Does that give you hope...
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Object:
Does that give you hope? Even if your faith is small -- even miniscule! What a generous God we have! Do we appreciate that? We have to be careful that we don't use that mustard seed selfishly and pray for millions (unless, of course, we plan to give all those millions to mission causes)!
When we got the invitation to serve in Nepal, our kids thought we were nuts to go at our age, but when we prayed and took the risk, it was the greatest experience of our lives! We will always carry it with us as a treasure. The disciples' request came more from the faith they would need to forgive those who had hurt them and filled them with resentment. Before this text, Jesus gave them the extreme case of forgiving someone who had hurt them, no matter how badly! In some cases that can test your faith even harder.
There was a story on television where a man was called on to forgive someone who had killed his wife! How hard can it get? There was a father in my church whose little daughter was kidnapped and raped. He was waiting for the man who was convicted to get out of prison so he could kill him. I could understand his feelings, but I showed him that text and he struggled with it all the time I was there. His faith was growing, but it took time.
Our Lord often told parables about things right at his hand. There may have been a mulberry tree right there. When I taught my seminary class in Nepal, I concentrated on the parables and often used experiences in Nepalese culture and daily life to make them come alive.
The other story is not about those in church today, most of whom do not have servants. Jesus is talking to the wealthier people. He is telling them that he is the head of the house and all of us are his servants. We are also his sons and I think we must play both roles -- serving and being served. Our Bible is the book of instructions for servants of his. We should read it faithfully, which is one of the duties of us servants. Then we must note the duties that God has given us like giving our tithe and doing what the Lord has given us to do -- yes, even being a pastor! It gave us an opportunity to make a good living to go to seminary, but it was worth it! I did not do it to receive a great reward. Yes, there was a reward in the satisfaction I received from knowing that I was doing his will and repaying him in some small way for his great sacrifice for me. Remember that whatever we do for him, we are only doing our duty!
When we got the invitation to serve in Nepal, our kids thought we were nuts to go at our age, but when we prayed and took the risk, it was the greatest experience of our lives! We will always carry it with us as a treasure. The disciples' request came more from the faith they would need to forgive those who had hurt them and filled them with resentment. Before this text, Jesus gave them the extreme case of forgiving someone who had hurt them, no matter how badly! In some cases that can test your faith even harder.
There was a story on television where a man was called on to forgive someone who had killed his wife! How hard can it get? There was a father in my church whose little daughter was kidnapped and raped. He was waiting for the man who was convicted to get out of prison so he could kill him. I could understand his feelings, but I showed him that text and he struggled with it all the time I was there. His faith was growing, but it took time.
Our Lord often told parables about things right at his hand. There may have been a mulberry tree right there. When I taught my seminary class in Nepal, I concentrated on the parables and often used experiences in Nepalese culture and daily life to make them come alive.
The other story is not about those in church today, most of whom do not have servants. Jesus is talking to the wealthier people. He is telling them that he is the head of the house and all of us are his servants. We are also his sons and I think we must play both roles -- serving and being served. Our Bible is the book of instructions for servants of his. We should read it faithfully, which is one of the duties of us servants. Then we must note the duties that God has given us like giving our tithe and doing what the Lord has given us to do -- yes, even being a pastor! It gave us an opportunity to make a good living to go to seminary, but it was worth it! I did not do it to receive a great reward. Yes, there was a reward in the satisfaction I received from knowing that I was doing his will and repaying him in some small way for his great sacrifice for me. Remember that whatever we do for him, we are only doing our duty!
