening. I want to hear, so I have to listen.

Galatians 4:4-7: Mighty Unfair to Jesus

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. - Galatians 4:4-7

 "Because you are his sons...God has made you also an heir." That's pretty dang generous. I get the same status as Jesus, the same Spirit as Jesus and the same inheritance as Jesus. It seems unfair. Unfair to Jesus. Sure, he gets "the name above all names" and the "preeminence" but all of the practical benefits of being a child of God are mine now as well. He had to give up heaven and struggle and suffer and die. I had to get up this morning. Net result, I get all of the same things as Jesus even when I wasn't nearly as good as Jesus. That's unfair. But really, that's why he is a better person than me, because he doesn't feel the regret. I want to get to that state, where I don't count the cost of what I give away, but only the benefit received.

Psalm 148: We Have Abandoned The Chorus

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them for ever and ever—he issued a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children. 

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. 

Praise the Lord. - Psalm 148

Give credit where credit is due. "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens." The only one not praising God are some of the people. Every other part of creation has it figured out and when we praise God, we aren't the ones starting the chorus. We are merely joining what all of earth and heaven has been doing since the dawn of time.

After listing all other praisers, the author finally brings in people. Sort of a "Get with it, people! Look around! Get a clue." We seem to be lacking this innate sense of awe found in the rest of creation--this knowledge to whom we owe allegiance. We are masters of masking off our souls from the awareness of the almighty, a sort of intentional deafness to the praise around it. How is that? For 15 minutes, could I hear the chorus? For my day, could I join it?

Isaiah 9:2-7: Avoid Cheap and Easy Alternatives

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

The biggest reason to fail when carrying a heavy load is not being able to envision an end to it. If we know that we only have to carry it a bit further, we can often muster the means to persevere. But if we cannot see an end to it, we are hopeless and we cannot find the strength.

There are situations where we do not see the end and therefore we give up too early. That is truly tragic when we put our heads down in defeat when help is close enough to taste. That is what the author is talking about. They are despairing that the terrible situation that they are in will come to an end and they are becoming increasingly desperate. They are considering options, relationships and alliances that they would never have considered before because they can't see the hope. The author says, the light of a new day is coming, just over the horizon and "people living in darkness will see a great light" "shattering the yoke of the oppressor."

But what is unexpected is that this rescue is coming in the shape of a child. Promising a child means that there will be no immediate relief, but instead relief will come as the child takes on the roles that are his birthright: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace and toss out the oppressors. Prematurely seeking relief from the burden, we are skipping what God promised and instead accepting a cheap and easy alternative when God's answer is coming as surely as day follows night. 

I have often been tempted to search for alternative answers. Not sure of God's timely response, I take on God's role to find and provide answers but those answers are the "cheap and easy alternative" and not as satisfying ultimately. Bear the load a little further and don't give up too early, because God's answer is around the corner.

 

Titus 2:11-15: Our Eternity Is Our Statement About God

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. - Titus 2:11-15

God is creating a new people out of all people. He offers all people a chance to be a part of the new people. But the catch is that you have to love his son more than "ungodliness and worldly passions" Eternity isn't for the people who won't enjoy spending it with God because they've already stated by their lives that they don't want the type of person Jesus is and won't like it if they become like him.  Eternity is for those who want to be like him and are "eager to do what is good"

"Offer" means that it is sitting on the table waiting for us to take it. But to say "yes" and take that offer means saying "no" to a lot of other choices. Like marriage. 

Luke 1:46-55: My Boring Life and God's Big Deal

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” - Luke 1:46-55

We all need to feel we are part of something-some story-something larger. If we don't feel it, we will make one up or co-opt the story someone else is telling.  For Mary, the first verses of her song reflect her realization that she was also a part of a story--God's story. I think there is always some point when we wonder whether the life we are living means anything-whether the troubles and triumphs of an human--one of the 36 billion humans who have ever lived and walked on planet Earth are significant or more than a breath destined to blow for a moment and then dissipate. After all, Scripture admonishes that we are mere fading flowers or withering grass.

That is why we struggle so hard to do something important. Mary could laugh at the "rulers" brought down and the rich "sent...away empty" because they missed it. But what was "it"? What then is the alternative? The alternative is to find our place within God's ongoing story--that God's story is our story too because we have joined him. That's what helped Mary, when she realized that the same story of Abraham and Israel she heard about in the synagogue Sabbath after Sabbath was also hers in a very real way. 

I think we lack imagination. We can imaging aliens and fairies and improbable romance-triangles but we can't imagine how we are a part of God's plan right where we are today. I mean I have a wife and three kids and a job in tech and a house in the suburbs. How is that so significant? I mow my lawn, my neighbor mows their lawn. I'm no big deal. But because God is a big deal and I have hitched my wagon to Jesus, I'm a part of that big deal and every day is a chance to find out what that part means today.

Mark 1:1-8: I Was Wrong, I Am Wrong, But Jesus Got Me

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”—“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” - Mark 1:1-8

The key part of John's message was confessing their sins and being baptized. Really, a big part of the gospel is realizing that we don't get it right and we won't get it right without Jesus' assistance. I think it is still as big a problem for Jesus' disciples 10 years into their walk as it is in the beginning. Something inside us wants to shout, "I am right!" For a person to stand up in front of a crowd and say, "I got it wrong and I keep getting it wrong but Jesus got me" is a humbling experience. After that, our self will try to claw its way back to "being right" over and over again because humility is not a posture that we naturally take. Sometimes it takes new forms, like "I got this one point better than that other person" or "I have found the best way of X. Why is it taking you so long?" but these forms are not about humility or even righteousness, they are about attempting to establish that we are or were right.

So that's why, in preparation for Jesus, John had to bring people to that "I am wrong" moment, not just enough for them to feel guilty (inside) but for them to feel ashamed (outside).

2 Peter 3:8-15: An Eternity Not So Jarring

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. - 2 Peter 3:8-15

What do you really want to last? Because that is what is going with you into eternity. There are none of us who will bring one asset or accomplishment into eternity. We only bring ourselves.  "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you be?"

But will we like that? I am not always sure that I would like living with myself for eternity. I'm not sure that other people would like to live with me for eternity. How is it that Jesus can offer no regret? I can see many gaps, not just in resume but in my character, which I wish were smoothed over like spackle over holes in my wall. Some of eternity will be spent, I think, in comparing the choices I made and  comparing them with the goodness of God. Even with the redeemed character of Christ living in me, there will be a dissonance and some time for resolution.

Maybe that is why the Bible reminds us to "make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." We will enjoy forever better if the dissonance is not so jarring, where the fulness of the grace of God doesn't shock when it is revealed because we have been living with it here on earth. 

Isaiah 40:1-11: The Hard Service or The Gentle Leading?

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. - Isaiah 40:1-11

If God puts us into "hard service", it is with the intention of bringing us out from the other side once we have learned what we needed to learn. Learning is not done by the nodding of your head, but by the repeated labor of hands and feet working out obedience over time. If the lesson and timing are critical, then God must use the means that will get us there before we are totally onboard. 

There are two paths, I think: the path of "hard service" where God brings us to a place where we long for his goodness because of the discrepancy between our longing and our reality and the path of "gentle leading" where God holds us close to his heart so we can feel his heartbeat. At some point, I prayed for the latter because I was sure I couldn't handle the former. Maybe I could have had the more radical transformation, but I might well have died in the metamorphosis. 

God doesn't. We falter. God doesn't. His plan is to get us to the other side, where God wins and he brings us to his "reward" and "recompense". 

Mark 13:24-37: Watch!

But in those days, following that distress, “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” - Mark 13:24-37

There are many programming tasks which are deadly to actually delivering a quality program. One of the most famous among computer engineers is "polishing the apple", also called "gilding the lily". It happens when a coder becomes obsessed with making something absolutely perfect and is never willing to go to the next step and release the product. That is: they are focused on looking down at the imperfections that they never look up to see the final goal.

In fact, he or she may become angry at the one who tells them that it is time to move on. 

We can be like that too. God has "put his servants in charge, each with their assigned task" and those tasks can consume all of our attention. But serving like that forgets the most important job of a servant: to watch what the boss is doing so that when the boss moves, the servant moves also. That's why Jesus says, "What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch'"

I think this happens because we conceive of God as static--that once we've figured out what God wants today, we think it will stay that way. We learn how to be good workers, parents, spouses today and "polish" that apple. But God is not static. He is good always but his goodness enters our lives in different ways at different times. That is why we are "followers": to see a new thing. Come with him. and he wants us to be there with him. 

"...Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." (Col. 3:1b)

1 Corinthians 1:3-9: The Best Dishes are the Ones Used Every Day

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. - 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

This is it. The new beginning to the story. Not the new end of the story.

Paul is clearly telling that God has enriched with resources for a new kind of life: grace, speech, knowledge, spiritual gifts, strength, fellowship with Jesus. It would really be a shame if we received all of these resources and put them in the closet, bringing them out only once a week to admire before carefully folding and returning them to the dark. 

The best dishes are not the ones we put on display, but rather the ones we use every day because we get to enjoy their blessings often. If you calculate true usefulness as beauty times the number of days used, most museum pieces would lose to the common dish towel.

Likewise, we have received the bounty of God's blessing and true usefulness is calculated by how it is used, not in how great our meager gifts might be because time is the great multiplier.

So we should rejoice at the new beginning that God has given us, because each day exploring the resources that God has given us and live thankfully in them multiplies our praises before God the Father. 

Isaiah 64:1-9: The Gospel-Not of an Instant-But of a Lifetime

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people. - Isaiah 64:1-9

Do you know the most unexpected thing? That God might solve the problems with me, not by replacing me but by reshaping me. "For when you did awesome things that we did not expect" God does things that we don't expect, either because he delights in it, because he is smarter than we are or because he finds justice in humbling the proud. 

One act of God I have trouble wrapping my head around: he continues to offer redemption opportunities to even the hardest of hearts and, somehow, he asks us to do the same thing. There are people we know will never change. They have always been like this or that. We continue to live through them being exactly like they have always been. We have to erect barriers in our hearts because they have disappointed us again and again. 

And yet, what is the gospel-the good news-if not expecting that people will change. We know that somehow that person can change and we shouldn't be surprised. Why, after so many failed promises and repeated failures? That's what God asks us to believe...because that's what God did with us. We were changed, however slowly, under the hand of God. We are the disappointment. The lost cause. The subject of rolled eyes and disgusted looks. Yet something new is forming. That is the gospel-not of an instant-but of a lifetime.

"Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." It requires the undoing-the unmaking-then the shaping. Why are we surprised? It is the lifetime.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: Sent On Ahead, Not Left Behind

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

One of the most common questions that Christians ask is: "But what about them?"

"What about the pagans in Africa?"

"How much sin and they can still be forgiven?"

"Is there another way to God?"

These Christians aren't asking for themselves. They aren't the pagan. They aren't the ultra-sinful. They aren't seeking an alternate route to God. So why do they ask? I think that these are a round-about way for Christians to ask questions about the goodness of God without sounding like doubting heretics. 

In this passage, Paul answers another one of this type of question: "Are  those who died going to miss out on Jesus?" Obviously, none of the people reading this letter will have this happen because they are believers and they are still reading.

But even then, Paul takes a moment to reassure the people in the church: no one gets left behind. Some get sent on ahead but none get left behind. "And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." Sometimes we don't need the answer, but it is comforting to know that God has the answer.

Psalm 78:1-7: Ergonomic Faith Is Livable But Not Challenging

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. - Psalm 78:1-7

All the important secrets are not secret now. What is important is that they should not be forgotten once revealed. But so much of what God has spoken is conveniently forgotten in our haste for an ergonomic faith-a faith that is designed to be comfortable in the usage rather than the faith that challenges us to look deeper. 

God hasn't hidden what we need to know.  God speaks long term. Many of his messages take generations for him to speak it clearly. The same way that many times we can't see the truth of what has happened until afterwards, God speaks in a way designed to be understood upon reflection. The reflections are so long that they require one generation to pass it to the next. So I will cup my ears to hear what God has said and repeat it faithfully, with full emphasis, to those who come after me. Hope its not like a game of telephone or submarine. 

 

Joshua 24:1-3, 14-24: Can't Hedge Our Bets

Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”

“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.

“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” - Joshua 24:1-3, 13-24

There are a world of options that we can choose when we look for someone we can follow. There were those chosen by those who came before us. There were those we have seen others around us take. And I guess we could tally all the pros and cons of following the Lord. Frankly, he isn't terribly visible and easy to follow. And he doesn't trade favors or take advice from me. So maybe he isn't the best choice.

My grandparents and parents did pretty good with their options. I am here and fairly healthy. So they must have done something right. 

My neighbors seem to be doing pretty good with their options, too. They have nice houses, nice cars, good jobs, beautiful families. So if I chose like they chose, I should get at least what they got and, if I'm focused, I might even do a little bit better.

The Lord tells Joshua that he is holy, he is different and really doesn't appreciate it when we flirt with other options. They can't be special at the same time when he is special. If we try to hedge our bets, he tells us to stay in the hedges.

 

Philippians 3:4-8: When Your Diploma Doesn't Fit The Job

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. - Philippians 3:4b-6

I spent a week in downtown San Jose recently, right next to San Jose State and a few blocks from where I received my college diploma. What is strange to me now is I have never worked in a job related to either one of my diplomas. None of the skills, none of the rights and privileges pertaining thereto has ever been listed in more than a footnote on my resumés.

So, if I was to go around and wave my credentials, it would do no good. Not applicable. I better not rely on them for a job interview.

Yet that is exactly what we do with all of our accomplishments. We wave them around to other people. We wave them around to God. Hoping to establish credibility. Look, we say. Look at what I've done. I must be valuable because of X. 

But God says, its not your accomplishments that makes you ready to take on his kingdom. It is Jesus. Just like a piece of paper--a diploma--never got me a job, neither do a LinkedIn catalog of all we have done establish our credibility in the kingdom of heaven. Instead it is the experience we have with the king that makes us ready to appreciate the kingdom and gears us to be ready to serve him. 

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. - Philippians 3:7-9

Matthew 22:34-46: Choosing Not To Choose

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. - Matthew 22:34-46

 "No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions"

Certain questions are dangerous to ask because to bring a point of tension to resolution would mean that we would have to change. Some questions, we suppose, are better left unanswered.  If the Messiah were really Yahweh, it would mean that God was really the human standing before them and they should be calling him Lord. Or else he was the most sophisticated Bible heretic that Jerusalem had ever seen.  Neither solution seemed good to the Pharisees, so they chose not to choose.

If we spend the time to think about the truth God has given us, it leads to inescapable conclusions. But rather than accept one of them--rather than trusting our life and soul to a conclusion--we choose not to choose-to rather live in mediocre, slow stupidity. Making a choice that might be right or might be wrong and possibly choosing wrong may seem safer, but actually it is guaranteed failure and cowardly. I have been scared enough already. It doesn't work. But if I will choose, I will choose boldly.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12: Seeing It First In Those With Skin On

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

There are a lot of reasons to do things in the church and many of them are bad. Paul lists a number of them here: error in teaching, impure motives, deception, getting the approval of some people, getting some people to do what you want, selfish advantage and control of people or the situation. 

How could Paul prove to them that they were acting in their best interests? Really, he could not prove it. He had to trust that their compassionate, selfless hard work would speak the truth in parallel with the gospel: "we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." I would say that people are good at detecting fakes: people building relationships tied to an agenda. In today's society, there are plenty of people who will be your friend if you will go along with their plans. 

Sometimes my test has become: how do they treat people who aren't their "type"?  That's what God did.  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) How will they know what God is like if they can't see it first in those of his people with skin on. 

Deuteronomy 34:1-12: Over His Dead Body and In Spite of Themselves

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. - Deuteronomy 34:1-12

I think that our lives are marked by goals never obtained, probably due to some limitation of our character or situation. Who knows? Maybe if I had been more aware of God's thoughts, I might have moved to the Philippines or become a pastor. Instead, I can only look upon those things in the same way that Moses looked at the promised land--with unrequited longing. All he could console himself with was that Israel would make it there, over his dead body and in spite of themselves. 

But on the other hand, he did make it. He died and was buried by God's own hand and made it across to the other side of eternity where his ancestors and his God waited for him. He was then a part of the great cloud of witnesses who see God fulfill his promises through Joshua. No one found his body so they couldn't build a monument to him and that's ok.

We will eventually fail, our bodies give out, our hearts despair, our characters break-but God will not and we can witness his success not ours. Isn't that the point? To let people forget us and see Jesus?

Matthew 21:23-32: Jesus Couldn't Turn Their Eyes from Themselves

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.  - Matthew 21:23-32

 Why are we surprised when God values the same things that we do? He values those who have decided that the way they are living is not as fulfilling as they thought it would be. The tax collectors and prostitutes found that their position gave them some benefits: wealth and influence over others. But they knew inside that they had those instead of the favor of God.

Jesus talks about a life and a freedom from the indebtedness to things which were fading: their beauty, their influence, their money and their power. Jesus made life with God seem better than those things.

But the Pharisees on the other hand found their position gave them some benefits also: prestige, respect, influence over others and they did not realize that they had those instead of the favor of God.

Jesus talks about a life and a freedom from the indebtedness to this life of self-aggrandizement and influence that was fading. Jesus couldn't turn their eyes from themselves and so God seemed a poor substitute. 

God grant me vision to see Jesus as a good bargain and I a poor substitute.

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16: Telling the Story, God Gets the Credit

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall. He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. - Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16

Story telling is an important part of who we are. So many of my conversations with my kids are "just so" stories-why things today are the way they are. Sometimes these are not fun topics-how we didn't go to the Philippines, how we left Fremont, why we moved churches, why mommy had surgery and many more. Sometimes these are fun topics-how we met, how our kids lowered each over the railing in our stairwell, how we raised our chickens, places we went together. There are so many stories where my kids have heard them so many times that they can finish them for me. "We will not hide them...we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord." God has taken us from place to place, and by telling the stories I give him credit and they see that. Maybe they will retell the stories to their kids and give God credit.

Exodus 17:1-7: When We Don't Get What We Want or Need

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”  - Exodus 17:1-7

 Were the people complaining for nothing? This passage says that they "were thirsty for water" and worried that Moses would "make us and our children and livestock die of thirst." Is this just short memory on their part? Had they forgotten how God had rescued them from Egypt? No. But they were not sure about the character of this God and were probably worried about Moses connection with this God. Was it sure? Was the signal getting through clearly from heaven to earth? Or was this episode of dying of thirst due to static in the connection?

This happens with us, too. When there is a prolonged period of need and no clear answer in sight, we wonder if there is a problem with the connection. Perhaps we heard God wrong. Perhaps we forgot to charge the battery. Did we miss the critical phone call from heaven or did God forget to call or did God speak unintelligibly? 

Moses is really complaining that he is getting blamed for something that is really God's fault. But unlike God, he could die from the rocks the people would pick up. So the people need to trust that God would provide and Moses needed to trust that God would provide. So Tim needs to trust that God will provide. 

Matthew 18:15-20: Private Before Public

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” - Matthew 18:15-20

In many of the villages and towns where Christians would later walk, who could you ask to settle disputes? In Israel, the city gates you would find elders known for fairness and wisdom who could be called upon to judge between people and whose judgement would be enforced by the authority of the town leaders. Jesus reacted to someone who called upon him, a stranger, to act in this role “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (Luke 12:14) 

But where did you go when in not in Israel any more? You would turn to the synagogue or the church. Paul chided the believers, saying, "I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?" (1 Cor 6:5)

Of course, the best resolution is that the two parties involved could just talk and resolve it: "If they sin, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you." How do you start this conversation? At this stage, the goal is to stop the destructive behavior before its effects are irredeemable. It is a test to see whether there is regret and if so, "If they listen to you, you have won them over. But..." 

But what? Up to this point, it has been one on one-just two people discussing something. Maybe you are wrong. Maybe you misunderstood or inflated what you saw. Maybe you will be accused of slander. So you bring a few others into the case who can listen with discernment. They will see whether this is as you originally presented it or not. If it wasn't or they see signs of genuine resolution, then it ends there. 

But what if it was a problem and the person you approached does not agree, does not regret, does not change? Then you take it to the next level: the church. 

Why the church? Because, in the hostile culture of the day, the was little chance of getting fair hearing. The church would select elders to hear and decide.  At this point in the process, we have arrived at confrontation. While the losing party might comply with the decision, it rarely results in reconciliation. and the people have to be ready for the outcome "if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector" 

What I hear most clearly from this is: privately before publicly and then don't trust your own judgement. 

Romans 13:8-14: Love Fulfills The Law, I Fulfill The Law

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. - Romans 13:8-14

"Love does no harm to a neighbor: Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Jesus said, "I have not come to abolish them [the law and prophets] but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17b) "Love" fulfills the law. "I [Jesus]" fulfill the law. Therefore Jesus is love. Pretty basic syllogism. 

Just like driving laws. There are lots of ways of driving that comply with all posted speed limits but still fall afoul of the Basic Speed Law of driving: "You may never drive faster than is safe for the current road conditions." That's a negative law. 

But I think that love is not simply refraining the bad to a neighbor, but also involves doing good to a neighbor. For example: "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Cor. 13:7) 

Paul wants to point out that the Law--all the rules and commands--so heavily praised by Psalm 119 and elsewhere--are not an end goal-some sort of checklist that, once completed, gets us on God's good side. Rather they are as a means and a guide to an end--loving our neighbor. 

Am I looking for an excuse to "not harm" but also "not help"?

Exodus 12:1-14: Choose To Number Your Days, Who Changed You Gently

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance." - Exodus 12:1-14

When a new king was crowned, they would start numbering the years based on that year: "In the 14th year of King so-and-so..." Same here: "In the month of Yahweh's Passover..." It marked a new era in Israel's history, one marked by God's defining act, to be celebrated with the Seder, a series of actions and words which recall how it all got started. And people have been celebrating this day, through good years and bad, for a good 4,000 years probably. 

We also have those defining moments in our lives. Maybe not as momentous as the Passover was to the Israelites, but still key dates that mark God's work in our lives. The day I confessed to God that I couldn't stop doing bad stuff without help. The day I came home from Eureka to find my parents had starting going to church. The day Jeff Blatt told me I should apply for a job at Award Software. The day I told my small group I'd fill out the application as a short term missionary. The day I realized Helen said yes. The day CBFMS told me they would rescind our appointment as missionaries. The day we decided to leave Fremont and move to El Dorado Hills. The day I started working at Insyde. The day Helen said she wasn't going to keep going to Cornerstone with me. And more-births, deaths, beginnings, endings and transitions. Each of them marked a new season in our lives and the days after that were numbered-fundamentally identified-as being before or after that date. 

Sadly, I don't remember the exact timing of a number of these. But that's ok. We don't know when Jesus was born or when he died, so we picked a day to remember his actions. So I will choose my birthday each year to reflect on those turning points in my life, thank God for bringing me through them and "changing me gently" as I prayed long ago. Maybe we don't have roast lamb, bitter herbs or bread with no yeast. Instead, we have French Dip, french fries and german chocolate cake. 

Matthew 16:13-20: Worst Evangelism Plan, Ever.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. - Matthew 16:13-20

Worst evangelism plan, ever. "Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah." Why did I even bother taking EE? The standing orders from Jesus here, and in other places was to say nothing about the Messiah. Why? Because God was doing things and going to do things and then they could talk about the Messiah. If they spoke too soon, they wouldn't be helping Jesus at all. In fact, they would be getting in the way.  According to N.T. Wright, Jesus was always walking a tightrope of proving he was the Messiah while at the same time avoiding bringing down the wrath of the high priests and the romans too early.

The fact that they were able to see what they had seen as like being given a sneak preview of a new movie. Reviewers of a new moving have to have their news stories published on the day when the movie comes out, which wouldn't be possible if they didn't get to see it early. So they agree to a gag order, a non-disclosure agreement, where, in exchange for an early look, they agree not to say anything before a certain date. The movie producers don't want to control the timing of the news because otherwise an ill-timed review could tank the movie and spoil the movie for other viewers.

It was the same for Jesus. The disciples got the early look and even got a special inside look at "the making of the Messiah" But Jesus gave them a gag order-don't say too much, too early. The people had to see God at work and then their "Messiah reviews" would be much more powerful. But if they spoke before God's big move, their words would wilt. Evangelism is about letting God demonstrate first, then we speak. People don't listen to our words about God until they have 1st hand experience of God at work.

Romans 12:1-8: Commanded To Allow Transformation

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. - Romans 12:1-8

 "...be transformed" is sort of a strange command, a passive imperative. If I say to you "be cleaned" (not "be clean") it would mean that I subject myself to someone else washing me, like the way my socks would if they could choose to be laundered. It is subjecting oneself passively to someone else's actions. So "be transformed" is a command to surrender to being changed by another-in this case-by God. Not just changed-transformed-converted from one thing to another. 

But it gets stranger: be transformed "by the renewing of your mind." So much of what defines our sense of self is encompassed in our mind. When we say that we "changed our mind" it means that the way we valued different potential alternatives has been reshaped so that what was once less valuable is now perceived as more important. God is really messing with our minds! Or rather he is asking us to choose to let God mess with our minds.

Why? Because the changes that God wants for us requires that we are fundamentally changed. Only after this fundamental change will we be able to see what is real. But once we submit ourself to this process "Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Do you want to know what God is doing and why he is doing? You will never be able to see it unless you surrender our very self to God and let him reform us.

Will I like what God does? I guess that depends on how much I trust him to care for me and how much I believe he is capable to being about the result he promises. Can I really be a more loving person? Can I really be wiser? Can I really change? Do I think he will do it the way he says he will. "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ... being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

It is one thing for Paul to say it, but Paul can't speak for me. I must say I will "be transformed" according to his promise. I sure hope so, or I will look pretty stupid in dropping my defenses. 

Exodus 1:8-2:10: When I Felt Guilty About Winning

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” - Exodus 1:8-2:10

To what extents must God go to overcome the selfishness that pervades our hearts and fights to retain the privilege we have? When I was in 5th grade, the GATE teacher had us play a game where we traded fake coins of differing values. The goal of the game was the trade such that we would win by essentially cheating the other players-convincing them to give us 5 for 4, 20 for 18, etc. To initiate a trade, players would grasp hands, discuss and then exchange coins. At the end of each timed round, our scores were written up on the black board and we were ranked. At some point, the top 4 or 5 scoring players got together and were allowed to introduce a new rule. The leaders essentially could write rules that made them richer, unbalancing the trade ratios, preventing defensive techniques used by those lower ranked, and more. 

I was good at cheating players. But it bothered me, and after a few rounds, when the first of the rule-making councils was convened and I was part of it because my name was in the top 5, I refused to join because I felt it was wrong, even though I had participated in it. As the rules created by the council were more draconian, a strange thing happened: the disenfranchised players asked me for help, to change the rules for better or at least block the worst. They would seek me out for trades, deliberately "losing" to me so I would get back on the rule making council again. I became "rich" now, not because I was cheating, but because the losers in the game wanted me to win. And I, in turn, challenged rules and redistributed the money to them.

The game ended unsatisfactorily, at least to me. Those who were losing eventually ran out of money. We couldn't stop the system that reinforced the rich who made the rules. OUr teacher stopped the game.

In these verses, we see a group of people who would go on to re-write the rules to reinforce their position against others who were prospering. Corrupt the midwives. Harder jobs. Later, no straw for the job. During this time, Moses moved from the losing camp over to the winning camp. But the winning camp never sat well with him. God allowed him to grown up in wealth, with two sets of loving parents (his own and Pharaoh's) but that position was not for self-indulgence, but for doing God's bidding. It took a change of heart and position for him to hear God's plan and identify fully with those oppressed. Even his background was not enough. It still needed God's hand, the same hand that had been guiding him since he was saved by his mother and sister as a baby: God's.

Whatever position we have is not for our benefit. Do not resist the impulse to use what God has given you to relieve those around you. You will not be enough, but God will. 

 

Matthew 14:22-33: Immediately Renew, Relieve and Restore

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” - Matthew 14:22-33

What is intriguing is that Jesus seems to have really wanted some time alone: alone from the crowds but also alone from his disciples. The one he wanted to be with was the Father. There was an urgency to this: "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat..."

The problems were still going to be there. The disciples are going to be terrified about a freak storm. The next day the people reassembled after their dismissal by Jesus, with a full complement of sick needing healing. 

After this, he jumped back into his work: "Immediately" he told the disciples to "take courage" and "Immediately" he reached out and took Peter's hand. When he switched back "on" he was right there, renewed by his time with God. 

Jesus knew something that I am slowly becoming aware of: we have enough time to do all the tasks that God wants us to do. There is a lot of pressure to fill our time to overflowing with "worthy" and "good" tasks, to the point where the most important relationships are ragged from wear and tear and neglect. 

Are we brave enough to say no to the friends working with us and the people who we serve to make sure there is enough silence to speak with God? Those who need our help with be preserved by God until we reach them after restoring the key relationship: God's. 

I am convinced that making sure that the inner-most circle of relationships must have times of intentional renewal: with God and our spouses and our families. Any time I think the world will fall apart because of me, I need to check with my significant relations to see if they share that assessment.

He took time to get on the same page with the Father, even though things were still going wrong

Romans 10:5-15: In Shouting Distance of the Gospel

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” - Romans 10:5-15

Growing up, I guess I was always within shouting distance of the gospel. My mom didn't really care to go to church when I was growing up. She would allow us to go with friends or a neighbor and we went with my grandma and grandpa when we stayed at their house during the summer.  She didn't stop us but she didn't go herself or take us. 

So I heard about God, about Jesus and flannel-graph versions of all of the Bible stories. Yet there was enough in those years to convince me that I needed saving. I was having trouble being good. I still have trouble being good. I didn't really understand why I wasn't acting the way I wanted to, but I did understand at age 6 that Jesus could do something about it. 

"The same Lord is the Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him." I did. Even the limited amount I learned from age 6 was enough to point me in a different direction. I was still a strange kid who exasperated his mom and his teachers. I was still a kid who tried to be helpful, cried over his failures, fought with his brother and lied to his mom-all wrapped in one paradoxical package.

But it started because someone told me. I don't think I want to forcibly insert God into my conversations, but neither will I forcibly remove him. He is important enough that he will show up in my conversations, if I am honest about who he is to me. 

'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.'  Some people have an advantage because they live where the word of God is close at hand, heard in off-hand comments and read in hotel room Bibles. But there are those for whom the road to God is longer-smuggled Bibles, hushed conversations, dreams from God-as Paul says, 'How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?' 

The path to God is never a straight line.

Psalm 105:1-45: Low Frequency, High Impact

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; and he sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.

Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness and made the land dark—for had they not rebelled against his words? He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die. Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land; he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number; they ate up every green thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil. Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood. He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. They asked, and he brought them quail; he fed them well with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert. For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord. - Psalm 105:1-45

We are the result of God's work. What happened today is the outcome of God's long plan. Not that what happened today was in anyway amazing. It was actually an ordinary day at work, burning off the debris from a disagreement last night, plowing through things I needed to do at work, catching a show in the evening together. The God who speaks into effect the big turning points of history also is the God who speaks into effect normal days. They show up in my journal but they don't show up in the newspaper.

Maybe the silence in history is simply because we aren't attuned enough to the frequency of God's activity. In music theory, when a sound descends below 20hz-20 cycles per second-it can no longer be heard, it can only be felt. In order to be detected-even felt-at those frequencies requires extreme quiet, extreme sensitivity or extreme volume. Might even be mistaken for thunder, an earthquake, a bomb blast or a rock concert. Between 10-20hz, when sufficiently loud, people in studies reported feeling the sound in the abdominal walls, having visual disturbances and feeling anxious. Between 2-10hz, sound is felt as "feelings of body sway" and involuntary eye movements. At 1hz the sound caused artificial respiration in test subjects.[1]

In order to hear sounds below 1hz, scientists have gone to the deepest caves on earth and placed sensors that amplify the sounds of the earth itself. There, they are able to hear the mountains shrug, the tectonic plates shift and the earth shudder.

Strange. How to hear God speak, when his words span, not seconds, but years, generations or centuries? The resonant frequency is so low-cycles per year, cycles per lifetime-that we cannot normally determine the pitch of His words, much less the meaning. We do not have the ears, the sensitivity, or the lifespan to see the full extent of what God is saying. Who can? No one. It requires listening to what one generation says to the next. It takes one generation telling the next, "This is what God is like, because he did this." By looking back, they can sing:

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

He has been speaking. We couldn't hear it. What he is saying is: God loves his people and he keeps his promises. One lifetime might only seem full of ordinary days, but the voice of God is speaking through ordinary days and pointing to the future where his promises are fulfilled. We join with the saints of the century, adding a new layer of overtones to the melody he has been crafting since eternity.

https://www.audioholics.com/room-acoustics/bass-the-physical-sensation-of-sound , retrieved on 5 August 2023.

 

Romans 8:26-39: Caring Through Disagreement

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:26-39

The worst sort of accusation is the charge of doing the right thing-when the right thing for the right reasons looks wrong. There are people who are advantaged by the fact that you look wrong. There are people who never look deeper than the appearances and make a snap judgment from which you must dig your way out. I remember when we had to dismiss someone from their very public role, I received notes and phone calls and was pulled aside for private chastisement. Because of the situation, I couldn't defend myself and it was hurtful when people who I thought of as friends and people I respected could not take, "Trust us, it is the right decision, but I can't tell you more." as an answer.

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things?" There is a point where you can do nothing and say nothing and must trust God when he says the same sort of things to me: "Trust me, it is the right decision, but I can't tell you more." Ultimately, God is the judge who will see through all  secrets. But trusting that is tough. 

The one thing I recognize now is that I did not add caring into my response. In these verses, God is careful to tell us "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Trust is difficult if you don't really know how someone cares about you and in my situations before, my disagreements with people led me to withhold caring. But if I am to follow Jesus, care must extend through any disagreement.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52: Unexpected and Significant

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (31-33)

 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”  - Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

The kingdom of heaven is unexpected and insignificant. 

We don't expect that small seed to become a huge tree. We don't expect the few grains of yeast to have such a big impact. It is that one ordinary moment that, if you are watching closely, could be extraordinary. 

We don't expect these things to change our life, like the treasure found while working or the unexpected windfall in ordinary oysters. It is like being finding a lottery ticket and realizing that it is the winning winning MegaMillions lottery ticket and spending your bus fare or house payment or inheritance to buy that ticket. 

What we do understand is that sorting fish-the picking the good fish from the bad-is a normal activity which requires discernment. It is the same discernment pays attention and sees the amazing in the unexpected and the life-changing in the insignificant details. I think that my problem is that I get into a mode where I let so many details of life and so many people during the day and so many thoughts in my head slide by without really thinking that they are worthy paying attention to. But God puts many people, events and thoughts around me to provoke thoughts of the kingdom of heaven but doesn't always shove my face into them or repeat them. It is my job to look.

Genesis 29:15-28: Consequences of Our Own Desires

Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”

So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.

When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. - Genesis 29:15-28

We are enslaved by our desires. The people around us suffer from this. They cannot make us happy because we are fixated on the "one" thing that will make us happy: the right situation, the right job, the right house, the right wife, the right family. Jacob suffered because Laban recognized this fixation and took advantage of him. Leah suffered because she was never her husband's first choice and she knew it. Rachel suffered because her Jacob defined her as the "lovely" and "beautiful" one he wanted but he was so drunk on his wedding night that he didn't notice that it wasn't her but her sister. Jacob's family suffered because his favoritism for Rachel extended to her children, causing his other children to resent her son Joseph. As Proverbs 11:6 says, the "unfaithful are trapped by evil desires." 

I think that we are trapped by our desires and our choices cement those patterns of entrapment. It is so difficult to break out of them, even with the best of intentions. That is why we need a savior not just from our sins but from our own enslavement to our misplaced desires. Our blindness to the consequences of our own desires hurts us and hurts those around us. I see that gap in myself and recognize my need for Jesus. I wish I didn't need to see it so often.

Matthew 13:24-33: Premature Optimization is the Root of All Evil (or at least most of it)

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” - Matthew 13:24-33

It was one of the pioneers of programming, Donald Knuth, who said: “The real problem is that programmers have spent far too much time worrying about efficiency in the wrong places and at the wrong times; premature optimization is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming.” Premature optimization is spending a lot of time on something that you may not actually need. 

In Jesus' parable, rooting out the weeds too early is premature optimization, because although it has some benefits-like give more room, sunlight and nutrients-it risks disrupting the outcomes for the most important resource--the wheat. The servants ask if they can just deal with the problem "efficiently" but Jesus says it is the wrong place and wrong time. If the "weed reduction" uproots  the wheat, then the dead wheat becomes just as bad as a weed--feeding no one. Maybe  our focus should be more on fertilizing the wheat rather than round-upping the weeds and trust that God's good DNA will bring them through. 

I also wonder if God intends that some of those "weeds" may turn out to be wild grains. Or maybe God intends sneak a few good seeds into that which the devil sowed.