15 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 10:25-42
• Ezekiel 5:5-17
• 2 Samuel 5
• Psalm 45

Observations:

• Ezekiel 5:7-9

Ah, I love this passage in Luke. Here, we have one who is familiar with the law and who understands it asking Christ for some interpretation. He knows that the summation of the law is to love God and Love your neighbours (paraphrased), but he's asking for clarification on who his neighbour is. Jesus' response: the person in need. Period. End of story. (it really plays off of yesterday's reading, but I'll get to that later).

In Ezekiel, God gets real serious. In a complete opposite tone, we see God explaining the reason for Jerusalem's punishment. Not only are they wicked and breaking God's law, but they are so wicked, they make the surrounding nations, already very wicked by God's standard, look good. In response, God is about to unleash a punishment on Jerusalem which he had never done yet and never would do afterwards.

In 2 Samuel, we see David's coronation and the strength of his rule, as God was with him (note, this is all pre-Bathsheba). In the psalm, we see, somewhat differently, a praise given to the king, for he follows God and is honoured by God.

Application:

So, it's really interesting to see the contrast from the psalm and beginning of David's reign to the destruction wreaked upon Jerusalem for its wickedness - shows how far something that was started off well can fall.

On another bent, I really, really want to focus on the Luke passage. Yesterday, we were seeing the qualities of what true missional action looks like and last week, we saw what exactly love looks like. Today, we see where love and selfless missional living meet. Who is your neighbour? The person living next to you, the guy in the car in front of you, the random dude on the other end of the phone at the call centre, the random person living on the street on the other half of the globe. These are all your neighbours. So, we must love them, we must go and teach them about God and share his love to them. That is missional living. In this passage, a Samaritan, who was reviled by and reviled the Jews came to the aid, at his own expense, of a Jewish man. There is so much we can learn here, if we only live and walk in obedience.

Prayer:

Lord, give me the heart of this Samaritan. Help me to grow in my understanding of your love and in both showing your love to others and in actually loving others as you love them. Give me the boldness to go out and witness as you commanded, and give me the heart to love sacrificially.

Lord, spread this love and understanding around me. As I grow, help others to understand and to join in: the kids at youth, my classmates, my wife. Help us to come together in your word and in our love to make a difference here.

Be with my parents, Lord, as they are praying over a life-changing decision. Communicate your will to them - whether they should stay or go, whether or not their ministry field is changing.

Be with my wife as we prepare for some next steps in our lives, getting ready for her to return to school. Help me to understand and appreciate her better. Give me the wisdom to speak well, and the love to love passionately. Help me to better support her in this.

Amen