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Happy Reading! (and I'll be back!)
Luke 10 -- our pastor mentioned this concept yesterday -- of inheritance in the Jewish mind -- it's neat to come across it so soon afterwards. The idea is that, in the Bible, the word 'inherit' implies 'earned', and is synonymous with 'to possess'. It's associated with works, not grace. Something we 'inherit' is something that we worked for. Here, the lawyer is asking how he can earn eternal life. Jesus point is, he can't, so he points out to him his shortcoming from God's standard of perfection.
ReplyDeletev 42: "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." When Jesus sums up the Christian life with a statement "But one thing is needed", we had better listen. What did Mary choose over Martha? She chose to be taught. Jesus summary of the Christian life is that we be teachable. I've been in awe of this for months now, and I still love it.
Genesis 18
It's fun to me that 'preparing a quick bite to eat' entails making bread from scratch and killing and cooking up a fattened calf. I wonder how long the men were there.
Abraham's conversation with God is such a proof of the power of prayer to change God's mind -- it blows my mind.
Have you ever heard of the show "Way of the Master"? They basically take a person, show them their shortcoming according to the Jewish law, showing their need for grace and how it's provided through Christ. It's interesting to listen to. They always bring it back full circle.
ReplyDeleteI think of being teachable as one of those bamboo sticks- you know how you can bend it a certain direction and it'll grow that way, then you can change it? We must always be willing to bend and be flexible in order to grow closer to Christ. Sometimes through our trials we'll feel like a bamboo stick going in all directions!
I think the reason entertaining guests was such a huge deal back then (but should be now!) is because they indeed went through a lot of trouble in preparing the meals for their guests, and that trouble was recognized in varying ways by their guests, ya know?