* Some of the most difficult teachings in all of the gospels fall in this chapter - YAY!
16:8ff - The master commends the dishonest manager? Does that mean that God is going to commend people that are self-seeking and dishonest? Not really. There are two main options here. Jesus could be using a negative example to make his point about how Christians must also be shrewd with their resources (shrewd not unethical). I don't like this option as much as the next one. The other option is about what the shrewd manager may have really been doing. In this time period, managers were allowed to set their own prices...they could really crank up the debt someone owed and take a large cut off the top for themselves to make money personally. The second option is that the man was cancelling the debt that the customers owed to him...he was them his own cut off the top. He was a shrewd man that understood that being in the good graces of these people would be more beneficial to him in the long run, than getting his money on the spot. So although he was a dishonest manager, he sets a good example for us by making a sacrifice in the short-term that would pay off int he long term. I believe this fits well with what Jesus says next, because if we make sacrifices in our lives now (being living sacrifices) we will be paid off a million fold when everything is made right in the end.
16:13 - Pretty clear cut - you cannot serve two masters. I believe this applies to every area of our lives, not just money. As Christian we need to ask ourselves, "Where does my allegiance lie? What is it that drives me?" We either serve God with our lives or we serve something else.
16:15 - There are those who will do anything...will say anything to be right...to justify themselves in front of other people...to look good before man. We've probably all been that person a time or two. But what other people think of us means very little if God is disgusted with our life choices and our motivations.
16:25ff - I believe that the main focus of this parable is that you reap what you sow...you get what you deserve...God gives you what you want. The rich man while on earth chose to serve only himself...he lived the extravagantly and completely ignored the needs of the suffering man outside his door. Every day he walked by in his purple robe with a smoked turkey leg in his hands as Lazarus was having his sores licked by street dogs. He showed no mercy or love for his fellow man and in the after life he received no mercy or love. He rejected God and God's ideals, so why would he receive God in the end. He got what he wanted...nothing to do with God's kingdom.
16:31 - People often cry out for "proof" to justify belief, but often they have made up their minds, and even miraculous proof would fall on blind eyes and deaf ears. For thousands of years the Jews had been waiting for the Messiah and when he came - the religious leaders rejected him.
6 comments:
I agree 100% with the proof thing. Even if God did some huge miracle today, people would still deny it, explain it away, doubt it.
Have faith in the One you cannot physically see right now, but you know that He is there.
peace,
j
One more thing - I like how the Message sums up the difficult story - Jesus says "I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior."
A real application - don't just be complacent - try to really live for Christ.
j
I think I need frequent reminders of who I am serving. I often get too wrapped up with the small immediate things in my life and loose myself in silly things. I can remember when I was working for The MET; even though I was working in the house of God, I often forgot who I was really working for. The day-to-day tasks consumed me and were often taken too personally, like I was doing the job for myself. Praise God that I had an amazing friend that would give me frequent reminders that I was really working for Him.
Colossians 3:22-24 -
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
16:31 is so true. I have seen people deny salvation just because they don't have any "image" to attach to Jesus. However, I think that people have to believe there is something bigger than what is here and now. I've known people who make the lamest excuse for not giving the word of God a try. Most people in my opinion are too materialistic, to the point where they will deny the real Jesus and make up some completely bogus religion like "The Flying Spaghetti Monster" to satisfy a need to know there is something more.
Its pretty upsetting to know that some people will never come to know the Lord, all because of a super-sized ego.
wow.. i don't remember ever reading this before.
that's really cool: a story where heaven and hell are being used physically as the setting kind of thing.
I wonder if this influenced cs lewis when he was writing the great divorce, because that is of what it reminded me.
Woah! I haven't thought of that either, that's really cool! I still have your great divorce book Stephen, and I haven't finished it yet!
My favorite part in this text is where he says that no matter how miraculous a sign, people will find a way to ignore it. It brings peace to me since because I now know that my faith is not based on wonders and miraculous signs, but stuff that makes sense! God was a genius to design a way of following him where in America, those who need logical understanding of Christ and His Lordship have no excuse, and in third world countries, where we have people who don't care about intellect and instead want to know "what can your god do for me?", even then, there is a way...
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