Dear Theophilus,
It fascinates me that you mention
the church’s lack of integrity between the God of love they proclaim and their
own actions, actions that often lack any semblance of love within them. It is hypocrisy such as this that has driven
me far from the church, and hearing this account of Jesus does not surprise me
at all. What would surprise me is
witnessing such an act of gentle love being practiced by the church today. Now, part of me realizes that this is not a
fair characterization—I know that there are many Christians quietly living
lives that preach exactly this kind of selfless love. I know that they will never receive the
television coverage that a few loud voices get, but it is so frustrating to
know that the church is often so focused on itself and so worried about purity
that it doesn’t bother to emulate this generous and amazing love that Jesus
displays. If the church took a month and
decided to stop bickering and lived this message out, I believe the size of the
church would probably double in that month.
But I suppose the chances of this happening are slim, because as soon as
the church doubled many would go right back to arguing which of those that
joined are truly worthy of God’s love.
Here, and in so many other places, Jesus illustrates that the ones we
probably suspect least of being worthy of God’s love are the most willing to
receive it, while many of these Pharisees are so busy trying to earn it that
they miss it completely. I wish I had
been taught this lesson from my youth—I suspect my life would look very
different than it does today.
As you can tell, Theophilus, there
is a part of me that seems to yearn for a relationship with Jesus. This exploration of his life has opened my
eyes to his incredible love. Many of the
negative opinions I have of his followers and the church are torn away when I
am confronted with the pictures of him loving those whom he met. I want to be loved like that, freely and
without condition, without fear of rejection.
Perhaps someday I will experience firsthand the kind of love that sinful
woman found at the feet of Jesus and it will transform me forever.
Speaking of women, it’s interesting
that Jesus traveled with women. Mary
Magdalene, who had seven demons cast out from her, Joanna, the wife of Chuza,
who was Herod’s steward, Susanna and many other women traveled with Jesus. In today’s society there are still
individuals arguing about whether women should be equal in religious
communities, and yet here we have Jesus traveling with woman, many of whom were
providing for the group from their own funds!
Jesus was all about inclusion!
He continued to travel throughout
cities and villages, talking about the kingdom of God wherever he went. You, Theophilus, would probably be better at
grasping exactly what that means, but it had a tremendous effect, for crowds
gathered to hear him speak and to see him heal.
I wonder how many came out of curiosity and how many came out of
desperate need, and how many still were in the original category and realized
they were actually in the latter when they heard him speak.
One particular speech included a
story about a sower who threw seed seemingly without care. If I hired a sower with this same kind of
accuracy, he wouldn’t last long! He
threw some seed on a path that was trod upon and eaten by the birds. Some was on rock, where the roots were unable
to be nurtured and it withered as it grew.
Some was in thorns and was never able to escape, being choked by the
competition. Some seed, though, did find
its way to good soil, where it produced many times over.
Oddly, Jesus told this story to the
crowd without explanation, and I’m sure many went away scratching their heads,
trying to find the root of the story.
Even the disciples were confused and asked him what it meant. I have a faithful account that Jesus told
them that they were given to know the secrets of God’s kingdom, but that many
others merely heard the parables and would not understand them, even though they
listened. I will admit that I don’t understand
why Jesus would speak in such a way that many would not understand him, but
perhaps it is a test of faith, to see who is truly worthy? Or maybe it is to give people something to
think about, discuss, and trust that they would know the answers?
Thankfully, the same record I have
includes Jesus’ explanation of the parable.
The seed, Theophilus, is the word of God, and the seed that lands on the
path represents the people who hear the word but have it stolen from their
hearts by the devil. The birds that
pluck the seed from the path must be a symbol of how they are not saved because
their belief does not endure. The seed
that falls among the rocks represents those whose initial joy upon hearing the
word fades after a difficult time. The
thorns that choke some of the seed are symbolic of the riches of the world, and
any newspaper in the world can attest that these temptations can choke away
even the strongest faith. The seed in
the good soil, however, represents those that not only hear the word but also
live a life of earnest and faithful witness, bearing fruit for the world to
see, enduring all challenges and temptations to bring glory to God.
Jesus speaks in these parables,
which are often more like riddles, and I wonder if they made perfect sense to
the listeners back then. I can’t help
but think that many would have been confused, just as I often am. It’s strange for me to say, but I trust
Jesus’ method—if he is as loving as your previous story detailed, I’m sure that
he would make a path for any who earnestly wished to be saved by him. He doesn’t seem like the kind of man who
spends more time building obstacles than making roads for people to come to
faith, as opposed to many Christians I know who invest their time and energy in
dividing others into groups and judging them.
They still have much to learn about Jesus.
Listen to me talk! I find myself reaching all sorts of
conclusions, and yet many might scoff at me.
I am not an expert on Jesus, but I am impressed by the man. You may say that if I am so impressed I
should offer him my life, but at this point I merely admire him. I have not yet come to a place of
worship. You seem to believe that is
inevitable, but I know that many have been confronted with the same evidence I
have and reached a different conclusion than you have, so I will not say that
it is inevitable. I will say that I am
uncertain, and I will continue to press forward, trusting that answers will
become clear.
Thank you, friend, for your
investment of time and energy.
Sincerely,
Luke
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