Isaiah 1:10-20: Serving Not to Be Served

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

“The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. - Isaiah 1:10-20

The religion of Isaiah's time was the religion of self-service. It had all of the trappings of religion: a god, a temple, sacrifices, festivals, worship services and holy days. Everyone gathered together, said the right words, used the correct names of god, made the proper gestures, sang the right songs and said the right prayers and brought the right offerings, but the god who they really worshiped as themselves. The temple was an edifice built for the worship of their own well-being. It must have distressed God to see people coming into a place that he had established, only to see them give their hearts and allegiance to such a pitiful deity. 

What should the one who really wants to find God do? They have to realize how much attention that their so-called worship of God has been worship of themselves and how weak and narcissistic and bad it is. It is like the one who realizes that the house where they have spent their life savings and committed to a 30-year mortgage only to realize it was a shack built on a nuclear waste site. Or the one who gets the car of their dreams and pledges to monthly payments only to find that underneath the flashy paint job is a chassis built of rust.  How pitiful. 

One test of our hearts is to learn why we do the things that we call good. Are they oriented toward God really? Be suspicious of our own motives. Do things for people who really give nothing back. Once we delight in that, we are still serving to be served. 

1 John 4: The Measuring Cup is to Love like Jesus. Do I?

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. - 1 John 4

"This is how love is made complete among us ... In this world we are like Jesus." When I pour out salt for a recipe, I check that the salt reaches the lip of the measuring spoon. Too much and I am saltier than I should be. Too little and I am tasteless. I know that I often don't measure up to the completeness that is Jesus. Some people must have an incredible imagination to think that their Jesus matches the attitudes that they express. I don't have that kind of creative imagination. But, as the song says, "Through some clever thinking and a strong imagination I could twist the truth into any configuration, find myself doing things that I never dreamed I could do" (CP, Almost Threw it All Away)

John doesn't let us off the hook: "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar." I can come up with all sorts of linguistic gymnastics to say that what I am doing is not "hate", stating that my attitude is just a misdemeanor, not a "true" criminal offense. But I wonder, who am I lying to. Instead of admitting the truth of my sinful desire to hold on to my bad attitude. Instead of falling once more upon the mercy of God and grieving on it. Instead of working diligently against my own tendency to justify and never change. 

One day I will grow up. As Paul says

"I pray that you ... may have power to ... grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" - Eph. 3:18b-19

Philippians 2:12-18: Rejoicing, Not Grumping

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. - Philippians 2:12-18

I guess I hope that what I'm doing with my life is ultimately worth it. That the places where I have poured my effort and my passion are worth it and maybe something good will happen because of what I did. That's what I hear Paul saying: "I will be able to boast...that I did not run or labor in vain." 

He wanted that same sense of purpose for the lives of the Philippians. We are dealing with God here, not just a la-da-da vacation. Taking God seriously means taking his plans for us seriously-"fear and trembling" but not "grumbling or arguing" That's a tough call because "fear and trembling" tends to make me grumpy and when I'm grumpy I like to do all of those things. 

What is the antidote to this? It appears that the antidote to grumpy is doing it with other people. When Paul remembers the Philippians, he is "glad and rejoice with all of you" and he hopes that they should be "glad and rejoice" with him. There is a togetherness which creates an environment of being on the same team and even though it is difficult, it is difficult together as a team. I think this is true, because grumpy attitudes tend to be isolationist. So I plan to reinforce my time with other people who can help me be a rejoicing sort of person.

Luke 18:18-30: Excess Baggage Gets Scraped Off

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” - Luke 18:18-30

How can I do what I want and still get God to do what I want? The ruler in this passage is really skilled at avoiding all the "do nots" of the people related 10 commandments . He probably felt pretty good about his spiritual situation. Maybe he wanted Jesus to give him the pat on the back. He didn't fool around with women that he shouldn't, he didn't steal from people, he didn't lie about people and he gave good attention to his mom and dad. 5 out of 6 (coveting was not listed). Not bad.

Then Jesus subtly turns to the God related commandments. Specifically, the first commandment instructs us to have no other gods before Yahweh. So Jesus' command is really a diagnostic question to find out where this ruler's first priority is. "He became very sad" Because in the hidden places of his heart, he thought that he could have both: Have God give him the pat on the back and maintain his sense of security and control and status given by his money. 

I think God will introduce us to situations that are designed to show us where our sense of safety and control really lie. It's not that he does not know. But rather we don't know. These tests are not for the teacher's edification but our education. Ultimately, this ruler had to walk away when he couldn't squeze both into his life. Like the camel, there's not much room in the eye of a needle, all excess baggage gets scraped off. Just the way God wants it.

Acts 7:55-60: A Glimpse of Heaven

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. - Acts 7:55-60

 I envy Stephen a little bit here. Not the dying part. But the having the sensitivity to the presence of heaven. I know that heaven is overlaid upon my normal, mundane life. I also know that the renewed life that God gives could allow us to see the parallel part of the universe that is going on right next to me. But I think it requires a readjustment of my mind, one which is not easy to achieve. The clamor of daily life which I have lived for over 50 years overwhelms the glimmer of heaven that is all around.  As Elizabeth Browning wrote: "Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries" Stephen saw the glory of God. I wish I could too.

Deuteronomy 7:6-16: Living In The Covenant of Love

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young. The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you. - Deuteronomy 7:6-16

God chose us, not because we were special or because there were a lot of us, but because he loved us. Because of his love, he made a promise. And because of that promise, his favor covers us. We are inside his family, not outside.

God has chosen the difficult route of being our God. Rather than fear and punishment, he has chosen love and gratitude as the motivators he will use to change our behavior and our character. It is the difficult route because it is easy to take his goodness for granted. It is the difficult route because we can choose selfish behavior and know that God still will love us. I lived a lot of my life worried about how God might be disappointed in me rather than grateful at how generous he is. Worry is ultimately selfish because it focuses on my failing while gratitude focuses on his giving.

Knowing that, he still chooses to wait for us to love him back. "Therefore, take care...If you pay attention..." It is true that we can fail to experience the full goodness of God because we turn away from him. This doesn't discourage the 1,000-generation-faithful God and his covenant of love. But it does direct the pattern of his interaction. When we act like we are in a covenant of love with God, he can bless us, knowing that the blessing is a lesson to us in gratitude. When we do not act like were in a covenant of love with God, he must interact with us in the fashion that teaches us the goodness of God, not the goodness of fate. 

 

Galatians 5:13-24: Freedom for What?

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. - Galatians 5:13-24

What does it mean to be "called to be free"? Free to what? Would we say that a man or woman who has been 2 years free from alcohol is free because they are now free to drink booze? Is that truly free? No. It is clear that the freedom that Paul is talking here is not the removal of encumbrances but rather the enabling of a new way of life. There are lots of things that we can do with our freedom that are essentially the same self-indulgent things we were capable of before our encounter with Jesus. But we are not just free from the old life, but free for a new life. Free to live a life that isn't self-indulgent because that self-indulgence is a type of slavery where, even if the bonds have been removed from us, we place them back on ourselves. The new life is a freedom from the encumbrances of the old life for the purpose of a new life in the Spirit which blesses others rather than using them.