Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYKA1P5JAHI
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 3043 | An Unlikely Object Lesson
Greg Williams
I imagine that we have all witnessed the wonder, honesty, and even humor in kids as they grow and develop.
When my son Glenn was three years old, he somehow got away from the family and initially, it caused great fright and concern, but within moments we found him nestled in a corner of the lady’s cosmetic section and he was painting his face with bright red lipstick. When my mother heard this story, she reminded me that when I was the same age, she temporarily lost me in the grocery store. She discovered me in the canned vegetable aisle, and I was fixated on a can of Green Giant corn and I was mimicking the giant by repeating the advertisement jingle, “HO, HO, HO Green Giant.” What can I say?
Kids have a way of making every room—pretty much the whole world—their own.
Have you ever tried to “kind of” welcome a child? There are no half-measures when it comes to kids. Once they arrive on the scene, they own it. The whole dynamic changes. Adults might slip in and out of the room, but kids never do.
We see one of Jesus’ interactions with children in Mark 9. The disciples have just finished arguing about who is the greatest, and Jesus gives them an unlikely object lesson:
And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:35-37 (ESV)
In the honor/shame culture of the ancient world, hosting a respectful person at your home brought you honor, which brought status and connections. Children weren’t worth much on the honor spectrum. Better to spend your energy and time on having a great rabbi like Jesus or a rich man to your house.
And here, right in the middle of an argument about honor, Jesus plops a child down in front of them. Runny nose, sticky fingers, constant demands—a child. And he says when you welcome this person—this person who is the least of these, whose only gift is their need—then you welcome him.
When you welcome the inconsequential that’s when you meet Jesus.
Because the presence of Christ can be a bit like that child— occasionally overturning tables, always full of wonder and forgiveness. Jesus changes the dynamic. His values change the gravity. This is what it means to welcome Jesus. He doesn’t play by our rules, he doesn’t follow our plan, but to welcome him is to welcome life.
I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of that Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 3043 | An Unlikely Object Lesson
Greg Williams
I imagine that we have all witnessed the wonder, honesty, and even humor in kids as they grow and develop.
When my son Glenn was three years old, he somehow got away from the family and initially, it caused great fright and concern, but within moments we found him nestled in a corner of the lady’s cosmetic section and he was painting his face with bright red lipstick. When my mother heard this story, she reminded me that when I was the same age, she temporarily lost me in the grocery store. She discovered me in the canned vegetable aisle, and I was fixated on a can of Green Giant corn and I was mimicking the giant by repeating the advertisement jingle, “HO, HO, HO Green Giant.” What can I say?
Kids have a way of making every room—pretty much the whole world—their own.
Have you ever tried to “kind of” welcome a child? There are no half-measures when it comes to kids. Once they arrive on the scene, they own it. The whole dynamic changes. Adults might slip in and out of the room, but kids never do.
We see one of Jesus’ interactions with children in Mark 9. The disciples have just finished arguing about who is the greatest, and Jesus gives them an unlikely object lesson:
And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:35-37 (ESV)
In the honor/shame culture of the ancient world, hosting a respectful person at your home brought you honor, which brought status and connections. Children weren’t worth much on the honor spectrum. Better to spend your energy and time on having a great rabbi like Jesus or a rich man to your house.
And here, right in the middle of an argument about honor, Jesus plops a child down in front of them. Runny nose, sticky fingers, constant demands—a child. And he says when you welcome this person—this person who is the least of these, whose only gift is their need—then you welcome him.
When you welcome the inconsequential that’s when you meet Jesus.
Because the presence of Christ can be a bit like that child— occasionally overturning tables, always full of wonder and forgiveness. Jesus changes the dynamic. His values change the gravity. This is what it means to welcome Jesus. He doesn’t play by our rules, he doesn’t follow our plan, but to welcome him is to welcome life.
I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of that Life.
Psalm 1:1-6 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a · Mark 9:30-37
As we continue in the season of Ordinary Time, we want to give our attention to how we live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of our neighbors. This not only requires us to embrace the Great Commission, but it also requires us to be wise in our dealings with those whom the Lord leads into our path. The theme for this week is the wisdom of God. The first psalm admonishes us to find our delight in the ways of the Lord. In Proverbs, we read about an ideal wife who acts and “speaks with wisdom.” In the James passage, we learn about the difference between human wisdom and the wisdom that flows from God. Finally, in Mark, we see Jesus trying to teach his disciples (impart wisdom to them) and his followers having a difficult time understanding his lesson in humility.
Humility that Comes from Wisdom
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a NIV
The day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, many of Jane Elliott’s third grade students in Riceville, Iowa came to school upset and confused about how such a terrible thing could happen. She decided to conduct a two-day social experiment to help her students better understand discrimination and how it affects people. She divided her class by eye color — brown eyes and blue eyes. On the first day, she informed the class that blue-eyed children were smarter, nicer, and generally better than brown-eyed children. Throughout the day, Elliott gave her blue-eyed students more privileges and overly criticized the work of the brown-eyed students. She even made the brown-eyed students wear a collar so they could be easily identified. On the second day of the experiment, the two groups switched places, with the brown-eyed students becoming the privileged group. The results were immediate and startling.
On both days, the group designated as inferior performed their schoolwork more poorly than usual as they internalized the labels being placed on them. They were more withdrawn and often lamented having their eye color. The group designated as superior performed better academically, yet they became cruel to the children in the group designated as inferior. Elliott later said, “I watched what had been marvelous, cooperative, wonderful, thoughtful children turn into nasty, vicious, discriminating little third-graders in a space of fifteen minutes.” The teacher repeated the experiment with other third grade classes, college students, and adults with similar results each time.
Elliott’s experiments showed that dehumanization hurts everyone — both the dehumanizer and the one being dehumanized. The dehumanized group internalized the false narratives and viewed themselves as less than what they were. While experiencing academic success, the dehumanizing group became insensitive, cruel, and entitled. Despite the negative effects of dehumanization, every large society — past, present, and probable future — has created hierarchies with some humans on the top and some on the bottom. Nazi Germany, pre-genocide Rwanda, India’s caste system, patriarchal systems that discriminate against women, South Africa under apartheid, discriminatory laws against the Irish in Europe, and the Jim Crow laws in the US are all examples of destructive systems of dehumanization with devastating consequences for all involved. In the book of James, the brother of Jesus makes clear why dehumanizing hierarchies are so destructive.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a NIV)
In this passage, James guides the reader’s attention to both sides of dehumanization — the side of the oppressed and the side of the oppressor. “Bitter envy” can refer to a desire to possess what another has to the point that one feels resentment or hostility. A person who is being dehumanized may feel bitter envy — a resentful desire to have what another person or group has. At the same time, James warns us to avoid “selfish ambition.” We can understand selfish ambition as a drive to fulfill one’s desires without regard for the impact on others. Dehumanizers or oppressors can usually be placed in this category.
The truth is we all feel bitter envy and selfish ambition at one time or another. At some point, we have all looked with disdain at a person who enjoyed privileges we did not have. At some point, we have all pursued something only to find out we hurt people in the process. James acknowledges we may have feelings of bitter envy or selfish ambition, but he tells us not to harbor those emotions — not to let them linger and fester, which is a danger with both these emotions.
James warns his readers that bitter envy and selfish ambition can seem like wisdom. Bitter envy can masquerade as justice, prompting us to pursue our rights. To be sure, Christians are invited to participate in Christ’s work to bring justice to the world. However, God’s justice begins with Christ and is driven by love of God and love of neighbor. The type of earthly wisdom that results in bitter envy is oriented on the self and on satisfying a desire for vengeance. Similarly, the earthly wisdom that results in selfish ambition can disguise itself as merit. It causes us to tell ourselves that we deserve what we have, and others should work hard if they want the same. Of course, God wants us to be diligent in the work he has given us to do. At the same time, the work that God gives us to do builds the kingdom, which causes us to bless the poor, the mourners, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
In the American society, we can clearly see the impact of bitter envy and selfish ambition. We see divisions along political lines, racial lines, class lines, gender lines, and among believers and unbelievers. Our unredeemed desires cause us to fight and quarrel, as James explained. And there is a strong temptation to choose sides. We are tempted to be Democrats or Republicans. We are tempted to say Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter. We are tempted to stand with Israel or stand with Palestine. There is a lot of pressure to declare the team to which we belong. However, James points to another way. He reminds us that Christ followers are not called to win arguments and expose our enemies. Rather, Christians are called to be “peacemakers who sow in peace” and “reap a harvest of righteousness.” We are supposed to be on God’s team, and he loves all his children without any partiality or preference. He loves those on both sides of human-caused divisions. So should we, even as we are led by the Spirit in striving to right wrongs and heal hurts.
Instead of harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition, God wants us to live humble lives, filled with the “wisdom that comes from heaven.” In other words, we should resist the behaviors that seem to come easily, but are actually against our true nature because God wants to reveal to us his way of seeing our world and responding to it. In our dealings with others, we are to be “peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” We neither reinforce nor approve of divisions. We are not convinced that every opinion we hold is unquestionably correct. We do not automatically dislike those who disagree with us. We do not tolerate any form of dehumanization. Instead, we seek to reconcile estranged groups. We are humble and leave space for those who see things differently. We affirm the humanity and value of those with whom we may not see eye to eye. We stand with the poor and the outcast. We are the Church, the light of Christ shining in this world. We confound the wisdom of this age and shine a light on a better way. We illuminate the narrow path that leads to glory.
It brings more focus to Paul’s statement to the Corinthian church, when he said we no longer view others from a worldly point of view because we are called to a ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18)
While we are the church, we cannot be the church apart from Christ. We cannot hope to purge our hearts of bitter envy and selfish ambition in our own strength. In this passage, we are commanded to submit ourselves to God — to go before him, surrendering the things that do not originate with him. This includes our self-centered desires, our unprocessed hurts, our rights, and our opinions. We are able to submit all to Jesus because he has drawn near — near enough for his ways to rub off on us. He has drawn near enough that his gravity attracts our focus away from ourselves and onto him. He has drawn near enough for his light to reveal the optical illusions covering the sins of bitter envy and selfish ambition. He has drawn near enough that there is no room for the devil, the one who is the father of division and strife.
In our drawing near to God, as he humbles us and gives us his wisdom, we participate in Christ’s work to make peace. It is easy to look at our society’s divisions and lose hope. But we need not despair. Our God has made peace in the person of Jesus Christ. When we look at how we dehumanize each other, it can look like evil has triumphed. But, beloved, our God promises that one day all that is broken will be repaired. He is making everything new. Let us start now by laying aside bitter envy and selfish ambition. Let us do all we can to spread Christ’s gift of peace.
1) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/introduction-2/
David Kowalick—Year B Proper 20
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR052-Kowalick-YearB-Propers20.mp3
September 22, 2024, 2024 — Proper 20 in Ordinary Time
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8
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Program Transcript
David Kowalick—Year B Proper 20
Anthony: Let’s move on to our next pericope of the month. It’s James 3:13-4:3, 7-8. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 20 in Ordinary Time, which falls on September 22. We’d be grateful, David, if you’d read it for us, please.
David: Okay.
Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and lie about the truth. 15 This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 4 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2 You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Anthony: I believe all Scripture should have Jesus as the hermeneutical key since he said, all scripture is about him. So how might this pericope teach us about the God revealed in Jesus Christ?
David: And again, I’ve got to say, as a preacher, you can look at this passage and you can say, that’s actually a bit of a challenge.
Because it almost seems to be saying that you earn your way into God. And again, I have to say, these kinds of rebukes that are not only here but in other parts of Scripture, including the words of Jesus, are in the context of grace. It’s always the backdrop of: God has been good to you, he’s been gracious to you, therefore this is how you should act.
And it’s not a “therefore,” this is how you should strive to it, but rather this is the outcome, the fruit of the Spirit. And of course, fruit doesn’t come immediately, but it takes time. But it is an inevitable outcome that will take time, will take place eventually. Plant an apricot tree, you will eventually get apricots, not tomatoes. And the same is true if we are planted in the good soil of God’s grace, we will eventually produce words and a life which is gracious.
And so, if that’s not taking place, then you’ve got to ask yourself the question where is your life planted? It’s very likely that you’ve planted yourself in the wrong place and you’ve got your mind governed by the way of the world rather than by the goodness and grace of God.
So, in the context of the Father of heavenly lights is giving this “every good and precious gift from above,” that is the river that flows down through the church and changes each individual in the church over time. And it becomes normalized to be peaceable and gracious and kind and all these things that James is talking about here.
And when we see that these disputes and that sort of thing taking place, it usually means that we’re insecure. We’re not secure in the grace of God, and the outcome of that insecurity always ends up being selfish ambition and so on.
I always remind myself that where Paul writes, listing the good outcomes of the fruit of the Spirit, love, kindness, and generosity and so on. He also puts this other list of things that come out of the flesh. And it’s easy to think what he’s talking about is there is all those terrible people outside of the kingdom of God. That’s what they do. But no, he was addressing that to people in the church. That was what happens to people in the church when they operate in the flesh.
And of course, the flesh here isn’t — he’s not talking about the physical body. He’s talking about a mindset where you make your own way and make things happen rather than relying on the goodness of God.
And so, I guess I’d be taking this passage, and I’d want to preach it in a way that says: are we governed by the grace of God? Or are we, in fact, governed by a kind of effort to climb the stairway to heaven? Because anyone who’s trying to climb the stairway to heaven will always be standing on the heads of those under them. But anyone who is being captured by the grace of God will actually be promoting others rather than trying to climb up the greasy pole of power in the church.
And it can happen in the church. I’m sure you’re well aware that people in the church can really crave power and crave positions and crave notoriety. And look, preachers, of course, are under more pressure than most because you know, we want — I want people to like me. Strangely enough, not everyone does, but I do want people to like me.
And it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing what it takes to get people to like you and then compromise and compromise the message of God. Or to preach in such a way that you can just make people feel good, and they say, what a great preacher! That kind of a thing. That’s all “anti” the kingdom. It sounds nice, but it can just be quite the opposite.
There’s one little thing here I noticed. He says, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he’ll flee from you. And draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. That could easily be seen as it’s all up to you. It’s up to me. I’m going to go and pursue God and then God will notice me, and he’ll come my way.
I don’t think that’s what it’s saying. It’s more you see, you might find yourself trapped, you might find yourself trapped in a vice. Maybe you’ve got an addiction, maybe you’ve got someone you just cannot stand, or you’ve got an enemy that you cannot forgive, that kind of a thing. They’re insurmountable problems and when you’re in that vice of unforgiveness or under temptation, you’re easy pickings for the devil, in this case.
But what he’s saying there, I believe, is all it takes is just don’t give in. Don’t make it easy for the schemes of the evil one, rather just take a stand and trust that God’s going to look after you. And amazingly, when you do it, it actually happens. And if you give your attention to God, guess what? He is ready and waiting right there to pour out his goodness on you.
And he will come near to you — he’s already near to you, but he’s waiting for you to turn to him and then he just wants, he wants to shower you with his kindness and goodness, but we resist him by turning the other way.
I like to go fishing but every single fish I’ve ever caught, I’ve caught while I’m actually out there fishing, not when I’m at home thinking about it. And I think the same is true here. You don’t get a victory over the schemes of the evil one by just wishing them. You take a stand and the blessings of God, as you decide just to get on with the job and be involved in what God is doing and submit yourself to his plans. Guess what happens?
It just opens the door. And things happen that are well beyond your human capacity, and you find yourself in the middle of miracle making and think, this is obviously not me. This is something else.
Anthony: That’s a good metaphor, for what you brought up about fishing. It makes me think of repentance.
I think one of the harms that has been done in the church is to think of repentance as a one and done scenario on our end. Of course, it is one and done in terms of Christ’s repentance on our behalf, for us and in us. And we thank God for that because that’s what allows us to repent.
But for me, David, repentance is an ongoing day by day, sometimes moment by moment experience. Because as I look at this passage, I’ve had bitter envy. I’ve had selfish ambition. I’ve been arrogant. I have lied. I have not spoken out of wisdom. I’ve done all the things it says not to do, not to take the stand. But by the grace of God, I’m seeing those things die slowly, a slow-motion death (to use your words), but it happens. And I think we have to see it as, we are where we are by the grace of God, and yet there’s more to go. There’s the work to be done. Let’s go fishing. Let’s go repenting and see God show up in amazing ways in our life.
Program Transcript
David Kowalick—Year B Proper 20
Anthony: Let’s move on to our next pericope of the month. It’s James 3:13-4:3, 7-8. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 20 in Ordinary Time, which falls on September 22. We’d be grateful, David, if you’d read it for us, please.
David: Okay.
Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and lie about the truth. 15 This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 4 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2 You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Anthony: I believe all Scripture should have Jesus as the hermeneutical key since he said, all scripture is about him. So how might this pericope teach us about the God revealed in Jesus Christ?
David: And again, I’ve got to say, as a preacher, you can look at this passage and you can say, that’s actually a bit of a challenge.
Because it almost seems to be saying that you earn your way into God. And again, I have to say, these kinds of rebukes that are not only here but in other parts of Scripture, including the words of Jesus, are in the context of grace. It’s always the backdrop of: God has been good to you, he’s been gracious to you, therefore this is how you should act.
And it’s not a “therefore,” this is how you should strive to it, but rather this is the outcome, the fruit of the Spirit. And of course, fruit doesn’t come immediately, but it takes time. But it is an inevitable outcome that will take time, will take place eventually. Plant an apricot tree, you will eventually get apricots, not tomatoes. And the same is true if we are planted in the good soil of God’s grace, we will eventually produce words and a life which is gracious.
And so, if that’s not taking place, then you’ve got to ask yourself the question where is your life planted? It’s very likely that you’ve planted yourself in the wrong place and you’ve got your mind governed by the way of the world rather than by the goodness and grace of God.
So, in the context of the Father of heavenly lights is giving this “every good and precious gift from above,” that is the river that flows down through the church and changes each individual in the church over time. And it becomes normalized to be peaceable and gracious and kind and all these things that James is talking about here.
And when we see that these disputes and that sort of thing taking place, it usually means that we’re insecure. We’re not secure in the grace of God, and the outcome of that insecurity always ends up being selfish ambition and so on.
I always remind myself that where Paul writes, listing the good outcomes of the fruit of the Spirit, love, kindness, and generosity and so on. He also puts this other list of things that come out of the flesh. And it’s easy to think what he’s talking about is there is all those terrible people outside of the kingdom of God. That’s what they do. But no, he was addressing that to people in the church. That was what happens to people in the church when they operate in the flesh.
And of course, the flesh here isn’t — he’s not talking about the physical body. He’s talking about a mindset where you make your own way and make things happen rather than relying on the goodness of God.
And so, I guess I’d be taking this passage, and I’d want to preach it in a way that says: are we governed by the grace of God? Or are we, in fact, governed by a kind of effort to climb the stairway to heaven? Because anyone who’s trying to climb the stairway to heaven will always be standing on the heads of those under them. But anyone who is being captured by the grace of God will actually be promoting others rather than trying to climb up the greasy pole of power in the church.
And it can happen in the church. I’m sure you’re well aware that people in the church can really crave power and crave positions and crave notoriety. And look, preachers, of course, are under more pressure than most because you know, we want — I want people to like me. Strangely enough, not everyone does, but I do want people to like me.
And it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing what it takes to get people to like you and then compromise and compromise the message of God. Or to preach in such a way that you can just make people feel good, and they say, what a great preacher! That kind of a thing. That’s all “anti” the kingdom. It sounds nice, but it can just be quite the opposite.
There’s one little thing here I noticed. He says, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he’ll flee from you. And draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. That could easily be seen as it’s all up to you. It’s up to me. I’m going to go and pursue God and then God will notice me, and he’ll come my way.
I don’t think that’s what it’s saying. It’s more you see, you might find yourself trapped, you might find yourself trapped in a vice. Maybe you’ve got an addiction, maybe you’ve got someone you just cannot stand, or you’ve got an enemy that you cannot forgive, that kind of a thing. They’re insurmountable problems and when you’re in that vice of unforgiveness or under temptation, you’re easy pickings for the devil, in this case.
But what he’s saying there, I believe, is all it takes is just don’t give in. Don’t make it easy for the schemes of the evil one, rather just take a stand and trust that God’s going to look after you. And amazingly, when you do it, it actually happens. And if you give your attention to God, guess what? He is ready and waiting right there to pour out his goodness on you.
And he will come near to you — he’s already near to you, but he’s waiting for you to turn to him and then he just wants, he wants to shower you with his kindness and goodness, but we resist him by turning the other way.
I like to go fishing but every single fish I’ve ever caught, I’ve caught while I’m actually out there fishing, not when I’m at home thinking about it. And I think the same is true here. You don’t get a victory over the schemes of the evil one by just wishing them. You take a stand and the blessings of God, as you decide just to get on with the job and be involved in what God is doing and submit yourself to his plans. Guess what happens?
It just opens the door. And things happen that are well beyond your human capacity, and you find yourself in the middle of miracle making and think, this is obviously not me. This is something else.
Anthony: That’s a good metaphor, for what you brought up about fishing. It makes me think of repentance.
I think one of the harms that has been done in the church is to think of repentance as a one and done scenario on our end. Of course, it is one and done in terms of Christ’s repentance on our behalf, for us and in us. And we thank God for that because that’s what allows us to repent.
But for me, David, repentance is an ongoing day by day, sometimes moment by moment experience. Because as I look at this passage, I’ve had bitter envy. I’ve had selfish ambition. I’ve been arrogant. I have lied. I have not spoken out of wisdom. I’ve done all the things it says not to do, not to take the stand. But by the grace of God, I’m seeing those things die slowly, a slow-motion death (to use your words), but it happens. And I think we have to see it as, we are where we are by the grace of God, and yet there’s more to go. There’s the work to be done. Let’s go fishing. Let’s go repenting and see God show up in amazing ways in our life.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- What do you think of Jane Elliott’s social experiment? What do you think it reveals about human nature?
- Can you think of a time when you felt bitter envy or selfish ambition?
- What do you think are some ways we can submit ourselves and draw near to God?
