Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.
M y Dad sometimes wondered why I had ears; I certainly didn't use them to listen to him!
Perhaps the Lord wonders the same thing when he asks, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lamp stand?"
The point of his Resurrection is not simply that he would not be defeated by death, much less that mortal human beings have immortal souls. He rose from the dead to send us from Jerusalem to continue what he had begun, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. That was the basic reason why he came to his people and healed, taught, and consoled us; and why he challenged those religious authorities who thought they were God. If they thought his crucifixion would frustrate God's work they obviously knew nothing about their own God.
The descendants of Abraham and Sarah -- Jew and gentile -- were supposed to live by God's superabundant, providential mercy and demonstrate that same generosity and patient mercy to all the nations. As gentiles experienced that Jewish graciousness they too would invest the whole world in the knowledge of God.
But when people simply take the gifts of God -- healing from deafness, for instance -- without telling others what the Lord has done for them, they violate their own purpose.
The twelfth step of Alcoholics Anonymous reads,
"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
Without taking that final step, no one in recovery should expect the freedom from alcohol's baffling, cunning power. It will pursue and overtake them months or years after their unfinished healing.
I often asked the Veterans in the VA recovery program, "You want freedom from alcohol or drugs -- for what? If you want only the freedom to do what you want to do, that's how you got here in the first place. What is your freedom for?" Only some would say something like, "To be a worthy spouse, child, parent, church member, and citizen."
Our healing, strength, courage, and freedom are given so that we might hallow God's name and announce the coming of his kingdom. We have ears to hear and mouths to speak and hands to do God's work. We should live as if we know already that God provides for his people, and cannot be outdone in generosity. We own only what we give away.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.