Happily Ever After Takes a Lot of Work

Luke 16:18 -“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

I imagine that some of you reading this are in the midst of real pain coming from a disappointing marriage. What started as stars in your spouse’s eyes at the altar have turned into flames of seething anger. You anticipated a life of blissful companionship. Instead, you now seem to live with a stranger or an enemy. Some of you may be settling for endurance to save yourselves from the shame that would accompany divorce. Others may be looking at separation as the only way you can possibly imagine a positive future. They think, “I have married the wrong person. The right one must still be out there somewhere.” To those in that situation, Jesus’ words can seem cruel.

Some have tried to soften them by pointing out that Jesus’ concern and compassion was for the divorced Jewish woman who would be ostracized and impoverished for the rest of her life while her ex was free to remarry. We know Jesus was compassionate for those without a voice of their own, but we do not want to slide past the obvious too quickly. Over and over throughout scripture, God makes known his plan for marriage has always been one man and one woman together for a lifetime. That may not be a cool and fashionable definition in our day, but God set it up long before our culture came up with its own definition.

Those in the midst of a painful marriage may wonder how Jesus could be so cruel as to want them to remain in pain. He does not. There are far too many self-obsessed, cruel people out there, and I do not condemn those who have been through divorce. Yet for those considering that option, escaping the marriage is not usually the best way to escape pain. Pain can be found everywhere. Jesus’ solution is forgiveness, healing, and restoration.

Some who know my wife and me have commented on the joy we obviously experience in our marriage. That is true. There is nothing like spending your life with your best friend and one human desire. Yet, our marriage has not been trouble free, and it is still far from perfect. Hollywood has deceived us. A great marriage does not come from finding the right person. It comes from two committed to working together to become the right people. Happily ever after requires self-sacrifice, communication, working through issues, saying no to ourselves and yes to our spouse. It may require outside help at times, but at the end of the road - though it will get bumpy at times – there is nothing better than standing together with your lifelong partner.

The Little Stuff Really Matters

Luke 16:10-12 -“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ^“

Jesus’ words here are a powerful promise and a warning. To those who have been faithful serving, loving, praying, and giving in obscurity the promise is your day will come. It may not come with worldwide fame, but if you have proven faithful in whatever realm you have served, God notices, and he has more in store for you.

Another perspective on these words shows that unfaithfulness is grounds to lose what you have been given in addition to the future promotion that would have been yours. I am deeply grieved every time I hear of another leader who compartmentalized or justified some small indiscretion thinking it did not matter. It does. Far too many ministries and lives have been destroyed by actions taken when someone thought no one was paying attention. Our lives, our motives, and our actions are being tested even when we think no one notices. Yet, nothing is hidden from God.

Let’s be faithful even when it seems like it does not matter and no one is noticing. Your future self will thank you.

The Most Baffling Parable

Luke 16:8 – The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

I vividly remember my first reading through the Bible at age eighteen. By the time I came to Luke’s Gospel, I had fully committed my life to Christ and begun a habit of daily prayer and Bible reading.

Every day as I read the scriptures I received a profound new insight into who Jesus was and how he wanted me to live. Some stories I had heard as a child had new meaning as I understood they actually applied to me. Nearly all of Jesus’ teaching made real sense, until I came to the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward. This one I did not understand. Oh, I understood the story line: A manager had been caught ripping off his boss. In order to have a place to land after his firing, he went to all those who owed his boss money and reduced the amount they owed in his boss’ books. I understood that much. What I could not get was his boss’ response when he learned what the servant had done: He “praised” (“commended” in the ESV above) him for his shrewdness. In reality, the wicked manager just robbed his boss again, and the boss commended him for it? This made no sense. Was Jesus encouraging us to embezzle at our workplaces? That does not sound like Jesus.

A read through the context and the teaching that follows shows this is not the case. In verse 11, Jesus asks, “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” Obviously, we are not called to unfaithfulness. Why then does Luke (who is the only Gospel writer to do so) take the time and ink to include this parable? I believe the key to understanding the application of this parable is to recognize that the “unrighteous mammon” – better known to us as worldly wealth - has no eternal value in its own right. Yet wealth is one of the greatest tests we will ever face. We need to be faithful but for the right reasons and in the right ways. Verse 9 seems to be the key: make friends with your wealth. Be generous. Do not spend it all on yourself. In verse 9 Jesus clearly says that wealth will run out one day. When taken with the verses that follow, Jesus is asking us to get our hearts and minds off of a focus on wealth but to be faithful and generous in how we use it so we can be received for a great reward in heaven. Be shrewd for a long term investment.

Get Found

Luke 15:10 – “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15 has three of the most powerful and beloved stories of the Bible. Jesus tells three parables in which a character has lost something valuable: a lamb, a coin, and a son. In each case, the person who lost the items seeks to find it. The first two are found by the efforts of the owner. As a free agent, the runaway Prodigal Son chose to come home, but there is no doubt his father was looking for him: “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him.” (15:20).

We have all lost something valuable. We understand the desire to celebrate after finding a lost car key or wallet after almost giving up in the midst of an arduous search. When we realize Jesus is talking about people and how happy God is when one who was lost is found, we can get a sense of the importance of finding those who are “lost.” Yet, how many of us are willing to admit we are lost?

In the days before smart phones and their GPS functions, most of us men would rather drive in circles then stop and ask for directions. Doing so meant admitting we were “lost.” Yet, unless we saw a sign we had missed somewhere or pulled out a map, we would remain lost until we admitted we needed help from one who could help us find the way to where we needed to go.

Jesus ended the first two parables in Luke 15 by describing the joy over “one sinner who repents.” Repentance is not a popular word or idea these days, but it is the only way to get found. Until we admit we are lost and want to be found, we will stay driving in circles forever, ending life far away from God and heaven. The Prodigal Son himself repents in the middle of the story when he returns to his father and says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (Luke 15:21) This is what it means to repent: “I sinned (messed up). I am not worthy to be forgiven, but I have come back to you anyway. Please take me in.” These are the words that our eternal Father longs to hear from each of us more than any others. Please stop driving in circles. Admit you are lost, and our Father will guide you home.

Be Distinctive

Luke 14:34-35 – “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Imagine you just arrived at home after a hard day of work. It will be awhile until dinner is ready, but you are hungry and want a snack to tide you over. You are especially hankering for something salty and crunchy, so you open the pantry to look for a bag of potato chips. You have to dig a bit, but you find an opened bag in the back of the shelf. Your taste buds are already starting to salivate in eager expectation of the satisfaction of taste, crunch, and calories. As you pull out that first chip and chomp down on it, though, you discover the bag was probably opened two years ago, pushed behind other items, and forgotten. How can you tell? The chip is stale. There is no crunch. It bends but does not break under your teeth. It does not taste like a salted, fried, slice of potato. Instead it tastes like a combination of all the boxes in your pantry. Needless to say, you throw the bag out as quickly as possible and find something unopened that tastes like it is supposed to. Why? There is no hope for those chips. There is nothing you can do to restore them to good taste.

That image is not too different from the one Jesus is trying to convey in the short parable in Luke 14:34-35. You cannot restore the taste of something that has lost it.

This parable comes after an extended section of warning of what it takes to follow Jesus: loving him more than any other person (including ourselves) and a willingness to surrender all to him. These are hard words. Most people in the world do not live this way, including many who claim to be Christians. But Jesus gives us this warning of saltiness to let us know that even though following him requires us to be distinctive from most of those around us That is what we are called to be. What good are we if we simply absorb the habits and lifestyles of everyone else? Like the stale chip that tastes like pantry boxes, we have lost our value.

It is a challenge to be distinctive, but it is the challenge you were made. It is good. Let’s not get stale.

The Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:26-27 – “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

You may know the story of Deitrich Boenhoeffer, the great German pastor and theologian who was killed for his stand for Christ in the closing days of World War II. His most famous work was inspired by Jesus’ words above. The Cost of Discipleship fights against the notion common in his day (and ours) that grace is cheap. The grace that enables those guilty of horrible offenses against God like me (and all of us) cost the holy Son of God his life as a ridiculed, unjustly accused criminal in a torturous crucifixion.

Jesus is clear that following him comes with a cost, too. The most precious earthly relationships we possess, and even our own comfort and pleasure, must fall far behind our commitment to Jesus on the scale of life priority and value. Three times in this chapter Jesus drives this home with “…he cannot be my disciple.” Between the second and the third he gives us two parables to warn us to ”count the cost.” Sadly, not everyone is willing to pay the price. However, following Jesus is not choice one in a menu of good options. It is the only choice with a good ultimate outcome.

Are you willing to follow Jesus? It is not cheap. It is not easy. But the rewards are out of this world, and it is what you were created to do.

Excuse me!?

Luke 14:24 – For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.

When was the last time you received an invitation to a special event? How did you feel about it? If it was a ticket to a game with your favorite sports team, a concert with your favorite performer, or a date with a person you were really interested in, you probably were very glad to receive it. You likely rescheduled any conflicting appointments, because you wanted to be there.

But perhaps this was not an invitation you were so eager to receive. Maybe it was your fifteenth wedding invitation of the summer for the daughter of a third cousin you haven’t seen in twelve years taking place four states away on an already busy weekend. Rather than making time for the invitation, you made excuses and sent your regrets. After all, you only have so much time, and you cannot do everything, right? Choosing the right things to do and right things to pass off is one of the most important skills we can have.

In Luke 14:15-24, Jesus had just completed his second parable involving a banquet and appropriate attitudes of humility and self-deprecation. Someone from the crowd cried, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” That person must have had the image from Isaiah 25:6-9, in which a feast was God’s Kingdom where he would be with his righteous people forever.

Once again, Jesus responded with the unexpected by telling his third story of a banquet. This time the intent of the story was very different. People originally invited to a big banquet asked to be excused at the last moment. Something else came up that they considered more important. Two individuals bought something new they needed to check out. A third had just gotten married. Because of this, others the world considered less worthy took their place. The invitation did not guarantee them a seat at the table. Even an early RSVP was not enough. They needed to make the Master’s banquet a higher priority than their possessions and earthly relationships. They needed to come when the time came.

We are all busy. Our possessions are not necessarily bad or evil. Working hard and loving those around us is important, but there is something of even greater importance we dare not miss. Please do not make excuses. I want to see you at that banquet.