Tag: seek first the Kingdom

Give so that you get?

Luke 16

Friday, December 23, 2022

I love the parables of Jesus.  But I’ve got to admit, this one about the shrewd manager threw me for a loop.  Take a minute to read it. 

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” (v.8)

Is Jesus commending this shrewd manager for cheating his master out of his money by canceling debt without his master’s permission? Can that possibly be true?  The rich master found out that his money manager was misusing his money, so he fired him.  The manager did not want to be homeless and live on the street begging, so he granted favors to the master’s debtors before his exit from his employment. The purpose of his deceit was to guarantee that he would have some “friends” from whom he could ask for future favors. Give so that you get. Sounds shrewd, right?  Sounds like the master and Jesus seems to think so.

But, is his behavior ethical?  His former boss commends his shrewdness, and it looks like Jesus is using him as an example that we should follow.  Perhaps we need to take a closer look at this parable. 

First, do not be confused about who the rich master is.  In other parables, a master is considered to be God, but in this one, that is not true.  God would not be commending us for being dishonest and a thief.  So, what is the point?  What is Jesus teaching?

“For the people of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” (v8) Jesus is comparing us, the people of the light, with people of this world.  People of the world look out for themselves, and people of the light are not doing this.  So, how do we as people of the light look out for ourselves without being dishonest?  It actually is simple, but we often find it very difficult.

“When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. (The shrewd manager’s game plan).  But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.  Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14). (This should be our game plan!)  Throughout His ministry Jesus told us to give to the needy, love your enemies, and do good without expecting anything in return.  As a result, your reward will be great, and you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

By doing these things, we are being shrewd by laying up treasures in heaven.  We are taking care of ourselves by taking care of others.  However, our focus is not on this present world, like the shrewd manager, but on our future at the resurrection of the righteous. This requires us to walk in faith, believing that God will indeed remember that we have been seeking “first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). 

Jesus shares another parable in this chapter, The Rich Man and Lazarus. So how are these two parables connected?  The Rich Man was not just rich, but very rich.  He had the finest clothes and he ate huge meals each day.  Just outside his gate lay Lazarus.  It is not that the Rich Man did not know that Lazarus was there, literally begging for some scraps off the Rich Man’s plate.  Nevertheless, the Rich Man ignored the cries of Lazarus.  Then the expected happened.  Both men die.  Because the Rich Man claimed Abraham as his father, he expected a great reward when he died.  Instead, he experienced great pain and torment.  And there in the midst of his pain and agony he saw Lazarus enjoying the peaceful and happy company of Abraham.  So, the Rich Man cried out to Abraham to have Lazarus come to him, dip his finger in water, and cool his burning tongue. How ironic! This same Rich Man refused to give Lazarus scraps off his overflowing table.  The Rich Man wanted grace and mercy, without giving grace and mercy.  The big takeaway is that the Rich Man was not shrewd enough to lay up for himself treasures in heaven.  What do you think?

-Kayla Elwell

Questions for reflection:

  •  What is the difference between “give so that you get” and “give and you will get”?
  • What is the difference between being repaid and being blessed?
  • What is your motive for giving? Is storing up for yourself treasures in heaven a good motive for giving?
  • What does God expect from you when confronted with others in need?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Resolution 6: Finish What You Have Started

Malachi 3-4 and Revelation 22

If you are reading this, you have officially made it to the end of 2021, like it or not.  For many, whether they have faced greater hardships or substantial joy, they are ready to see what God has in store for their next year of life.  For me, the calendar is one of the few things that I can say each year that I saw through to completion.  I have successfully completed the calendar 36 or so times; however, one year, if the Lord tarries, I simply won’t.  Poof.  My dusty remains will most likely rest in some sentimental location in the earth’s crust to wait for the return of Jesus Christ, awaiting to receive his promise alongside all those who faithful have served Him (Hebrews 11:39-40).

Conversely, with about every other element in my life, I am a terrible finisher.  Currently, I have several projects going on at my home: a mostly finished deck, one mostly finished fence, one mostly unfinished fence, and a horseshoe pit that I decided to begin work on a couple of days ago. I present this as evidence that I am a terrible finisher, and this is just a single outlet of my life.  This is true in pretty much every aspect, from professional work to text messages, there is always something left undone.  Thank you, God for not making the Christian walk a checklist that has to be completed before I bite the big one. No matter how many “tasks” I have performed, how many prophecies I have spoken, or how much love I have shown, if I wake up the next day still sucking air, I am not finished, and that is a feeling very familiar to me.

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” – Revelation 22:10-11

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4: 6-8

God has us covered with grace.  If He cared, like Kingdom of God-cared, about my fences, deck, or horseshoe pit, then they would already be made complete, and I could move onto the next project at hand.  But we have an eternal God whose mind is set on eternal things.  He doesn’t care about my home projects.  Only my heart in pursuing them. He doesn’t care about my career, only my heart in pursuing it.  He doesn’t care about my resolutions, text messages, or what I am leaving undone, only my heart when pursuing each of those things.  His grace is already complete, so the thing He and I work on are the hearts that will find their way to the Kingdom of God, including, and most importantly to me, my own.

If 2021 is my last calendar year, I will leave behind much undone, which may resound with you because many of us are in the same boat. However, my heart is the one project that I have assuredly been working on and hope and pray that it is finished and made God complete through Christ Jesus (Col 2:10). Everything can be (and really will be) left undone, unfinished, and incomplete. I encourage us all to close out this year being finishers. Not by checking off the last couple of boxes of projects, resolutions, or bucket list items that remain, but by considering matters of the heart: your faith, your actions, and your pursuit of eternal things, so you can end this day, this year, and this life, strong.

“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. – Malachi 3:17-18

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:4-6

-Aaron Winner

As we finish off our 2021 Reading plan…we are excited about beginning a new plan for SeekGrowLove for 2022. Watch for more information coming today! Sneak peak – tomorrow’s reading will be Matthew 1. We are glad to have you on this journey working on our hearts as we Seek Him, Grow Our Faith and Love Him and Others through another calendar year!

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway.com here – Malachi 3-4 and Revelation 22

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Identity: From Death to Life

If I’m honest, today left me feeling weary, burdened, and frustrated along with bit of grief. I know we all have days like that from time to time as it’s just part of living in a broken world. As easy as it is to fall into a pattern of lamenting about how awful our day was and wondering if it’ll ever get better, God wants us to respond by giving Him our burdens, worries, grief and concerns. It’s much easier said than done, but if we have faith that God has created us in His image, instilled purpose in us and loves us to the point of adopting us as His children, then can’t we trust Him with our day-to-day struggles, too? Not only that, but as children of God, we believe in the hope of eternal life in the Kingdom where there will be no more trials, pain or obstacles because Jesus overcame them all!

Matthew 6: 31-34

So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (CSB)

This passage is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Jesus, God’s son, is telling us that God knows exactly what we need and will provide accordingly. This isn’t limited to just physical needs such as food and drink; rather God will always take care of us in all aspects.

John 3: 1-6

There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. (CSB)

Once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and submit to God’s authority over our lives, the Holy Spirit starts to work within us and we then become a child of God. If we are a child of God, Galatians 4:7 tells us, “So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.” (CSB)

The word “slave” is referring to being a slave to sin. We are no longer bound by sin’s punishment of death, but instead we are redeemed through Jesus and therefore able to inherit the gift of the Kingdom! (Romans 6:23)

God’s redeeming grace brings us from death to life. How incredible is that? I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on what has been weighing you down lately. What burdens have you been carrying that you need to surrender? Maybe a circumstance where you don’t have all the answers and don’t know how you’ll make it through? Maybe a strained relationship? Maybe a pattern of sin that you need God’s help to break? Whatever the situation may be, we know that the same God who fulfills His promises (Joshua 21:45; Numbers 23:19) is the God who made us. And because He never fails, we can rest in Him until the end of the age when we inherit the gift of the Kingdom.

-Caitie Wood

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway here – Isaiah 3-4 and Ephesians 5

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The Kingdom Treasure

Matt 13_44

Matthew 13:44-46

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In this section of the Gospel (13:44-49), Jesus presents three parables that deal with the kingdom. All of them begin with “the kingdom of heaven is like….” But the first two deal with the value of the kingdom (vv. 44-46), while the last one deals with the judgment that will happen at the end of the age (vv. 47-49). Let’s focus on the first two that describe the value of the kingdom.

First, the kingdom of heaven is like “treasure hidden in a field” (v. 44). In the biblical times, there were no such things as safety deposit boxes. People would hide their wealth in the ground by digging a hole and burying it. In the parable of the talents, this is what the individual who received one talent did (cf. 25:25).

Jesus describes the kingdom as “treasure” that has been buried in a field, but which was discovered by someone and then “covered [back] up.” The person who discovered the treasure, reburied the treasure. That seems odd. Why didn’t he or she just keep the treasure they discovered? To make a long explanation shorter, the owner of a property owned everything both on top of and within the ground of the property. So in order to legally claim the treasure, the person had to buy the land. But Jesus’ point is not this technicality. His emphasis is upon the value the person estimated the “treasure” to be worth. The person sold “all that he has” in order to buy the field (v. 44). The man was filled with “joy” and because of the recognition of the treasure’s value, the person deemed it worth more than all their other wealth combined.

In the next parable, Jesus uses the imagery of commerce with a merchant who found a “fine pearl” (v. 45). In the biblical culture, “pearls” were among the most prized jewelry since they were very rare (no scuba equipment yet to dive deep enough to easily capture oysters…lol). And like the person in the previous parable who found buried treasure, the merchant also esteemed the pearl to be more valuable than all his or her other possessions. Therefore, the merchant sold everything he owned in order to buy the one pearl (v. 46).

Ok. So we get that Jesus is driving home the point about how valuable the kingdom is. But I think what is most important about these parables is the attitude depicted by the two individuals who were willing to get rid of everything else they had in order to obtain this one precious item. I sometimes wonder if I have that attitude. Intellectually, I can rationalize why it is completely true. But practically speaking, I think about whether my life truly reflects that disposition in my heart. Do I see the kingdom as the “hidden treasure” or the “fine pearl”? Am I willing to forsake all else in order to seek the kingdom?

Obviously, the parables are a hyperbole for emphasis as Jesus is not literally instructing his disciples to dispose of all their physical wealth and belongings. Rather, Jesus is touching on the attitude of one’s heart. Where do we prize the value of the kingdom in our life? Have we put anything else in front of it and added the kingdom on to the side of our pursuits in life.

Let’s not forget Jesus words: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (6:33).

-Jerry Wierwille

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