Some scriptures I find comforting. Some I find confronting.
I have to admit I have found John’s Gospel this time round to be very confronting.
I am confronted by Jesus goodness in the midst of opposition.
He is meek, but not mild.
He is loving and firm.
He is strong and yet so gentle.
In many ways John’s thinking is summed up in verse 1.
Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
In the modern vernacular this is stated as, “Who’s your daddy?”
In our culture this is viewed as demeaning.
Who owns you?
Who governs you?
Who calls you to account?
In the John's world, this is stated as, “Do you live as your older brother lived?” Totally submitted to your Father? Warring against sin and evil? Hated by the world? Loved by the Father!
There is nothing sadder to me then children who dishonour their parents. Kid’s have good and bad days. They have hassles. They struggle to submit. But, at the heart of it, I always look to whether they honour their parents. Is their respect? Is their love? Is their gratitude?
To paraphrase John, if someone looked at our lives, could they answer with certainty, “Who’s your daddy?”
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An eight week journey of seeking God as we read.think.pray.live our way through the gospel of John
An Invitation
Please join us during this lead up to Christmas 2009 by doing the four things listed below. Anyone can join at any time throughout this 8 week period although obviously it would be best if you can begin with us on the first of November 2009.
Requirements:
1. Commit to seeking God EVERY DAY in Nov & Dec '09 in a way that is more radical than anything you have ever done before.
2. Read.think.pray.live your way through the Gospel of John in seven weeks (3 chapters each week) and then 1 John, 2 John, 3 John in the final week.
3. Listen to the Holy Spirit and obey whatever he says to do!!
4. Contribute your insights and experiences to this blog.
May we all continue to seek the Kingdom of God before anything else!
Requirements:
1. Commit to seeking God EVERY DAY in Nov & Dec '09 in a way that is more radical than anything you have ever done before.
2. Read.think.pray.live your way through the Gospel of John in seven weeks (3 chapters each week) and then 1 John, 2 John, 3 John in the final week.
3. Listen to the Holy Spirit and obey whatever he says to do!!
4. Contribute your insights and experiences to this blog.
May we all continue to seek the Kingdom of God before anything else!
2 comments:
"Who owns me?" That is the question that gets me. I remember reading the meditations of a Samurai and his sense of service to his feudal master: "When I awake my first thought is for my lord; as I walk through the day, my only thought is, 'How can I serve my lord?'; at the end of the day I ask, 'Have I served my lord?'It is in this discipline that I honour my lord and myself."
And putting aside the pretty brutal life they lead (what you would expect from serving a temporal master), I reckon that the sentiments refer Richardo, to (what I call)the Discipline of Ownership.
"Who owns me?" is the question I have (conveniently) forgotten; thanks for reminding me of it.
Who owns me? Who governs me? Who calls me to account? I can tell you what I would like the answer to be but I think you would have to ask my wife and kids this question to get the true answer.
It is truly my desire though to be able to declare with St Paul: I do not belong to myself, I have been bought with a price.
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