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Emails to God – Why does God Allow Evil People to Live? (Matthew 13:24-30)

01 Feb

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Dear God, I meet with a good friend from myWacodays every Friday morning via Skype. It has been one of the great blessings in my life over the last several months as I have tried to process some personal struggles. Anyway, one of the things we discussed a few weeks ago was this passage. How did we feel about God leaving the weeds here among us? Did that frustrate us? Does answering this questions also deal with the question so many have about how a loving God can still allow evil in the world.

That is when I had this epiphany: I think you left the weeds here out of respect for us. You didn’t want us to be destroyed among the weeds. Go back to when Abraham was pleading forSodom. He asked if you found just a few righteous left would you not save the city. You said you would. In the end, it came down toLotand his family (although his family’s righteousness might be considered questionable) so you removed them before you destroyed the city. After Noah and the flood you were so grieved by what you had to do that you said you would never destroy the world through a flood again.

So, you allow evil to continue in the world because to remove it would be to harm us in some way. It still doesn’t completely answer the question of why there are things like human trafficking, child molestation, rape, etc., or even hunger, poverty, and painful deaths for some of the righteous. But this parable does let us know that you are thinking about us and you have us in mind when you consider all that you are allowing to happen on earth.

Father, life is complicated. Help me to be at peace with whatever complications are coming my way. I am studying Job right now, and, while he kept from cursing you for his pain, he did question why he had to endure it. So as different stresses and even sufferings come into my life, prepare me to handle them with your grace. Prepare me to handle them the way that Jesus handled his pain in the garden on the night he was betrayed—Father, let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours be done.

 
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Posted by on February 1, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Needing an Explanation of the Parable (Matthew 13:18-23)

31 Jan

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Dear God, I find it interesting that in verses 16 and 17 you tell they that they are blessed because the can see and hear, and yet you go on to lay the meaning of the parable out for them anyway. Perhaps they were not as seeing and perceiving as they might have been. It seems to me that the disciples were continuously not seeing and perceiving. They missed your lessons all of the time.

Of course, I miss your lessons too. I don’t always (or even often) understand what is going on around me. Heck, I don’t quite understand what is going on around me right now. I don’t know what you are doing in me and through me as a dad, husband, employee, church attendee, son, brother, or friend. I know that it seems like there is something missing in me in each of these areas, but I just can’t put my finger on it.

Father, right now, I really need your wisdom, vision, insight, and discernment. I really need to understand how to love my wife. I really need to understand how to parent my children. I need to understand how to be a friend to those who need me. I need to understand how to lead the organization where I work. So help me. Since I am currently on vacation with my wife, please help me to be the husband and father she needs me to be. Help me to be the husband and father that you need for me to be for her sake. I can’t tell what that looks like, but I know that right now I am afraid I am missing it somehow.

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Ever Seeing, but Never Perceiving (Matthew 13:10-17)

29 Jan

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Dear God, I wonder what it was about these twelve men that made them different. What made them seeing AND perceiving? What made them able to hear AND understand? (verse 14) Why wouldn’t you want all of us to “see with [our] eyes, hear with [our] ears, understand with [our hearts] and turn, and [be healed]”?

I admit that there are some things that you try to show me that I just don’t understand. It seems like I am one of the people that you do not reveal things to. But then there are other times when I “get it” and can respond to what you are calling me to do. As I sit and think about this, my inability/ability to “see” seems to change depending upon what area of my life I am talking about. I have pretty good clarity at work. I can often see what you are doing and calling me to do there. I have a little less clarity in marriage. I often know how to respond to my wife, but there are times when I am insensitive and don’t have a clue. And I have even less clarity in my parenting. In fact, I was wondering recently if Satan wasn’t really trying to attack our family’s unity and I was missing it.

Father, help me to be seeing AND perceiving. Help me to hear AND understand. I want to glorify and honor you in every area of my life. In addition to that, I want to feel your peace and be a minister of your peace in every area of my life. Help me to bless my wife and children. Help me to bless my family. Help me to bless my friends and coworkers. Help me to bless our patients. And help me to bless those I simply encounter today. Touch the world through me.

 
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Posted by on January 29, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Accepting the Fruit God Grows in You (Matthew 13:1-9)

28 Jan

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Dear God, what does fruitfulness in a life look like? I think it can take a lot of forms. Of course, in this context it all starts with allowing your Word to take root in our hearts and flourish. But then, when it has flourished, how will it reveal itself to others?

I had a great experience yesterday. My wife’s birthday is tomorrow and so some of her blogging friends that she mainly knows through the Internet (although she did meet many of them once in the fall at a writer’s retreat) decided to shower her with loving posts, poems, etc. It overwhelmed her. It was fun for me to read because what I saw was a woman who had touched so many others without even realizing it. And what was it about her that was touching them? It was the fruit returning “a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

Ever since I have known my wife I have seen the ability she has to connect with people on a deep, deep level. I connect with a thousand people about an inch deep, but she digs deep with someone within moments. I have not only admired this trait in her, but I must confess that I have coveted it too. I would love for someone to spend thirty minutes with me and leave feeling known and loved. That is the fruit that you bear in my wife’s life, and it is beautiful.

Father, I know that you have gifted me in completely different ways that you gifted my wife. The problem is that the gifts you gave me are often more publicly acknowledged and affirmed than the gifts you gave her. But days like yesterday, when she saw the comments of dozens of people telling her that their lives are better for having known her, are powerful. I am grateful for that for her. Please help me to be at peace with the gifts you gave me. Let them take root and grow. And please continue to encourage my wife for the fruit that is born in her life.

 

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Figuring Out When Your Child is Grown (Matthew 12:46-50)

25 Jan

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Dear God, it can be so hard to know what is appropriate when you grow up. Sure, Jesus was at least 30 in this story, so he was pretty grown up, but I am 41 and it can still be hard to know when to bend to my parents’ will and when to draw a line and say that I need to do something different.

The same is true from the parents’ side. Our children are teenagers right now. They aren’t quite ready to be on their own (although they probably think they are more ready than my wife and I do), but they are ready to make some decisions for themselves. So what kinds of decisions do we turn over to them and what do we keep for ourselves? I make mistakes in this area all of the time. Frankly, lately, I have been wondering if I haven’t been erring too much on the side of letting them make their own decisions. I actually feel like I have given them too much freedom and it isn’t working.

Father, teach me to parent my children at the ages they are at now, and to parent them as they grow. I have no answers. I only have questions. I had no idea it would be this hard and that I would feel soooo unequal to the task. So please love them through me. Parent them through me. Please help my wife and me to be completely united as their parents. Help us to be completely united as man and wife. Love and encourage them through us and guide them into a life of oneness with you.

 
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Posted by on January 25, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Aspiring to be a Ninevite (Matthew 12:38-45)

24 Jan

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Dear God, Jesus seems to be pretty frustrated here. But I like the analogy here to Nineveh. I have always been amazed at their willingness to repent. What was going on in their lives and society that made them so willing to submit to you? How were they so ready to embrace you.

There is some kind of line here between those who believe themselves to be righteous (the people Jesus is speaking to) and those who know they are not and need you. But I think what Jesus is looking for are those who already reject evil and yet are willing to embrace him/you too.

Father, help me to be embrace you regardless of how in control I might feel. Help me to completely turn loose of my self-righteousness and consider it as worthless to me so that I might feel your direction and love. Be glorified in me. Give me your peace. More importantly, give me your direction. Show me how to leave my family and lead my business. Show me how to manage my own life. When you think of me, I hope you think of me more as someone who is from Nineveh and less like someone who is in Jesus’ audience in this story.

 
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Posted by on January 24, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – There’s a Time and a Place for Breaking the Rules (Matthew 12:1-14)

20 Jan

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Dear God, I have to admit that I never liked the story of David and his men eating the consecrated bread. I don’t think Saul could have gotten away with that. The only thing I can figure out is that you realize that there is a time and a place for breaking rules. The times are few and the places are few, but apparently there is, indeed, at time and a place.

So what kinds of rules are open to interpretation at these special times and places? Of course, there is no way for me to figure that our here. And I think that I will end up having to make these evaluations as I encounter any given situation. But what I think the ultimate thing comes down to is, where is my heart in the decision to break a rule?

I spoke with a friend recently about her divorce. I have seen the pain of divorce up close and personal through my parents having been separated three times, so I can empathize, at least a little, with her pain. Ironically, that same night I was in a Bible study that discussed marriage. It was a Catholic study so they idea of divorce was nonexistent—you have to go through an annulment. The man who led the discussion, to my surprise, was on his fourth marriage. The first was in a Methodist church when he says he was young and dumb—it was short-lived. The second and third were done by Justices of the Peace—one was short and the other 16 years. Before he could marry the fourth time, however, he had recently become Catholic and they told him that he would have to go through the annulment process for at least the first one since that one was in a church (the other two were able to not count since they were civil ceremonies and not before you). The annulment process is apparently arduous, thorough, and not automatic. The Catholic church sees marriage as something that you joined together and only you can break. BUT, to their credit, I think, they do recognize that there is a time to break.

Father, I know my friend is still hurting. I know she would still love reconciliation. I don’t know that that is possible. That ship has likely sailed. So I ask that you would speak to her through your Word, through the books and devotionals that she reads, and through her friends. Help her to see how you are loving her through this. Help her to feel your hand on her life. Help her to see the ways you are touching her each day, each moment, that she didn’t realize before now. It’s an ugly situation, and while she is probably not totally blameless for all of the problems in the marriage, she is blameless in the area of wanting it to end. So honor her for that, help her to feel your release from it, and help her to live this day for you and not be distracted by what she no longer has.

 
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Posted by on January 20, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – The Weary and the Burdened (Matthew 11:25-30)

19 Jan

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Dear God, I wonder if verses 27 and 28 are linked together more than I have thought. I almost separated them, but I am starting to think that Jesus reveals you to those who are weary and burdened, looking for rest.

I know that, as my children grow, one of my prayers for them is that they will get to a point of complete submission to you. Frankly, unless we get to the point where we are broken of the idea that we can do it in our own power then there is no way that we will find the peace and joy of surrendering to you. So my prayer for them is that they will completely submit to you, but that their burden will be as light as possible in order to get themselves there. I am their dad and I don’t want to see them suffer under a burden at all. Of course, that is not a realistic goal, so I simply ask that you make their burdens and suffering as light as possible in order to get them where you want them.

Father, I want to be a good father to my children. I also want to be a good son to you. So I turn my life over to you and ask that you do whatever you will to draw me into complete submission to you. I understand it might mean my suffering. I also understand that it might be more than I THINK I can take. But I tell you in this moment that I want you more than I want anything else. Be glorified in me.

 
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Posted by on January 19, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Performing Miracles for Repentance (Matthew 11:20-24)

18 Jan

20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Dear God, it is interesting that the purpose of miracles is repentance. From this passage, it seems that the miracles weren’t for those who were healed, but for those who witnessed the healing. They weren’t as much about mercy as they were about getting people to realize that they were in your presence, recognize their sin, and then turn from it and devote themselves to you.

Getting to a point of repentance can be hard. I think the big thing is that it requires a combination of stirring by the Holy Spirit and the person finally reaching the end of their rope. That is how the person repenting for the first time often comes to repentance (especially when they are adults). What frustrates me are the times when I continue to sin even after I have repented. I have noticed it in a couple of areas including relating to my wife and children. There are things that I do that are part of my personality and bad habits that annoy and sometimes hurt them. When they reveal them to me I am pretty good about repenting and saying I am sorry, but then I end up doing them again. Ugh! It not only frustrates me, but it frustrates them too.

Father, there are things in my heart for which I repent. I am sorry for failing you and for failing others around me. Help me to respond to you in a way that will bring you delight. I am not saying that I can be perfect, but I at least want my repentance to be genuine and to get at least a little better each time.

 
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Posted by on January 18, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating (Matthew 11:16-19)

17 Jan

16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

17 “‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

Dear God, I guess that Jesus is saying that they wanted a prophet and a messiah that they could control and that would do what they expected them to. I imagine that “this generation”, to which he referred, included the Pharisees and Sadducees. I like how Jesus points out that he and John couldn’t win with “this generation”. I think he was indicating that it was the messages of both John and Jesus that were making people uncomfortable so they looked for excuses to discredit them.

I went and looked up this passage in The Message translation, and he had an interesting interpretation of the last sentence: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” So the way to judge John and Jesus is to look at their overall body of work and not try to dig into the minutia in an effort to discredit their message.

I wonder what kind of body of work people see in me. Can they see you in me through my deeds? Am I someone who is consistent in all areas of my life? At the same time, is my message bold enough that it makes some uncomfortable, or do I water it down so that people will want to hear it. Regarding consistency, I feel good about that part, but I do worry that I might water down what I am trying to say in order to get people to like me.

Father, I submit all of this to you. I submit my parenting to you. I submit my marriage to you. I submit my employment to you. I submit my church life to you. I submit my friendships to you. I submit my extended family relationships with you too. Be glorified in me, and if that means that you have to cause others to stumble over the words that I say, so be it.

 
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Posted by on January 17, 2012 in Matthew

 

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