Elders devotions: Sticks and stones - Luke 7:32

Luke 7:32       Jesus said: “They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'”

The street I lived on as a child was the greatest playground I have ever known. My brothers and I played with the other kids at football, hide and seek, rounders, dodgie ball, best man fall, kick the can, red rover, hopscotch (known as ‘peever’ in Glasgow) and were even known to play skipping ropes with the girls or challenge them to a hula hoop contest (which the girls always won). The street was always full of excitement and laughter, cheers and songs.

Sometimes we all fell out with each other and formed cliques. We would then yell at each other across the street and call one another names. At some point, both groups would end up singing “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” We would sing it as loudly as we could until one of the homeowners on the street would come outside to tell us kids that we were making too much noise. This was immediately met with peals of laughter, at which point, we forgot our dispute and gathered together again to play a new game.

In Christ’s time, the children also played on the street and sang derisive songs to one another. Today’s verse includes one of them which must have been well known to Jesus, as well as His listeners. He used the song as an example of people always finding fault with others, whose narrow-minded ways or bitterness precluded them from enjoying the wonders of God’s Kingdom and Christ’s ministry. Usually, His veiled comments were meant for the religious authorities who were displeased with, and displaced by, His ministry. Their callous hearts could not comprehend the compassion of His work. Their self-righteousness severed them from God’s love.

As Christians, we can be smug at times and spiritually aloof. Our pride can damage our effective witness and our religious arrogance can undermine Christ’s great work. It’s never easy to be a Christian, but sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Perhaps, instead of scornfully singing dirges of derision at the world, we should cheerfully give voice to the songs of salvation for the healing of God’s Creation.

Question for personal reflection

What kind of song of faith do I sing to the world with my life and Christian beliefs?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, there are times when we read the Gospels that

we find it easy to delude ourselves into thinking that we would never have complained against You or derided Your ministry. However, when we honestly reflect upon those divisive events in Your past, we know that we are guilty of the same excesses of religious self-righteousness and damaging witness of our faith. Forgive us and help us to change our lives according to Your ways. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is the book cover of my latest e-book of devotions called “Challenges to Change Us.” You can view a larger version of the cover at the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7279/7607634816_62514d3bd0_b.jpg

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Presbyterian Devotions: Just Another Belief?

2 Corinthians 6:15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

One of the major battles that Christianity is currently fighting within itself, is a creeping form of universalism. Universalism is a belief that no matter what people believe, God will forgive them, accept them, and bestow all of His eternal blessings upon them. Therefore universalists believe that if you’re Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, or of any other religion on the planet, it’s all the same thing in God’s eyes.

This happens because the world is a much smaller place these days and a cross-fertilization of cultures, beliefs, and traditions is happening all of the time. Rather than accepting Christianity as the absolutely true religion, people want to believe in tolerance, acceptance, and respect. It makes the world a whole lot easier and religion becomes a private pursuit.

The trouble with this is twofold: firstly, it causes people to lose their faith altogether in God, and replaces it with a faith in themselves. Secondly, we forget that Christianity emerged in a world where there were countless Roman, Greek, and Egyptian gods and goddesses. If Christianity was meant to be universalist, its first followers and devotees would never have undergone persecution and death. Rather than profess their sole allegiance to Christ, they would have gladly accepted Caesar as a god, too.

We tend to arrogantly think that just because we want it to be so, then God grants us a divine exemption from following the foundational beliefs in the Christian church. The temptation to be Christian universalists in the past is no different from today’s multi-cultural world. However, Christianity is an absolutist faith, whether we like it or not. Jesus is Lord absolutely, and not co-equally with any other religious leader, figurehead, or deity.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the King of all Creation and the Ruler of the Universe. Whenever we forget that, we are in danger of falling down a slippery slope that will take us away from You and into the morass of a world gone wrong. Remind us constantly of the courage of the First Christians, and help us to avoid the same old temptations of secularism, syncretism, and universalism. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.