“Nothing paralyzes our lives like the attitude that things can never change. We need to remind ourselves that God can change things. Outlook determines outcome. If we see only the problems, we will be defeated; but if we see the possibilities in the problems, we can have victory.”
–Warren Wiersbe
“…the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”
“These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”
Matt. 20:12, NIV
Matthew 20 irritates me. People are working the entire day, and along comes people who have only worked for one hour. This discrepancy drives the believer nuts. How in the world could such a thing take place? It is foolishness to us who insist on a ‘grace of appropriateness.’ We want grace to be fair, recognizing the person who has worked very hard.
The problem is that God is outrageous with His grace and love. He completely expands us to a point where we must embrace a grace that is completely beyond us. We have to break down and accept what is available to us. Grace completely dumps us upside down.
We can only proceed if we accept His definition of Grace.
Those who have labored the least are made equal to those who work the hardest. This seems incredibly unfair and we revolt against such extravagance. It strikes us as outrageously unfair. How can those who worked only an hour receive the exact same amount as those who have labored a full eight?
The miracle of this shockingly outrageous grace is that we are confronted by a profound freedom. We basically get brought to the point where we get stripped of these illusions and need to walk out the scripture. It has the tendency to eliminate the issues that could block us and bring us to a most receptive position.
“But he replied to one of them, ‘My friend, I’m not being unjust to you. Wasn’t our agreement for a silver coin a day? Take your money and go home. It is my wish to give the latecomers as much as I give you. May I not do what I like with what belongs to me? Must you be jealous because I am generous?’
16 “So, many who are the last now will be the first then and the first last.”
Matthew 20:13-16
We must admit that God’s grace reaches out to everyone.
That He has the deep, deep desire to see that each of us connect with His love. This is indeed the radicalness of the gospel. It is outrageous and astonishing. That He would love us who have hated Him. Our sense of equity is completely undone. His grace completely turns us upside down. I think that is a good thing.
“Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”
Isaiah 58:10-11, NLT
This is the precise key many need for this moment. It just could be as vital as your next breath.
You see our faith was never intended to be a personal ‘spiritual make-over.’ Discipleship was not meant to be about becoming a ‘new-and-improved’ person. That simply is not the message. There can be an emphasis placed on a selfish preoccupation with becoming better (and nicer) and we miss out on God’s real intent for His redeemed people. The difference is subtle but significant. We cannot sanctify our selfishness— no matter how hard we might try.
For years I travelled under a misconception that God wanted from me ‘a better Bryan.’ I felt like a juggler trying to keep the balls moving. But by making this my focus, and not on others, I only exacerbated my mental illness. For me, my depression is only intensified when I look inside. Often I can’t see the needs around me. All I can see are my own issues (which are formidable.)
Isaiah prophesies a spiritual ’cause-and-effect.” If a person will only reach out to others will there be a spiritual blessing. Often we struggle because we don’t realize the implications of being spent for others. We become ‘a well-watered garden’ if we will only reach out to others. If we would only learn that it is when we give out— we receive. The kingdom is reciprocal in the way blessings come.
“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Acts 20:35
The entire chapter of Isaiah 58 makes it a vital point to the people of God. Our own healing is contingent on becoming a blessing to others. If we will pour out we will be poured on. We become ‘a well-watered garden’ when we begin to serve others. Our own ‘healing’ will come when we reach out to the desperate needs around us. After all, isn’t that what we’re supposed to be about?
What follows is NOT an ordinary, run-of-the-mill blessing. Some would undoubtedly wish for one, and others anticipating what follows, will skip this blog. It happens all the time. But, at distinct times, the Holy Spirit surgically slices through our foggy-ness and illuminates us to ourselves.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,
half truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice,
oppression, and exploitations of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those
who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
–From a Franciscan Benediction
Blessed with discomfort, anger, tears and foolishness. Too often, we often think our discipleship as a massive undertaking for a personal renovation. And when that does happen, thank God! But we must drive this home, spiritual make-oversare not the point of holy living!
We are directed to engage the world and to hammer away at the lies, in order to free people, under the direct supervision of the Holy Spirit. When we serve, give, love, we will be surprised to find that our own lives will change, almost as an after-thought. Just maybe, that is what God intends? Maybe.
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
“Nothing paralyzes our lives like the attitude that things can never change. We need to remind ourselves that God can change things. Outlook determines outcome. If we see only the problems, we will be defeated; but if we see the possibilities in the problems, we can have victory.”
Broken Believers 