Hope & Trust in a world without either

There is a curious parable in Luke chapter 16. It stands out among Christ’s parables since unlike most, it’s NOT a revelation about God’s Kingdom. Rather a commentary about humanity. A testament to where we should and shouldn’t place our hope and trust. (Psalm 118:8, Jeremiah 17:5-6) So it’s a parable we must read carefully, because without this understanding we may misconstrue a bad example as a good one, and take certain statements out of context. So let’s break this down carefully.

Luke 16:1-15

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 

The setup of this obscure parable. An audit of a dishonest manager if you will, to use modern vernacular.

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’”
So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ “ 

The manager weighs his options, only to rely on what he knows, manipulation and underhandedness, rather than doing the right thing.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. 

An unexpected thing to hear Jesus say, but one must consider the context. The rich man does not represent the Lord or anything divine in this particular parable. Unlike many others where God is interjected somehow.

For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 

Dishonorable people are more likely to betray people like themselves. Who are less likely to judge them or hold them accountable. In dog-eat-dog industries, there is a culture of greed and disrespect for those who don’t live by the harsh reality of it. Even if you are on the wrong end of it, as we see here. Alphas, as we often call them, know people will try to undermine them to get ahead. They anticipate and prepare for it. This is what makes them top dogs. This is not a recommendation from Christ. Rather a simple but unfortunate fact that we must keep in mind when dealing with worldly people. All the more reason to be wary of said communities.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 

Again, out of context, it may seem like Jesus is telling us to buy friends. In context, he is just exposing the shallowness of a world that we may envy at times. Dishonorable people want to get people indebted to them because they are always keeping score. They know nothing else, so they can’t recommend anything else. If we earn our relationships through provision, that is likely what it will take to maintain them. Such people love the provision more than the providers. This is why we shouldn’t trust them. In the original Greek ‘Eternal’ refers to a long period of time, not something divine.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
Here is where God’s Judgment finally comes into play. Those who will do bad things for you, or with you, will also do bad things to you. As it is often said, trust what people do more than what they say. It paints a more accurate picture of their character. God watches and blesses character, even when people are too mesmerized by wealth and popularity to notice actual integrity.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 

A famous verse in and of itself. Often quoted outside the context of the parable. The manager served only self, and he used money to do that. He also coveted what his master had, and hated him for it. Don’t trust anyone who puts their hope in money. They will betray you for money if given the chance.

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 

They didn’t like being held accountable to their master either. They didn’t like a spotlight being put on their superficial hearts. Since it exposed their unrighteousness.

He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. 

The Pharisees, like the shrewd manager, have earned all the respect, admiration, and relationships they had through worldly means. Yet God sees right through this thin veneer. What do you value more in this world so motivated by acceptance, approval, and validation? Where does your genuine self-worth lie?

What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.” 

But unlike the rich man and the Pharisees, God sees nothing noble, commendable, or trustworthy about any of this. As I implied earlier the parable is an example of a bad example. What not to emulate about human nature.

Jesus also said ““See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”-Matthew 10:16

When you put it together The takeaway is don’t be naive, but be cautious in navigating this wicked world. Yet don’t let caution lead to bitterness and cynicism. Most of the time we go to either extreme, instead of a wise balance.

The Visual PARABLEist

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
-1 Corinthians 16:13

In the Wrong

John 16:7-11 is a curious passage about the Holy Spirit indeed. I wonder why it hasn’t jumped out at me before. Then again, it’s a long stringy statement. It’s easy to let it all run together in our minds without thinking about the specific ramifications. So I will break it down for you, detail by detail.

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
    As much as we think nothing could be better than a face-to-face with Jesus. He indicates otherwise. In the Spirit is greater than in the flesh.

“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 

    The very first thing the Holy Spirit was tasked to do was correct us in our misunderstanding about three related, but specific details. They happen to be critical points of contention within the church today. The whys he gives are likely different from what you would expect. This is a testament to how wrong we may be about these three things. Most commentators I have seen on this don’t seem to consider this.

“About sin, because people do not believe in me.” 

    Many just say this means unbelief is a sin. However, if one does not believe, then they won’t have the Spirit. So He can’t prove anything to them, that must come from elsewhere. Besides, unbelief is hardly the root of all sin. Surely the Spirit would need to correct more than just disbelief for those with the Spirit. So let’s probe deeper and consider the root of their disbelief. Those who did not believe Him to be the Messiah, it was ultimately because they didn’t like what he had to say about the truth. It did not align with their presuppositions about scripture. Jesus frequently had to correct their application of it. (Matthew 5-7) So they rejected his authority because recognizing His authority would also undermine their authority and their own will that they had obviously interjected into the scriptures. Is that not similar to what denouncers of the Spirit do today? Do we still hold onto some of these Pharisee-like ideas about sin? This is why we may be in the wrong.

“About righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” 

    We need more than intellect to truly understand righteousness. It is more of a sincerity of heart issue after all. Jesus seems to be implying that the disciples didn’t understand fully themselves at this point. Perhaps we oversimplify and misconstrue righteousness ourselves to this day. If we only focus on avoiding wrongs, but not on embracing the right, we surely do. A sign we have shunned the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-18) Clearly, Jesus thought future generations of leaders would need constant guidance to be truly righteous. It makes you wonder why so many teachers simply define everything and never lift a finger to help people live it. (Matthew 23:4) This is why we may be in the wrong.

“About judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

     "Prince of this world" is a euphemism for the devil. He was the one who led mankind astray in the Garden of Eden, which brought judgment to us. Yet Jesus, the second Adam, overcame Satan in the wilderness. Condemning the judgment Satan brought on humanity. (Matthew 4:1-11) Even though Jesus talked about God’s Judgment often, dedicating many parables to it. People still project an Old Testament mindset into it, as if are still condemned. They forget that there is absolutely only one judge, and it isn’t us. (James 4:11-12) God wants us to be a part of so many aspects of the body of Christ, but not as a judge. So it seems we still covet what we do not have. We were called to seek and save the lost, so they may escape judgment through hope in the gospel, by the power of the Spirit. Not seek and judge the lost, instilling hopelessness through the law that we are unable to keep in the power of our own flesh. (Galatians 3) This is why we may be in the wrong.

I recall a time someone telling me that they initially hated Jesus because a woman from his church told him the reason his mother was sick, was because his mom was a sinner and was being punished for it. Not only did she utter a heresy (John 9:1-3) she was guilty of potentially leading a child astray. (Luke 17:1-2) She did not have a good grasp on the reality of sin, judgment, or how to lead people to righteousness. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but many still ascribe to this primitive idea. Many are also more motivated by pride, and only use the gospel to establish their own sense of superiority. (Romans 12:16) However, if they had the Spirit as a guide they wouldn’t have committed a sin, in a misguided attempt to combat sin.

An individual or even a church without the Spirit is inevitably going to be in the wrong somehow. Since by the power of the flesh, we are effectively trying to walk through the eye of a needle. By our own logic and understanding alone, we are so beneath God. Incapable of truly comprehending the depths of the truth to the fullest. Only able to ascribe to the juvenile letter of the law approach that leaves no room for the blood of Christ and the Spirit of grace that comes with it.

The Visual PARABLEist

“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” -John 5:22-27

Unconditional VS Boundaries

I keep seeing posts about unconditional love. They ultimately end up qualifying it somehow. Effectively putting conditions on unconditional love ironically enough. Yet these same people often talk about boundaries, which are technically conditions we place on love too. My fear is that people are playing these notions off each other in a way that they become the recipients of all the benefits, but don’t have to reciprocate. True love should be symbiotic, not parasitic. 

This got me thinking about where this idea even comes from. It often gets painted as Biblical, but is it? I could only find one instance of the word unconditional in the Bible, but it had nothing to do with Love. (Numbers 3:9) It was also specific to the NASB translation. (I limited my search to more scholarly translations in this case) Of course, many of these scriptural concepts are presented abstractly, not systematically. So that in itself is not necessarily evidence of anything.

Grace is often seen as an example of unconditional love. Yet it is somewhat dependent upon repentance though. With that being said, repentance is not a three-strikes and your-out concept. The Israelites blew way past that just in their 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus set a very different bar with his 70x7 statement. (Matt. 18:22) So perhaps the confusion lies in application. The church in its humanness often seems to offer grace inconsistently. Freely offering it to some. Yet stingy with it for others. Not that the world is any better by their so-called standard.

Perhaps the truly operative word here is love itself. The world today often equates it with tolerance and acceptance. So much so we cannot separate who we are from what we do. Meaning if you love someone, you can’t correct or question them, because that would make it conditional. This is a notoriously short-sighted view that will lead to terrible consequences when people set boundaries around their self-destructive and abusive behaviors. Which they do. God would never allow himself to be that foolish with love, even if we do. That is why his love is associated more with discipline, than tolerance. (Hebrews 12:4-13) Yet acceptance applied to unconditional love is a prime example of the double standard that I alluded to. We often expect people to tolerate things from us, that we would never accept from anyone. Even Biblically speaking, no one is expected to tolerate infidelity after all. (Matthew 5:31,32) So in that since love should be conditional.

Which brings up another aspect. Want versus need. For example, many want to win the lottery. Yet statistics show most lottery winners are flat broke within 5 years of the last payment being received. This is a testament to how giving somebody something that they are not mature enough to handle can be a bad thing. Since what they wanted was not what they really needed. A truly loving person understands this and puts need before want, even if some call that conditional in their immaturity. Yet in our limited mortal nature, we often fail to discern this accurately. Often interjecting our comfort into the needs of others. There is also more to need than just basic physical ones. The tail end of 1st Corinthians 12 actually lifts up this notion of varying spiritual needs. Instead of a one-size-fits-all application as people tend to favor. Especially if they are the standard. 

This highlights another subtle Biblical point that most have overlooked. Yet may be the answer we truly need. 1st Corinthians 12 through 14 are all part of the same broader passage. To lump the 13th “love” chapter in with spiritual gifts implies something. To truly love in a Godly way, we must do so in the spirit, not the flesh. When you get down to it, all these unrealistic notions about unconditional love, boundaries, and the double standards associated with them likely all occur because we try to love with the sinful nature of the flesh instead. Only the Spirit can navigate us through this complex notion without becoming self-serving in application. So if the church universal is seen as unloving. It is either devoid of spirit or being looked at merely through the lens of the flesh. It has become quite apparent that the world around us is doing just that, rather unapologetically too. All the more reason to not love as they do.

Let’s face it, we live in a world that wants to take love, rather than give love. This one detail ultimately turns something beautiful, into something ugly. With that being said, I would like to propose eliminating the phrase “unconditional love” from our vernacular. It’s just too misleading and unrealistic. It is not the ultimate standard that the world would have you believe.  I propose we embrace “agape love” instead. With the understanding that it is dependent upon the Holy Spirit to truly fulfill.

The Visual PARABLEist

Community of Factions

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. -Galatians 5:19-21

Ever read or possibly watched the movie based on the book Divergent. It’s a dystopian tale about a society broken into factions. These factions revolved around what each group believed was the ultimate answer to the world’s ills. Which happened to be where their individual natural talents lie. Other factions are often seen as a problem getting in the way of their one-size-fits-all brand of progress. Is this not a reflection of the church universal right now? Broken up into doctrinal factions. This is yet another example of the church following human nature instead of the Holy Spirit. Where we only want to emphasize what we are comfortable with, so we never have to challenge ourselves.

Worship/Love. Churches that center on worship tend to be about provoking feelings. They just want to help the people get happy. As if a whitewash of happiness truly transforms the heart, or honors God. A close cousin to that is love. However, love-centered churches tend to reduce the concept to mere superficial feelings as the world does. So both, if not the same church, effectively turn emotions into an idol. Yet they fail to recognize that the word emotion never appears in the Bible, not once. All because their actual understanding of the Bible is so very shallow.

Outreach. Churches that get overly fixated on evangelism and missions tend to be about recruiting recruiters for the sake of numbers. Yet once they get people in the door, what do they have to offer them but an expectation to recruit. Such churches always run into the same wall. A tepid response to the call of outreach. Some people just don’t have those particular sets of gifts, so they get treated as second-class. Even those who do are sometimes too broken to jump head-first into the mission right away. Since they’ve never been taught wholeness, or anything else not outreach-related. So these churches often just end up fueling people's feelings of inadequacy, instead of walking them through the healing they need to embrace their purpose. Which may, in fact, be outreach, or possibly preparing and equipping people for their purpose. Equipping is a stepping step some such churches like to jump over, only to fall on their face. (Eph. 4:11-13)

Obedience. Much like the Pharisees, such churches are mostly about defining righteousness and expecting people to live it, without actually getting involved. Yet they never address the ultimate cause of the bitter fruit of sin. Which always takes root in the heart. Those who don’t get driven away by shame, just end up faking it. Since they have never been taught wholeness of heart either. Does not Romans 2:4 say it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance? So why does this faction only want the emulate his wrath?

While this is far from an exhaustive list, it covers the most common ones I have observed. The irony of it all is that they are constantly pointing fingers at one another saying their gospel is incomplete. Yet they are all correct in saying so. If only they understood that the Holy Spirit would show how all these seemingly incompatible elements actually are dependent on one another.

Factions are listed as acts of the sinful nature of the flesh for a reason. Yet nobody wants to talk about it the same way as all the others. A subtle admission of guilt perhaps. A truly righteous church that follows the Spirit won’t be adding to this particular problem in the body of Christ. Yet those who do are clearly not following the will of God, only their own. Granted, people are frequently in different stages of their spiritual journey. So we are never going to all agree, all the time. However, if we’re continuing to follow the spirit, learn, and mature throughout our lives; shouldn’t the denominations be balancing out?

I know a guy who says “We practice Christianity, not church-inanity. This means our institutional bias’ has a way of shifting our focus away from what the institution was meant to stand for, in favor of the man-made institution itself. So we never question their particular outlook on any detail.

When King David was within the will of God, he was unstoppable. But when he wasn’t, his kingdom started to fall apart. It is no different for us, we could be a force to be reckoned with. Yet until we consider that we may not understand as well as we think and own the faults within the institution, that won’t come to pass.

The Visual PARABLEist

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. -Ephesians 4:15

Spiritual Community

I was looking up passages about community, because let’s face it, it’s considered a vital part of what the church is. Yet it seems to be a place where the current church often struggles these days. Hence the desire to seek wisdom in correcting perceived problems. Certainly, there must be more to it than just throwing a bunch of people together and expecting it to emerge organically as we typically do. While that may be adequate for some personalities. Not so much for other more aloof temperaments. As of now, I have not found any passages on how to cultivate community via some forgotten systematic formula. However, there are a few models given to show us what a church community should look like. (Eph. 4, 1st Cor. 12) Within these examples, there is a shared detail that grants us some practical direction on how to actually fulfill said examples. That being the Holy Spirit. To make these models work, we must follow the Holy Spirit to escape the trappings of pride and self that plague communities. Since the current-day church does not actually resemble either of these models at all, one can only conclude we are following human nature more than the Spirit. So it’s no wonder church communities are often dysfunctional. 

Consider this, according to psychologists, the desire for community is so strong with humanity, that we will try to build a community around just about anything. Including toxic things that only encourage self-destructive behavior. For example, street gangs. Technically a community, but that in itself does not make them beneficial. This should stress why we need more than human will to guide our church communities. Therein lies our first obstacle. Most current churches only give the Holy Spirit lip service at best. Others outright denounce the Holy Spirit, saying the only relevant authority of God's will today is the Bible. There are a few problems with this questionable argument though. 

    1. The statement itself violates the very scripture they profess. (1st Thes. 5:19)
    2. While the Bible can give commands and define righteousness we often need help in application. In the time of Christ, Jesus was constantly correcting the religious authorities in the application of scripture, and questioning their sincerity and motives. Naturally, we still need something more for the specific details of living it out correctly. Christ called the Spirit the Helper (or Advocate depending on the translation) for a reason. (John 14:16 & 15:26)
    3. The Bible can tell us that we are Set Apart for a purpose. But we need the Spirit to lead us to what our specific purpose is. It’s no wonder everyone tells me “I don’t know what my purpose is.”They are asking ministers and teachers, not the Spirit.
    4. The Bible can define sin. Only the spirit can reveal what the specific root of it in you is. Or what you specifically need to address to overcome it. The oversimplified whitewash-like advice of “stop it” has only led to frustration and repeated backsliding. The spirit can also give us the strength to face our wounds and resist, so we can actually live by said definitions. (Eph. 3:16)
    5. While some argue the Holy Spirit was only relevant in the apostolic age, let me refer you back to John 14:16 where Jesus says the the spirit would be with us FOREVER. Legalists even try to put a time limit on “blasphemy of the Spirit.” Even though there is no reference to time at all in the applicable passages. (Matt. 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, Luke 12:8-10) Some may use this made-up excuse to rationalize their blatant blasphemy. For others, it may be more about arrogance. They assume that if miraculous things still happened today they would be the first to experience it. They would rather change the script than admit they are not nearly as Holy as they assume.

“. . . The Helper can never be packaged or programmed to fit any man-devised plan. . . “ -Catherine Marshall, The Helper

Here in lies many people's issues with the Holy Spirit, our human nature likes our systematic and predictable formulas. As well as our ability to control the narrative and outcome. If we deny the Spirit, we think He can’t get in the way of our less-than-divine plans.

Granted we will always need the Bible as a litmus test, to remind us of our ultimate goals in the Christian walk. So as not to confuse our own emotions with the Spirit. Or possibly an unclean spirit that would deceive us. In short, the Bible tells us where we need to go, but the Spirit tells us how to get there. But even the Bible will do you no good if you rely on blasphemers of the Spirit with ulterior motives to explain it to you.

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” -John 3:8

Spiritual Healing

Wounds cause negative cycles, but it’s not enough to break cycles, we must replace them. Healing of said wounds cannot be achieved at a distance.

Matthew 12:43-45
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

It’s really easy to get distracted by Jesus’ dark imagery on this one. Yet perhaps the reasoning for it is because the potential consequences are so very dire. Once we get past that it becomes clear that he’s saying it’s not enough to eliminate the bad because it leaves a void. If not refilled deliberately with good things, bad things will find their way back in. In the case of sin, they don’t just spawn out of nothing after all, each person responds from their own heart. So if our heart is wounded it will more likely respond in ugly shortsighted ways.

It’s also easy to just label things wrong or evil. it’s not as easy to stop and consider how these sins we struggle with may actually be a misguided coping mechanism. Removing even dysfunctional mechanisms recklessly without a replacement will produce consequences, and ultimately backsliding. That’s why we must face the wound behind our sins, and not just the sin itself. As I said upfront, we must do more than break cycles, we must replace them.

Ephesians 4:22-24 puts it this way.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

It doesn’t just say take off the old self, nor just put on the new self, but both. If we just took off the old self we would be left spiritually naked and vulnerable. If we just put on the new self, the old would soil the new. If we only focus on one side of it, we are only setting ourselves up for failure. Yet there is a third point in-between, about the attitude of the mind. This is key to breaking unconscious behavioral cycles.

Consider Matthew 19:16-22

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

In the original Greek the word translated perfect, can also mean complete. Which may fit better with the actual question of “What do I still lack?” A curious way to put it, but it indicates he knew something was missing and was looking for answers to fill his emptiness. Despite all his wealth, he still did not feel whole. We don’t know how he came to put all his hope into money, or what happened to him afterwards. Since he chose to walk away from the answer at that moment. He didn’t even try to question or argue with Jesus. The only thing certain was he refused to change when told what he lacked. So the wholeness of heart he sought could not be found, since he refused to accept what the real problem was, misplaced hope. Like I said up front, healing cannot happen from a distance. Our flaws must be faced to overcome them.

A specific detail I noticed about this passage this time around is that when asked, what commandments should I follow, Jesus doesn’t say all of them; he gets specific. You may have heard that the Ten Commandments are divided into our relationship with God, and our relationships with one another. The six mentioned are all the commandments that deal with others, not God. It’s like Jesus is leading him to his ultimate answer. Letting us know that there is more to caring about others than mere commands. Even if we don’t break said commandments, it doesn’t automatically make us sincere. Do we also think of ourselves as more righteous than we really are similarly? Technically within the letter of the law, yet insincere in its application. Do we like the rich man only care about ourselves, not others? This insincerity points to the flaws within our hearts. Are you willing to face your areas of insincerity?

We see a very different response in John 4:13-26 & 39-42
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 

He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 

“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.””

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.””

Here there are no excuses, no denials, and no running away, but rather engagement. Jesus responds not with criticism or judgment, but by sharing great truths with her. Not about her errors though. Instead, he speaks of worship and salvation. Why is this? Could he be focused more on solutions because she had effectively owned her problem already? So he offers her an alternative, what she could be filling the void with. Instead of condemning the questionable things she was trying to fill the emptiness with. A solution Jesus himself wants to be a part of. What are we focused on with ourselves and others; the solution, or the problem? Not only that she shared her experience with others, and they engaged Jesus as well. She is already starting to experience the “set apart” life by touching the lives of others. This is critical for the full restoration of the heart.

Let me wrap up by repeating my opening statement. Wounds cause negative cycles, but it’s not enough to break cycles, we must replace them. Healing of said wounds cannot be achieved at a distance. What cycles do you need to replace? Are you trying to prune the proverbial weeds from a distance with no results? It's not enough to identify problems, we must deal with them. Otherwise, they just turn into excuses, a place to shift the blame from self.

The Visual PARABLEist

The Mystery

The book of Ephesians is an epistle I have taken a deep dive into recently. While the general theme is supposed to be about expanding our horizons. However, it occurred to me this time around that the misapplication and misunderstanding of the principles within have actually minimized the horizons of the church. For example, the Greek word musterion appears 6 times in the book of Ephesians. (1:9, 3:3, 3:4, 3:9, 5:32, 6:9) Which literally means mystery or secret. While most scholarly translations maintain the mystery, simplified translations will sometimes marginalize the word. The current church has marginalized this mystery in practice as well, and the ramifications are catching up to us. Alan Hirsch has already highlighted one of them with his book 5Q, which I have blogged about already. So we have been there. If only the church would do that. Here is a brief recap of some of the other misunderstood truths I found in this powerful epistle.

Chapter One, Predestination.
Some people take this concept to the extreme. Thinking it means that all our choices have been made for us already and that there is no free will. I imagine the appeal is that it absolves us of all responsibility. Leading to a very passive church that has fallen way short of the many things promised in Ephesians. In chapter one alone it talks of blessings, unity, and power. Clearly, passivity has not led us there. There is so much more to be had. We were predestined to be gifted with the means to live the Mystery of God’s will. Too many have chosen not to embrace those options fully.

Chapter Two, Works.
One of the most quoted passages in Ephesians is 2:8-9 which says we are saved by grace, not by works. Since works have nothing to do with salvation, people assume works must have no value at all. Leading to a very passive church. If only they would keep reading to verse 10 they would realize how wrong that is. Works have tons of value in areas other than salvation. Passivity is not God’s will, because it doesn’t work at all.

Chapter Three, The Holy Spirit.
Here it is revealed that the Holy Spirit is the key to unlocking the mystery. How we live out a love that surpasses knowledge. However, since we cannot qualify or judge the spirit systematically. Or embrace it without making a spectacle of it. Many just dismiss the idea. The church's horizons have diminished as a result. There are teachers and even denominations that openly blaspheme the spirit by saying that there is no other authority other than the Bible. Despite that, the Bible itself rebukes such ideas. (1st Thessalonians 5:19, John 3:5-8)

Chapter four, The two sides of righteousness.
Many teachers merely define righteousness, and just tell people to go live it as the Pharisees did. (Matthew 23:1-4) If that worked we wouldn’t have needed a savior. As Galatians 5:16 says “if you walk by the spirit, you won’t gratify the desires of the flesh.” In other words substitute instead of suppress. Don’t just take off the old self, but put on a new self in its place. Don’t just put on a new self either, the old self underneath will soil the new. Applying this truth one-dimensionally has only led to continuous failure.

Chapters Five & Six, Rules for Christian Households.
When some people read this all they see is the privilege of masculinity. Yet failing to notice this comes with huge responsibilities as well. Men who don’t live up to these responsibilities have no right to demand said privileges. Men who want all the privileges but not all the responsibilities are bad husbands, fathers, bosses, ministers, and leaders. It’s irresponsible men who have brought on radical feminism. The thing is feminists want all the privileges of femininity and masculinity as well. Yet not necessarily the responsibility that goes with it. In the end, their attempt to prove that they are better than men has only revealed they are no better than men.

Ephesians closes with the famous passage of the armor of God. This is in no way a call to passivity, apathy, or privilege. Quite the opposite. It is a call to step up in preparation, a call to action, a call to live the mystery of the gospel. But a church with such narrow horizons just isn’t up to this mystery that surpasses the mere knowledge they idolize.

The Visual PARABLEist  

This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”-Ephesians 5:14