Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones.

Rain is falling. It didn’t fall too heavy during my little jog earlier. On that excursion I was glad to visit a spot on the course where Dandy lost his ball yesterday—at least when he was distracted by a bunch of new stuff to smell, and finally caught up with me, he didn’t have his ball. When I chided him, “Where’s you ball?”, he simply said, “I don’t have a clue—but if you’re hiding it from me, please throw it now!” I didn’t tell him that sometimes I want to find a new dog. Anyway, with some patience and perseverance, he finally recovered his ball in the bushes below the road near the top of the hill.

Becki and I did a good deal of talking this morning surrounding this little production. She approved it. See if you do too.

Have a blessed day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Something is amiss at heart level with these disciples. A piece of evidence was just given at the end of the last reading. Jesus clouded His words by speaking about Himself in the third person. That may have thrown them a little. But what if He said the same thing in the first person?—like, “I am going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Me, and after three days I will rise” (9:31). What’s unclear about that? Yet the text reads on, “But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (9:32).

Didn’t understand? Afraid to ask? Why? Yet these hand-picked super-stars of the early Christian Church are not afraid to engage in a private immature debate over which of them was the greatest?!?! Good grief! Are these knucklehead disciples our role models? What in the world is going on here? And we’re supposed to be calling lost sinners to join their ranks? Well, in spite of how out-of-whack these disciples appeared to be, a very important training program was in session. Their immaturity and ignorance was actually anticipated by the All-Knowing One. The program was right on schedule. And just for the sake of parenthetical clarification, please understand that you and I are enrolled in the same program. That’s what disciples are, you know—followers and learners—not perfect polished products of instantaneous change. Perhaps the greatest benefits of their status are FORGIVEN and GROWING.

While we may chafe at the idea of chopping off our offending hands, or gouging out our offending eye balls (9:43-48), we should not miss the absolute superiority of a HEART AFTER GOD over the hellish consequences of not having one. Jesus makes it clear that those consequences are not just hellish—they result in just plain unending full-blown HELL!

Here’s the deal: If the word “fire” in the FOCUS VERSE is to be equated with suffering, then it makes sense—“Everyone will be salted with fire.” Those who accept Christ as Savior and Lord, and sign up for discipleship, will face the fire of trials, tribulations, rejection, and persecution in this life. It’s promised. And those who reject Christ as Savior and Lord will face the fire of God’s wrath against unnecessary sin in the after-life. It’s promised. For one it’s developmental. For the other it’s consequential.