Luke 15 wrecks me because it teaches that God the Father is reckless in his love. All three parables in Luke 15 illustrate one main point; namely, that there is much rejoicing in heaven when that which belongs to God was lost and became found because of the reckless love of God. If we’re being courageously honest, most of us will admit to struggling with practicing unconditional/reckless love toward our prodigal children (or toward people in general) - a type of love with no strings attached - we struggle with dishing out the kind of love that God has toward us: reckless love. If you ever wanted to know what unconditional grace-saturated love looks like, Luke 15 is your passage. God knows our hearts. That’s why Jesus told these parables in Luke 15. Jesus paints a picture for two crowds; the rebellious (tax collectors and sinners) and the religious (Pharisees and scribes). The point of the third parable is not the deceived/reckless son or the arrogant/religious son; the loving/forgiving father is the point. Next time you have an encounter with disrespect or arrogance I want you to go back to this parable, meditate on the love of the Father and rejoice in the truth that the Father lives in you and is ready at any moment to recklessly love others THROUGH you. I give you permission to admit that you can’t do it on your own. The Father IS ready. You’ve been crucified with Christ. You no longer live. You are no longer a slave to your flesh. You have been buried with Christ in the baptism of his death. You have been raised to the newness of life. You owe nothing to the flesh, your emotions, and your blood pressure. You don’t have nerves, because you gave those up when Christ moved in. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Just like Jesus, we are free to do only that which pleases the Father. We are free to do only what he tells us to do. That, my friends, is true freedom. And because of the reckless love in you, others will come to repent and there will be rejoicing in heaven whenever that happens. Imagine a day that begins and ends with a commitment to unleashing the reckless love of the Father? Imagine what our church would look like if every individual believed this; namely, that God the Father, lives in us and empowers us to live with reckless love with the rebellious and the religious. Imagine with me for a moment that every single person believed that God the Father lives in them and is free to love everyone else through them.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Scripture Jam: Luke 15 + Abba (I Belong to You)
Luke 15 wrecks me because it teaches that God the Father is reckless in his love. All three parables in Luke 15 illustrate one main point; namely, that there is much rejoicing in heaven when that which belongs to God was lost and became found because of the reckless love of God. If we’re being courageously honest, most of us will admit to struggling with practicing unconditional/reckless love toward our prodigal children (or toward people in general) - a type of love with no strings attached - we struggle with dishing out the kind of love that God has toward us: reckless love. If you ever wanted to know what unconditional grace-saturated love looks like, Luke 15 is your passage. God knows our hearts. That’s why Jesus told these parables in Luke 15. Jesus paints a picture for two crowds; the rebellious (tax collectors and sinners) and the religious (Pharisees and scribes). The point of the third parable is not the deceived/reckless son or the arrogant/religious son; the loving/forgiving father is the point. Next time you have an encounter with disrespect or arrogance I want you to go back to this parable, meditate on the love of the Father and rejoice in the truth that the Father lives in you and is ready at any moment to recklessly love others THROUGH you. I give you permission to admit that you can’t do it on your own. The Father IS ready. You’ve been crucified with Christ. You no longer live. You are no longer a slave to your flesh. You have been buried with Christ in the baptism of his death. You have been raised to the newness of life. You owe nothing to the flesh, your emotions, and your blood pressure. You don’t have nerves, because you gave those up when Christ moved in. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Just like Jesus, we are free to do only that which pleases the Father. We are free to do only what he tells us to do. That, my friends, is true freedom. And because of the reckless love in you, others will come to repent and there will be rejoicing in heaven whenever that happens. Imagine a day that begins and ends with a commitment to unleashing the reckless love of the Father? Imagine what our church would look like if every individual believed this; namely, that God the Father, lives in us and empowers us to live with reckless love with the rebellious and the religious. Imagine with me for a moment that every single person believed that God the Father lives in them and is free to love everyone else through them.
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