Provision inherent within the prize

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Matthew 13: 44-46

Much of our Christian life is  like this: forsaking the many – the things of this world – for the One in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

In leaving go of so many things on this earth for the sake of Jesus, there is bound to be fear and anxiety. We know the Gospel is a worthy goal, but that doesn’t make it any easier through the trials and tribulations this life has to offer. We only know that goal as in a dimly lit mirror, for now do we only know in part (1 Corinthians 13: 12).

And so while the day is coming when we will know in full, what sustains us while we travel? What gives us provision while we pursue the treasure or the pearl?
For we know that once we have grabbed hold of that prize, sanctifying grace has had its way in our hearts, and we stand before our Savior fully glorified, we will have neither want nor worry ever again. But what shall carry us on until that day?

Notice our man from Matthew 13:44: When he found the treasure in the field, he went away and in his joy sold all he had for the sake of obtaining the field. In the original Greek text we can see that the man did not manufacture joy in his being or go looking for joy, but that the treasure in the field caused him to have joy.

The prospect of selling all he had to own the treasure was the very cause of his joy. The treasure was so great that it had the power to sustain him in the pursuit of it as well as provide for him once he obtained it.

There was joy inherent within the task of forsaking all in the name of obtaining the One. This was not a task taken begrudgingly or with mere obligation, this was the a cause of joy beyond which the man had never known.

Kierkegaard had it right when he said purity of the heart is to will one thing:

Father in heaven! What is a man without Thee! What is all that he knows, vast accumulation though it be, but a chipped fragment if he does not know Thee! What is all his striving, could it even encompass a world, but a half-finished work if he does not know Thee: Thee the One, who art one thing and who art all!

So go, go on your way and be willing to seek the One thing. The prize awaits you, and while it will indeed provide for you one day, there is joy to carry you through in the meantime as well. Seek Jesus Christ almighty today and find peace, purpose, and perseverance in His grace. Pursue Him with all your might, and He will provide.
Be encouraged and of good cheer, for the Lord knows you and knows what you need, and He does not disappoint.

Not your average reading

We all know them; they are the famous passages. The passages everybody knows by heart and the passages every preacher uses when he gets preacher’s-block.

“Love the Lord your God…..”
“Be Holy because I am Holy…..”
“Love your neighbor…..”
And – invariably – some variation of, “The Kingdom of God/Heaven is like…..”

We all have passages we turn to first, passages we think embody the Gospel or our response to it, passages we use in counseling on a regular basis, passages we use in preaching and passages we think are foundational to the an understanding of the Kingdom (incidentally, my passage is Matthew 6:33).

Well, amongst these is Matthew 4: 18-22.

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him. ²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²²and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

And more than knowing these (in)famous passages, we all know the standard interpretation of them.

If I had a dime for every time I heard a sermon encouraging us to embrace the reckless faith of the disciples who left their jobs as fishermen to follow Christ, I wouldn’t be paying off my wife’s student loans until the day I died (I’m pretty sure I would have to pay them back even if my wife died….).

So, far be it from me to stray from the pack and suggest an alternative reading; for indeed it is true we all should look to the aforementioned reckless faith of the disciples.

They did leave all they had ever known for the sake of following Christ, counting all things as loss for the sake of Jesus.

But let us not become beleaguered by whimsical or fantastic ideas that the disciples lived some fairytale life. They fished because they had no choice: it was their family business and they couldn’t make it anywhere else. They woke up early, went to bed late, and probably smelled like week-old sushi.

I imagine they were restless and discontent with their lives, and when Christ came along offering a chance at something bigger, they jumped on the bandwagon faster Los Angeles when the Dodgers make the playoffs.

Perhaps they had heard rumors and rumblings of this man baptized by John , perhaps they could connect the dots and thought perhaps this man just actually be the messiah, come to bring in political stability and throw off the heavy-handed Roman government, perhaps they saw how much they had to gain should this man turn out to truly be the messiah.

Me? What do I see in this passage?

I see the Son of God walking along the beach, offering purpose, meaning, and eternal life.

And I see four men – two sets of brothers – sick and tired of their seemingly dead-end lives, sick and tired of the same daily routines, sick and tired of looking for purpose and meaning in life. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into, but they left all they had and followed Christ.

Where does life find you today? Sick? Tired? Empty, purpose-less, and meaningless?

Look at your life, and you will see the Son of God offering to turn your life upside down.

Trust Him. He wants what is best for you – Himself.

Don’t stop at desiring God halfheartedly.
Leave everything behind, detach your heart from all this world offers, and follow Christ.

He doesn’t promise a better job, a faster car, or a bigger house.

But He does promise Himself, and with Him your life will never be the same again.

purpose-less living

i fear purpose-less living.

i fear limping along in life with no direction, no motivation, no purpose.

i will always desire to know my God, but too often i forget the daily call on my heart to seek His face and walk in daily, constant, perpetual communion with Him.

too often i forget i am to literally hunger and thirst for my God.

literally hunger for Him and thirst for Him.

and when i am not consumed with my God, i lose sight of myself (John Calvin was on to something with his two-fold knowledge).

when i am not striving after Him, i lose awareness of who and what i am, and who i serve.

my thoughts, my actions, my words – they become meaningless and purposeless. i say and do things i regret.

not big things, not major things, just stupid things. purpose-less things.

i speak without thinking, i speak without edification to those around me; i speak just to hear my own voice.

i do things without thinking, i do without a desire to love and serve my neighbor; i do just for the sake of doing. i forget to be still and know He is God.

i become a person who doesnt cherish life in community with fellow saints, my brothers and sisters in Christ. i become a person who doesnt cherish life in community with people who dont know my Savior and Lord, and need to. i become a person who doesnt cherish the image of God in every single person i pass on the street.

i become numb, cynical, prideful, vengeful, and miserable.

i become purpose-less.

but oh the joy of simple living according to His purposes!

“But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33

But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12

oh the joy of living His purpose.

living with a purpose

One of the Greek words for purpose is “bouleuo“.

This is a unique word because it contains the connotations of deliberating with oneself and being resolved to an end.

More than an individual having a purpose in life, the implied meaning of bouleuo is for an individual to live a purposed, determined life towards a particular end or goal.

This is seen in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14 verses 25-35.

This passage considers the cost one must undertake to become a follower of Christ. Included here (not as requirements, but as challenges; “would you be willing to give up….”) are the forsaking of family and bearing one’s own cross.

Christ’s next illustration is of a man sitting down to build a tower, but first he plans out his strategy to ensure he has enough resources: the man sits down to calculate the cost of the tower.

Then Christ speaks a king going to war, who first considers the abilities of his own army to meet the oncoming opponent.

Here, in verse 31, the word bouleuo is used.

The king considered his troops, and then he resolved to go to battle and win. He planned, he desired, he intended; he took stock of his resources and passionately embarked on his quest. He was purposefully resolved to accomplish the end, to accomplish the goal, to achieve victory.

And so in life, do we do the same? Do we sit down at the beginning, count our cost, and resolve ourselves to achieve the end?

Do we live purposed lives? Do we understand from the beginning what may be required – even to the point of forsaking family and bearing our own cross – for the sake of being Christ’s disciple? For the sake of knowing Him? For the sake of being in His kingdom?

We embark on the path only to be confronted with disappointments, disillusionment, and potentially even disaster.

Do we give up? Or had we counted our resources well enough and become resolved, that when the earth gave way, still would we follow?

Ecclesiastes1: 1-11

Ecclesiastes 1: 1-11
5The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
Ecclesiastes 1: 5-7

I am eternally thankful this world is not my home; I am but a stranger passing through: an alien… a pilgrim… a traveler. I fear the meaningless, purposeless repetition of life; I fear getting caught in the trap of treating my circumstances as the final defining line on my life.
The sun will continue to rise and continue to set; the wind will always blow – though we will never know from whence it comes or where it goes. The streams will empty into the oceans, the stream never running dry and the ocean never filling up.
Our existence can seem tragically aimless, purposeless, and unfulfilling. I am tempted to question whether I am cursed like Cain to hopelessly meander about the earth, hidden from my Father’s presence and a restless wanderer (Genesis 4: 12-14).
Too often do I question God as to the purpose of my situation. Too often do I view circumstances as nothing more than troubling, wearisome, worrisome, and aimless.
My life’s meaning is hidden from me, until I look beyond my life. The sun will rise and set forever, but who is it that calls the sun from its shadowy slumber to a glorious appearing on the horizon each morning? The wind blows, what does it matter if I don’t understand why; how often do I thank my Jesus for the precious breath it brings me?
The streams will never cease to pour forth water, because our God will never cease to provide for us. The oceans will never be full because they are like my heart, unless God fills it with His grace, mercy, and truth, it will forever be lacking and wanting.
Our lot in life is not to question God, but to take His provisions graciously and strive for His glory, that others would not just see Him, but desire to seek Him (Acts 17: 24-28).
What if, for one second, I looked beyond my own circumstances; what if I looked beyond myself? How often do I seek God’s face? How often do I yearn for His perspective? How desperate am I truly for an awareness of His presence in my life?
How great is the God we serve? How gracious of Him to provide clothes to wear, food to eat, shelter to live under, and opportunities every day whereby we are privileged to share Him with others?
The question is not, “God, why am I here right now?” but instead, “God, how might you be glorified in the attitudes of my heart and the actions of my life in any and every circumstance you orchestrate for me?”