Day #28
Larry Trotter
Words
of Love
44 “Woe to you, because you are
like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” Luke 11:44
NIV
Overcoming the Barrier
We’re wrapping up
this week’s consideration of fear and how it can become a barrier to the
abundant life to which followers of Jesus are called. In keeping with the
passage we’re exploring I will begin with a warning: Today’s devotion will not
be much fun, but it is crucially important. Instead of searching for wisdom to
help us overcome fear; we’re going to allow fear to help us find wisdom. The
verse above is from a larger scene where Jesus is invited to dinner at a
Pharisee’s house. Pharisees were highly observant Jews who made it their life’s
goal to meticulously keep the law, particularly in the face of opposing
cultural pressures. In the first century the Pharisees considered it imperative
to keep the law in the face of the encroaching Greco-Roman culture ushered in
by Roman occupation. Many Jewish people looked up to the Pharisees because of
their highly visible piety and gave deference to them in public places. This
was precisely where the conflict with Jesus began. The Pharisees wielded
considerable control over the Jewish community and apparently took advantage of
people who looked up to them. Based on Jesus’ criticism some had come into
financial gain at the expense of those who needed to borrow money, others had
not taken care of those on the margins of the community, and others demanded
the best seats in the synagogues while others were left out. Jesus accused them
of clinging to the trappings of religion but not living out the deeper
intentions of the law to live humbly before God and serve, not be served, by
helping people in need. By admonishing them with the word “woe” Jesus was telling
them that they should be afraid of the distance they were creating between
themselves and God. In this case, a dose of properly prescribed fear could help
them see that their emphasis on the outer dimension of their religion masked
the spiritual deficit inside that cause them to be a threat to others.
Well, ouch. To
the extent that Jesus’ criticism applies to you and me we need to embrace that
famous theological axiom: if the shoe fits…you know the rest. One of the hidden
dangers of being a part of a church, particularly those of us who have been in
church for a long time, is to think that’s all we need. We figure that our
church membership, periodic attendance in worship, and contributions when the
plate is passed puts us in good standing with “the big guy upstairs” as I’ve
heard him called. And worse, our association with the church can create an
attitude that we’ve got a leg up on those “heathens,” which often are simply
people or groups of people we just don’t like or agree with. (I told you this
wasn’t going to be fun. Notice I’m using “we” not “you” because, at times, I’m
in the same leaky boat.) Now let me be clear about something. When we find
ourselves trending Pharisee-ish I’m not saying we should fear that God would
zap us or cancel our eternal reservations. For me, the fear is that I’m letting
down Jesus in light of him being lifted up for me. When my followership is
half-hearted I’m cheating myself out of closer fellowship with Jesus, I’m
cheating the church that I made a commitment to support, and I’m cheating the
person that didn’t get served while I was serving myself. (Wow, this devotion
just gets more fun by the line.) But instead of hearing a threatening “woe,”
how about hearing a helpful “whoa.” Let’s stop settling for being a wannabe
Pharisee and start being an available disciple. 1 John 4:18 says that, “Perfect
love casts out fear.” Jesus was speaking to those Pharisees with the same love
he speaks to us. He doesn’t want us terrified; he wants us sanctified. Hmmm,
perfect.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I confess that sometimes I want
following you to be about me. Please give me just a little more grace so I can
stop serving my needs and to fall on my knees to serve. In your name, amen.
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