Choices

     Jesus has set a series of choices before his disciples in the last several chapters of Luke. That's not exactly right. He's used a series of sermons and stories to set before them A Choice. He's in the last six months of his ministry by now and the question looms large: will you love me or love something else?
  In chapter 12 he tells the parable of the Rich Fool, who says, "I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my good. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." But God said to him...."You fool...." And Jesus comments, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
    The next story is the "don't worry" passage. The sparrows and lilies don't need anything but what God gives them. And Luke records [12:32] "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there our heart will be also." The only treasure is the kingdom; John calls it the pearl of great price.
   Jesus has set up a "first place" discussion that he presents over and over until he reached Jerusalem. What will take first place in your life? The discussion comes to a point in 14: 29. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes even his own life--he cannot be my disciple." Then he gives the two famous "count the cost" illustrations; a man building a house without having funds to finish it and a king going to war against an army that heavily out numbers him. They are fools. Just like the man who thought he had it made because he had wealth, these who begin something without thinking through if they could finish it were fools.
   "In the same way (!) any of you who deoes not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple," Jesus says in conclusion. It raises a huge discussion about what it means to be a follower or disciple of Christ. He's given us a kingdom and a mission to spread the kingdom, and if we chose to answer his call to follow him [call...another big discussion] we are making a life choice.
    That involves two things, I think.
    1) Following Jesus cannot be one of the things I'm doing with my life. It has to be the thing.
     2) Following Jesus cannot be a "short term mission". It is a lifetime choice.
   In this context I finally begin to grasp the illustration of the salt. "Salt is good," 14:34, "but if it loses its saltiness, how an it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. it is thrown out."
    We are the salt of the earth. We are worthless (in following Christ and spreading the kingdom) if we lose the saltiness. The point of the story is not salt; it's following him. If we say we are disciples of Christ but lose the truth of that being lived out in our lives, what are we worth? Nothing. We thought we could follow Christ and then when it became complicated we could change our minds? We are like the ones who did not count the cost and are fools.
     Chapter 15. Luke records the three "Lost" parables. Lost sheep. Lost coin. Lost son.  The point of the kingdom is finding the lost.
     It really brings into focus the scathing judgement Jesus brings upon the pharisees and teachers of the law back in chapter 11. Their life is caught up in external cleanness; ceremonial washing and fanatical tithing. Vs 42: "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God." The end result is in verse 52: "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
    Woe... painful, sorrowful expression of the wrong choice. External vs internal. And in chapter 12 Jesus warns his followers about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were supposed to be representatives of the Kingdom of God, but not only did they refuse to go it, the kept others out!
   I am writing in circles a little bit here, but this is what I've learned. The kingdom is about finding the lost and it will always, until I die or until Jesus comes back, be about finding the lost. This is not short term missions. This is a life choice. Turning back on this choice hurts the mission. It hinders the progress of the gospel.
    And the powerful tool God has given us in being part of that mission is our lives. Not  rules. Not judgements. Not programs. Not church meetings. Lives transformed from herb counters to people lovers. God is in us. All we have to do is live so people can see Him.
    I found myself back in 1 Peter this week, both because of the impact of Luke's teaching and because of world events. Peter calls us to be Holy lights in a dark place, and remember he wrote during the reign of Nero. "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good. he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? but even if you should suffer for what is right your are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 3:10-15.
    What does it mean to follow Christ today? It means having hope, not fear. It means seeking to find the lost, not rallying against them. It means not loving other things... wealth, security, status, comfort, easy living, having our own way.... It means loving Him as the only thing that matters.... because it is the only thing that matters.