Sounds a Lot Like Grace.

One of the things which comes shining through in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 is Paul’s profound desire to see the deep need of the Mother Church in Jerusalem met, and her impoverished condition assuaged, by the Gentile churches.  He wanted the Body of Jesus in one part of the world— which owed its very existence to the Message, the Mission, and the men who had gone forth from Judea— to meet the material needs of the Body in another part of the world.  This entire section, the entirety of chs. 8-9 together, are a reminder to the Corinthians and to the Church in Achaia of their duty and a challenge to their generosity.

A couple of thoughts on this section of Scripture.

Paul uses two shining examples in his ‘apostolic appeal.’  One is the “Macedonian churches” who, in his own words, were “extreme” in their “poverty,” yet “rich” in their “generosity” {v. 2}.  They were under the gun of trial and tribulation and still their “joy” was intact, so much so that “they gave all they had and even beyond,” more than anyone could’ve expected, including Paul {v. 3}.  So much so that they “pleaded ...urgently” with Paul and Titus for the “privilege of partnering in this service to the Saints” {v. 4}.  Find me a Pastor who wouldn’t love to shepherd a flock like this!

During the Feast of Purim, among the Hebrews there is an ancient custom which essentially says, ‘No matter how poor you are {or imagine yourself to be}, there is always someone worse off than you.  Find them ...and give to them freely.’  You are to give a gift with no expectation of return.  Hmmmm... this sounds a lot like grace.

Unfortunately, it’s often those who have the least who are most prepared to share it.  People in poor families, poor churches, poor communities meeting each other’s needs.  You know why?  Cause they know what it’s like!

The other concrete example of character Paul draws on is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  The sacrifice of the Son of God did not begin on Calvary’s Cross, not even in the Incarnation.  It began in the Ages of Eternity, in the unnamed eons before His virgin birth, when the Son laid aside His heavenly glory and laid down the prerogatives of Deity, stood up from His Throne, looked over to His Abba and before all the Hosts of Heaven said, “Here am I.  Send Me.”  Two words, powerful and pure: I will.  We use them in wedding ceremonies all the time, as a consecration of one soul to another, as a pledge of fidelity, a promise of love, a covenant between us.  “Who will go?”  “I will, Abba, I will.”

What exactly do we have a right to refuse with a King like this before us, with the shining example of the Son of God burned into our souls?  Tell me, again, how your ‘rights’ take precedence over your ‘responsibilities’ ...how your ‘precious time’ is more important than the issues of ‘Eternity’ ...how receiving mercy is fine but giving it, not so much.  Now tell your Redeemer, if you dare.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

Love Without Deeds Is Worthless.

“Faith without deeds is dead” {2:20b}; love without deeds is worthless.  It’s a simple enough premise.  It should be intuitive, understandable, easily comprehended.  And yet it’s not.  So ...what happened ...why does this seem so foreign to so many of us ...and why would it stir up such controversy in the Body of Christ?  The natural progression of our intimacy with Abba, the fullest flowering of our faith, our trust in a Father greater and more gracious than we can humanly imagine, more faithful and forgiving than is humanly possible, is love for those around us.  And the easiest expression of love is to do good for others— quite often, whether they deserve good done to them {because ‘deserve’ has got nothing to do with it!}.  This means seeking Jesus’ Kingdom in tangible, practical, real-time ways on their behalf and desiring His presence and power to reign over them.

If compassion is commanded of the Children of God, if compassion is what opens our eyes to the individual worth, the incalculable value, of every last sister or brother in the Body of Christ, if one of the main indictments brought against the Church over the past 60 or so years has been its lack of compassion for the poor and oppressed— the black, the red, the brown, the yellow, the homeless and the heartbroken, the wounded and weary of our world {all the loveless and lonely, the downtrodden and deserted?}— i.e., all those ‘others’ in society ...then how do we put this into practice?  I suggest we take a simple, inexpensive, deeply relational cue from someone who’s been there, down and out on the dusty Texas streets of Fort Worth for well over two decades.

“When I first got to Fort Worth, I remember a lotta times wishin that instead of given me money, somebody’d just ask me my name.  But after a while, when I figured out city folks thought I wadn’t no better than a speck a’ dust, my heart began to grow a tough hide over it, like a orange that’s been left out in the Sun.  My heart got harder and harder.  Pretty soon, all I wanted was for folks to gimme that dollar and leave me alone.

That’s when homeless folks that ain’t drinkin or druggin already make themselves a new friend.  Them half-pints and beers and little packets a’ white powder becomes their friend, their pastor, their storm shelter— a deep, dark, hummin hole they can crawl into to escape from themselves even if it’s just fo’ a little while.  They tryin to drown their problem— or burn it.

Now whatever drove them to the streets from the get-go is a problem, and whatever they is usin to escape is a problem.

So now they got two problems.”— Denver Moore in What Difference Do It Make?

When it comes to following in the Master’s footsteps the possibility, even the probability, of getting killed is part of the deal.  Apprenticeship to Jesus is a high-risk endeavor.  And sometimes our dying is to our own suffocating selfishness.  Amen?

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

Faith Not Acted Upon Is Worthless.

Jesus’ brother told his 1^st century audience, and by implication you and I, that “faith by itself [meaning mere mental assent to ‘orthodox doctrine’ {like the ‘oneness’ of God: 2:19}, the intellectual acknowledgment that ‘this sounds true enough’], if it’s not accompanied by action, is dead”— nekros = ‘lifeless, destitute of force, destitute of power, useless’ {Jms. 2:17b}.  James closes his brilliant argument in 2:26 with this statement of finality: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

You think the apostle Paul would agree with James’ statement?  I think he would.  It was Paul who said, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” {Gal. 5:6}.  “For we are God’s workmanship, God’s masterpiece,” he wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  And to the Thessalonians, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,” {1 Thes. 1:3}.

In Paul’s letter to Titus, his like-minded troubleshooter, there are twin themes running throughout its three chs., two ideals Paul comes back to over and over again.  One is “sound doctrine,” the other is “good deeds”— the actions which come forth from living with an unceasing attitude of faith in Abba.  The ideas of “good deeds” done in the name of our God and “doing what is good” under the authority of His Kingdom are mentioned six times in three chs. {1:16; 2:7 and 14; 3:1, 8 and 14}.  Titus sets an example for the young men entrusted to him “by doing what is good” {2:7}.  In 2:14 the Apostle speaks of Jesus as the One “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a People who are His very own, eager to do what is good.”  “Remind the people,” Paul says at the beginning of ch. 3, “to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,” v. 1.  After laying down how we’re justified by the glorious grace of God and are Heirs of Abba “having the Hope of Eternal Life,” he writes “I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good,” 3:8b.  He closes by telling Titus, “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good...,” 3:14.

“Our People,” the Brotherhood of Believers, the Family of Faith, the Community of Christ-Followers, i.e., you and I in the here and now!  As my ‘sheeps’ have heard me say on numerous occasions, “Better now than never!”  This is the time, our time, and there is no moment like the present to live out the fullness of the Faith we claim.  And we are the men and women of gentleness and grace, the Lords and Ladies of fierce tenderness and relentless Truth who have been called to love a world broken, bruised and bleeding, selflessly and sacrificially, in intimate imitation of the Lord who gave us Life.  You and I are responsible to the people in our periphery... to live free and love well.  To live generously and love graciously!  And maybe, just maybe, stoop down close enough and stay there long enough to lift another to their feet once again.  “Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees”— Eliphaz the Temanite to Job {Job 4:4}.  You’ve kept men and women on their feet ...and so shall we.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously