Providence Church

Comparison is the thief of joy…so the saying goes. But I guess that depends on who you’re comparing yourself to. This is the problem that Jesus points out when he tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The tax collector paid no attention to the pharisee, he just knew that he needed grace… because his comparison was far more appropriate. One man’s comparison led him to the feet of God, the other led him to walk away thinking he didn’t need God. Jesus makes it clear who had the right perspective.

Don’t quit. No matter what the world throws at you. Don’t quit. That simple message may be just what you need to hear today.  Jesus tells us a story of someone that had no reason for hope and every reason to quit- but her faith kept her going, and going, and going. Will he find that kind of faith in us when he returns? That’s the question that Jesus wonders aloud as he teaches his followers.

When you know how the story ends, it will change the way you eperience the story. And if someone else knows how the story ends and warns us ahead of time what is coming, we’d do well to listen. Jesus knows the ending and wants us to live our lives like we do to…so that others will say, “That guy must know something I don’t!”

Sometimes it’s not our reality that needs to change, just our perspective. When you see things differently, it can change everything about you. For the Pharisee and the Samaritan, you couldn’t find two people with more opposite perspectives. One man’s perspective drove him to believe he was owed something. The other man’s perspective led him to worship at the feet of Jesus. And the gospel is on display in the gulf between those two perspectives.

Jesus is constantly telling his disciples how much it will cost them to follow Him. He tells them it will cost them everything, even their lives. Yet there is one thing he asks of his followers that may even be more costly than that- forgiveness. Exactly what do we mean when we talk about forgiveness? What does it entail? Is forgiveness even fair? What about that relationship? What if I don’t want to? What if they don’t deserve it? All these questions are complex and have a profound impact on the way we live our day-to-day lives. More than that, forgiveness gives us a chance to know God in ways we couldn’t without that experience. It may be costly, but it is God’s heart for his people.

What stops you from believing? Jesus calls out the Pharisees for their love of money and misuse of the law- two things meant to glorify God and point them to his grace. Instead, the Pharisees had made those things an end to themselves and missed God altogether. What about you? What have you misused, misunderstood, and misapplied to use it for your own means and missed God?

“Well done, good and faithful servant.” -or- “Good enough, moderately devoted church-goer.” We all say we want the first one, but most of us would probably be content with the second, especially if it means we get to live a more comfortable life here. In a parable that goes in a way you probably wouldn’t expect, Jesus teaches us how to pay attention to the things that matter the most and move on from the things that just aren’t that important.

By definition, things that are valuable will spur people on to pursue them. If it’s worth something, people will give up something else to acquire it. The challenge is determining just how much something is worth. What are you willing to give up to get it? Jesus tells us that God finds value in things that others might not. He pursues things that others might dismiss, let go, or ignore altogether. In that, Jesus teaches us much about God, ourselves, and the good news of the gospel.

Jesus never failed to draw a crowd. His teaching and his miracles attracted people far and wide. Yet every time his popularity seems to grow, he makes statements that thin the crowd and challenge their interest. He goes out of his way to say that following him isn’t easy- it has its cost. Of course, the opposite is true too- their is a cost to not following Jesus. You must decide which is greater.

When you have the right ticket, invitation, or all-access pass, you can find yourself in some places where you feel like you just don’t belong. As Jesus continues teaching on his way to Jerusalem, one of the things he makes clear is that there is an open invitation to anyone who would accept his offer. That invitation, though, often goes dismissed and ignored. Why is it that some respond to the invitation, while others have to go check on their oxen? Why is it that many are invited when so few were invited at the beginning? All of these things are why Jesus came and why we have an invitation to a party where we undoubtedly do not belong.