Chapter Eight Continued

In the next words written by Luke, Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see yee indeed, but perceive not. A loose interpretation of this passage is that Jesus is telling us that even though people could see and hear what He was doing and saying at the time, they just didn’t understand because He spoke in parables so that believers could get the message but those who were spying on Him would miss the meaning.

It is important to note that Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 that He came, so as to fulfill the old testament and the prophecies that were outlined there. Jesus, throughout His ministry, referred to those prophecies and prophets before Him on a constant basis. He assures us further on, in the same chapter, that the smallest detail outlined in God’s word will be attended to before the end of time. I don’t know about you but that seems pretty clear to me. It is too bad that it isn’t very clear to others who claim to walk in faith.

The majority of the American church (60%) subscribes to the belief that the prophetic word of the old testament is no longer valid. Some of these Churches go so far as to say that we no longer live in a time of miracles and spiritual healing. Belief in these premises that have been negotiated by councils of men trying to make God fit within the confines of their spiritual expectations, diminishes the power of who Jesus was and is. We don’t have to understand all that went before us and we may have many questions regarding things that happened earlier in the bible but we are obligated to keep the message whole for those who will follow us and are described in Luke as honest and good hearted people who cling to His message.

Finishing the narrative attributed to Jesus, He tells us that it would be ridiculous to light a lamp and then hide it under a bed. The purpose of a lighted lamp is to allow others to see in darkness and that lamp would be placed strategically so as to best do that. He then tells us that our secrets will be exposed before everyone and eventually non believers who refuse to listen, will not retain any of the things of this world that they cherish.

In these words we get to a basic premise of our current society. If we can keep a straight face, we will lie to protect our life and careers and if we can do it well enough, our modern world will reward us with position and riches. The advertisement shows a hamburger in picture perfect form and the one that they put in the sack looks nothing like it, the gas mileage projections promised by the government and the manufacturer hardly resemble reality, the politician who claims to be a great moral crusader is caught with a prostitute, the pastors of large Christian church’s claim to be representatives of the Prince of Peace but instead help to divide society with hateful speech that is judgmental and absent of the message of Christ, the church member who uses their congregation to promote some multi level marketing program that they know will not work but will promote anyway ending in the destruction of that church and congregation and lastly a government in league with the most vial of murderers kill the innocent unborn under the guise of a woman’s right to do what she wants with her body all of the while covering up their true war against the poor, the unfortunate and the helpless fueled by their laziness to insist that we reduce the value of life (both young and old) instead of holding our society to a higher moral standard.

I would not like to have every lie, sin and untruth in my life on display before the whole world. I am thankful for my salvation through Jesus Christ that eliminates that embarrassment.