Read Philippians 2:1-11
The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
-Luke 19:10 (NIV)
MR. Simmons was in his 80s when I was paired with him for our church's evangelism program. Just out of college, I wasn't sure Mr. Simmons and I would work well together. I feared a man his age would have little patience with the questions and concerns of non-believers. We knocked on the first door, and a woman answered reluctantly. After a brief, unproductive conversation, we headed for the car.
What followed changed me forever. Mr. Simmons closed his eyes and prayed, "I talked too much and should have listened. Lord, please send another to reach this woman. Help me to be wiser at the next door, to know when to speak plainly and when to listen."
While I was patting myself on the back for knocking on doors, Mr. Simmons was grieving over a lost opportunity and asking the Lord to transform him into a wiser servant. A 22-year-old who knew everything learned from an 80-year-old what it meant to be like Christ, who emptied himself (Phil. 2:7) for the sake of others.
Mr. Simmons got up every day knowing what he was put on earth to do. Because he walked intimately with the Savior, Mr. Simmons understood the tragedy of life without Jesus. He taught me that all my evangelism training was futile until I developed a heart of compassion.
by Joyce Wallace (Washington, USA)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Grace: Getting the undeserved
Read Luke 15:11-32
The landowner said, "Are you envious because I am generous?"
-Matthew 20:15 (NIV)
GOD'S method of redeeming the world is not about fairness but about grace, and grace is about getting what we do not deserve. Grace meant that Jesus got what he didn't deserve: death on a cross so that we could see the extent of God's love. Grace also means that we get what we don't deserve: life.
Jesus' parable of the prodigal son is a story of this grace, with three main characters. The story wouldn't make sense without the father and the younger son, the prodigal; and the older son reminds us that grace often seems unfair. The story ends as the father pleads with his older son to come and celebrate his brother's return.
We never find out what the older son does after the party because, I think, the older son's response is our response. We are meant to finish the story in our lives. When someone gets credit for what we have done, when we are overlooked for what we have earned, or when living the right way doesn't seem to make a difference, we can accept the offer to celebrate God's grace. Or we can remain outside and refuse to participate in God's grace which is redeeming the world.
by Matthew Browning (Iowa, USA)
The landowner said, "Are you envious because I am generous?"
-Matthew 20:15 (NIV)
GOD'S method of redeeming the world is not about fairness but about grace, and grace is about getting what we do not deserve. Grace meant that Jesus got what he didn't deserve: death on a cross so that we could see the extent of God's love. Grace also means that we get what we don't deserve: life.
Jesus' parable of the prodigal son is a story of this grace, with three main characters. The story wouldn't make sense without the father and the younger son, the prodigal; and the older son reminds us that grace often seems unfair. The story ends as the father pleads with his older son to come and celebrate his brother's return.
We never find out what the older son does after the party because, I think, the older son's response is our response. We are meant to finish the story in our lives. When someone gets credit for what we have done, when we are overlooked for what we have earned, or when living the right way doesn't seem to make a difference, we can accept the offer to celebrate God's grace. Or we can remain outside and refuse to participate in God's grace which is redeeming the world.
by Matthew Browning (Iowa, USA)
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