What difference are Jesus words making in your life? That's the question that Jesus sets before the crowd, because if you listen to them and act on them and live by them they will make all the difference.
Jesus gives two pictures again of two men building, notice that both men listen or hear, what is the difference between them? It is what they do with Jesus words, whether they put them into practice, whether his words become what they build their lives on that matters. (46) Is the key issue, Jesus is explaining what it means to call him Lord, or what it looks like to call him Lord. To call him Lord means that his words become the foundation for the way we live.
Levi is a great example, what impact do Jesus words have on him? He got up, left everything and followed Jesus. It is the same for Peter, James and John, Jesus says follow me, be fishers of men and they do it.
Luke has been showing Theophilus that Jesus is God the Son, he speaks God’s words with God’s authority, he brings and declares the kingdom of God is here. To call him Lord means to accept his authority; that he now deserves our obedience to his words because of what he has done for us on the cross. Jesus is Lord of all or not at all.
If Jesus is Lord it will mean we take what he has just said seriously. It means loving the person who has rejected or persecuted us in the work place, it means not standing on our rights but loving a person in need of God.
To call Jesus Lord means to act on Jesus call to a love that trumps that of the world; that impacts our will, decisions, actions, and wallets. That loves lavishly without thought or chance of return. To call Jesus Lord means there is no one we write off with the gospel, it means sharing it, loving, engaging with the homeless, the drug addict, the prostitute, the single mum, the refugee, the immigrant, because we see them as God sees them.
To call Jesus Lord means I evaluate myself, dealing with my own prejudices and sins before lovingly seeking to help others. To call Jesus Lord means grace will spill out of my life, it means Jesus words set the tone and pattern of my thoughts and actions. Is Jesus Lord?
This passage takes for granted that we are hearing Jesus words, can I ask is that the first thing you need to sort out. To be reading the Bible daily, after all you can’t put it into action without hearing it. Maybe you want some help, why not ask someone if you can chat about what you’ve read on a Sunday morning over coffee before hand, maybe agree to read the same readings, or use the same notes so it helps with that. Maybe you want to study the Bible with others why not join a home group. Maybe you want to make Sunday mornings teaching live a little longer why not listen to the MP3 and/or discuss it over coffee or lunch afterwards.
None of us are perfect, none of us have this sorted. But as we come across Jesus words the disciple will seek with God’s help to ask for forgiveness and to repent – to change on the basis of what God reveals.
What will you do as a result of Jesus words? Are we prepared to examine ourself in the light of his words? Maybe this morning we need to confess to wrong attitudes or actions, or that we say Jesus is Lord but there are areas where we are holding back. Jesus stands ready to forgive, he has already paid for it and cried out “Father forgive them.” We just need to ask and the repent, put his words into action with the help of his Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment