Wednesday, April 26, 2023

 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023


Psalm 137

Exodus 20:18-21:6

John 9:24-41


Observance: Mark, evangelist and martyr


“I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person.”


When Jonathan Edwards first began preaching, his words were so powerful that they are believed to have helped kick off the nation-wide revival now known as “The First Great Awakening”. The title of his sermon? “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”. By the end of his career, which spanned revivals, missionary work, and some of the modern era’s most influential theological works, his sole purpose was to spend as much time as possible admiring the beauty of God. This progression from the stick to the carrot, so vivid in one individual, is repeated time and again in the church, both in institutions and individuals. It raises the question: do we truly love God for who God is? Or do we stay by God’s side simply because we are terrified of the alternative?


Being an ancient Hebrew slave wasn’t the same as being a chattel slave on an American cotton farm, or a South Pacific Islander blackbirded onto a sugar cane field in Queensland. But it wasn’t anything like modern-day wage slavery, either. It was an unwilling occupation; a job forced onto someone through circumstance, such as poverty, debt or crime. God, to make sure no-one got carried away with the excitement of owning another human, commanded Hebrew society to allow such people to only live in such a way for a maximum of six years. But sometimes, the slave would find their life so vastly improved that they would prefer to join the family they served, permanently.


Why do we Christians choose to stay in God’s family? Why go through the motions of waking up early every Sunday morning and going to church? Why go through the spiritual labour of sanctification every day? Are we scared about what will happen if we leave the household of God? Our heavenly Father bought us at a very high cost; the cost of the blood of His only beloved Son. God seems to think we are worth it; but nonetheless, there is the door, if you want it. As for me, I love my Master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more