Please! Open your Bibles and read Luke 16.1-13~ One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much

>>Someone told me yesterday that he had not understood that he is first to read the passage from the Bible,

and then 'think on these things' below; there is supernatural power in the Word of God. Do not sell it short,

and do not miss out reading from your Bible. If one of your goals for 09 is to grow in your Christian faith,

purpose to read from God's Word daily; it will enlighten you and change you from the inside out.

Good Morning.

Before we move into the next chapter of Luke, I still want to talk about Luke 15--such simple stories to illustrate the heart of the Father toward 'the lost'. I have never seen a dramatic presentation of the father running to meet his son who was returning home after his errant ways--but I can picture the scene so well. It almost seems like the dad must have been scanning the horizon, hoping to one day see his son. . . believing that, hope against hope, he would one day come to his senses and return home. The tender heart of a father who never gave up is in such stark contrast to some men I have known, who also happened to be fathers-- instead of cherishing their children, doing whatever it takes to provide and keep their homes together, they selfishly chose to go their own way--'do their own thing' as folks like to say, as though it is an inalienable right.

Could I just say something right here? For all of you who have been hurt by fathers who were not fathers, for whatever reason--I am sorry. More than that, your heavenly Father is sorry, and He wants you to know that He will never abandon you; if you demand your own way, and leave Him behind, He will still be watching the horizon for your return. You will always have another chance with him. I'm married to an Italian man from New Jersey, who has relatives with mob links. I think of movie scenes where a son has dishonored the family, and the father says, 'he is dead to me now'. Hear me--you will never be 'dead' to your Father--there will always be room at the table for you. I just love the picture of God the Father running to embrace you, Troy-- running to embrace you, Bill-- running to embrace you, Carolyn. He doesn't wait until you take your very last step toward Him, He runs to meet you. Ah, there are no words to describe how much God loves you; but the picture painted here goes a long way toward sketching that love onto the canvas of your heart.

Now, verses 1 -13 of chapter 16 tell a story of a business manager mismanaging his boss's assets. When told he would be fired, he makes no apology and offers no excuses, accepting that his ways have doomed him. Immediately, though, he does something that Jesus eluded to earlier--he counted the cost--he looked ahead at what was to be his plight, and devised a scheme to be able to make a livelihood after being disgraced. The master kinda' just marvels at the shrewdness of the fellow to get by, in spite of. . . Jesus is showing the contrast that he was able to manage earthly assets, that would all perish anyway, while many so-called believers who have the ability to make their wealth count both for now and eternity take no such care. "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much" is the ying; while "one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" is the yang. Am I faithful with my little? or am I dishonest with my little?

On the face of things, this story would have no link to the story of the lost son who returned home to his father. . . but, please step up and look a little closer--

Consider that both the son and the manager are in desperate straits and have nothing to show for themselves except their wasted and misspent lives. One has made a mess of being a son; the other has made a mess of being a manager. Both have betrayed a trust. To be sure, whatever draws us into these stories is NOT moral achievement; they are not stories that goad us to good works. The son and the manager both experience "amazing grace." The son is not banned from the family, and the manager is not jailed. They do not reap what they've sown; they do not get what they deserve.* Grace is like that, you know--that's why it is called 'amazing.'

We do not know the final outcome in either of these stories; maybe it is left that way so we can participate in painting grace into the lives of these two men, seeing that grace makes all the difference in their continued stories. Grace makes all the difference in our stories too, doesn't it?

Grace to you today, my dear ones~

Christine

*insight from Eugene Peterson's book Tell It Slant