S - "The Religious Experts and the teachers began arguing, “Jesus is speaking irreverently! Only God can forgive sins.” Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking this? Is it easier for me to tell this man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? But now you will see that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” Jesus then said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk home.” At once the man stood up in front of everyone. He picked up his mat and went home, giving thanks to God. Luke 5 TS
O - Due to culture's insatiable desire to control it is always wanting to script the lives and events of people. Religion leads the way in this tragic line of thinking. It places extreme emphasis on what it perceives to be the right words and the right actions. God's Kingdom is always about a right heart and an authentic relationship. Jesus asks the question: "Which is easier to say?" In a different conversation, he will go on to ask “What about those 18 people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse than everyone else in Jerusalem? Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don’t change your thinking, every one of you will also end in ruin.” Authentic relationship, not control! A change in heart and thought, not in vocabulary and performance. The world's focus is on informational accuracy (not a bad thing but not the most important one). Heaven is focused on relational integrity (critical to life here and hereafter).
A - The religiously, politically, theologically and the sociologically correct all want to script the words and the actions of people. This promotes the pretend, the hypocrisy, the double standard which perpetually keeps our world at war, at odds with others and at death's door step. It's a right heart, a heart in ongoing transformation, which is the key to the life-giving results needed by each of us and our world. A right heart in an authentic relationship with God will stop the pretend, hypocrisy and the double standard. It won't eliminate all mistakes but it does make the way forward through mistakes to life-giving conclusions. Our world doesn’t need more scripting or control. It desperately needs more heart felt change. And of course, Jesus identifies the most important place where this change must start. With me! In me! My heart, my thinking, my relational dynamics. I admit my need for the ongoing change of thinking which will avoid ruin and shape my heart as it was intended to be.
P - Lord God Almighty,
Thank you for sending Jesus to the whole world (7.7 billion) to clarify your person and your purposes. Your pleasure is in a right heart not in "right words." You're inviting us all to authentic relationship as daughters and sons not to a performance of actions disconnected from our hearts. I admit that without your ongoing help I won't be able to live this way. Thank you for making your heart toward us so very clear … if we will choose you will empower. I choose! I accept the invitation of Jesus to follow him and he will make me.
Grateful and encouraged here on earth,
Steve
