NT – John 8:31-59
How much do you love this exchange between Jesus and the Jews????
I have to say, the only thing I ever remember reading was the quote, “and the truth will set you free” and it is always taken out of context!
I have had a hard time here lately wondering why on earth I decided to read the Bible this year. And folks, I have to tell you, exhausted as I am from doing a cheese market this evening, THIS SCRIPTURE is why God called me to read the Bible in a Year.
Many times, I find myself in the position of the Jews in this scripture. But why? But how? But how can that possibly be? And God , ever so patiently, over and over and over again, answers me with love, kindness and compassion. Sometimes, it is a brand new insight like this passage. I have marked it for my doubting days. Sometimes, it is a lovely young girl with fresh opened eyes finding her way into the grownup Christian world and being excited by what she is learning and doing. Other days, it is the slog of uncomprehending passages like the stuff we have been reading in Judges and 1 Samuel. Those passages are there for a reason. I don’t know why yet since it is difficult to believe and harder to grasp. But I know that I have been called to read them, ponder them and work through them.
Psalm 112
This is not the psalm to read when you have declared bankruptcy. My good friend told me that the judge in her case slipped her the psalm in her paperwork as she left the courtroom that day to meet the sheriff to collect her final things out of the house she owned.
Friends, this psalm is one when you are riding high. When you need to be reminded that the good things come from God and not yourself. This is not the one to read when your son is dead.
We need to be careful, to be compassionate when our friends, children, spouses are not having a good time. God’s Word is powerful and in the wrong place, it can really wound.
May we have the wisdom to know when to shut up and just be and when to hand out Bible verses.
Proverbs 15:12-14
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
My friend Laura gave me this poem after one Sunday School lesson that I had taught. I keep it in my Bible with my other precious things. I am sorry but there was no author listed. If you know the author, please let me know so that proper credit can be given.
God Shows in Your Face
You don’t have to tell how you live each day;
You don’t have to say if you work or you play’
A tried, true barometer serves in the place,
However you live, it will show in your face.
The false, the deceit that you bear in your heart
Will not stay inside where it first got a start,
For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace –
What you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.
If your life is unselfish, if for others you live,
For not what you get, but how much you can give;
If you live close to God in His infinite grace –
You don’t have to tell it, it shows in your face.
Grace and peace to each of you.
First, I can't believe how often the quote from Jesus in this reading, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." is completely and utterly taken out of context. I am not even sure that I could have told the context until today.
ReplyDeleteThe "truth" is Jesus and he wants us to be in relationship with him and to follow him and try to do as he did. Jesus will set us free from sin and that is the only chance we have to a "true" Jesus follower.
Second, on the story that mentioned about the judge giving the Psalm 112. Not cool. That judge was way, way out of line. I am getting very tired of people who take verses, stories and even just part of verses of the Bible and use them like a weapon to prove a point or make an argument or start a war. Not the way that Jesus did it and not the way I think he wants us to act.