We wrapped up the Gospel of Luke this past week! I have learned and grown so much and Luke has become one of my favorite books in the Bible. Here's 6 through 10 on the list.
6. Get off your donkey.
Luke 10 was a powerful chapter for me. The importance of the Good Samaritan passage can't be understated. The calling to look after our neighbor, particularly in their needs, is huge in Luke. And the religious/spiritual people didn't make the time to help the guy in need. But the underdog, outsider, unclean Samaritan makes the move. Gets off his donkey and helps. Neighboring demands we Notice Stop and Engage.
Often I have read the Good Samaritan text and seen myself as the religious or the Samaritan, but more and more I've realized that I'm the guy in the ditch. Broken, beaten, robbed, and left for dead...in need of rescue.
And as we consider the call to get off our donkey, we realize what Jesus did in Jerusalem. He rode in on a donkey, and wound up on a cross. We get off our donkey because he got off his.
7. Mary and Martha
Frantic pace and busyness is celebrated in our culture. Productivity and activity are signs of status and importance. And yet Mary and Martha are a telling story of what is needed. Jesus affirms Mary for sitting at Jesus' feet. Martha has to be pissed. Seriously? I'm the one being hospitable. I'm the one serving. I'm the one making sure everyone has their needs met. I'm the one that is making people feel welcome. Mary is DOING nothing, but Jesus' point is Mary is DOING everything that matters. I can't say I have a life worth imitating if I have no concept of BEING with God. There is to be balance between action and abiding.
8. Luke 15.
Lostness gets found. It's the nature of this Jesus thing.
9. Remembering is a Spiritual Discipline
Forgetfulness is the most common sin. Jesus invites us to remember. To break the bread and the drink the up and remember what he has done. The thief on the cross asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection and slowly they remember what he had said. Gradually they remember that Jesus had called his shot.
Too often I'm great at forgetting what God wants me to remember and remembering what God wants me to forget. But the cross more than any place in history invites us His people to remember that God has not forgotten.
10. This story is My Story
Perhaps the thing that has impacted me the most in sitting in the Gospel of Luke for as long as we have is that I found it incredible relatable. To those who claim the Bible is an outdated book that is inaccessible and not applicable to our lives, I'd ask have you actually read it? Because there is immense relevance and intense parallels. Denial, Skepticism, Convenience vs. Cost, Rest vs. work, love, morality, relational responsibility, what to do with the poor and marginalized, how to view women, and so much more. If you can't find your story in this story, there's a good chance your eyes are shut and your heart hardened to what is really going on.
So what's next? Well, we will cover a few topics relevant to C3 the next couple months and then tackle Habakkuk over the summer and Acts will kick off in the Fall!
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