Insightful Musings on theScriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Greetings, dear ones.
Becki will be appearing any minute…and we’ll take off for a walk/jog. Then we need to scramble to get down to Turner and meet friends heavily involved with the Gideons at their Family Camp.
Becki already approved the devotional below for re-sending. This one is actually from the 2012 archive.
Here she is. Bye. Have a blessed day.
Love, Dad/Ray.
I could get carried away with a broad range of ideas flowing out of this reading. But to begin with, here’s one of my off-the-cuff theories stated in blunt layman’s terms: You and I are indwelt by pre-programmed stupid as a result of “the fall.” (It was definitely not very smart to disobey the known rules of the Sovereign Lawgiver. James concurs—“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” James 4:17. And don’t forget the governing principle that says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of smart—wisdom/knowledge.” Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7.) The Transcendent and Gracious Creator, of course, knows that and has seen to it that smart remains in the human heart in sufficient measure to allow one to learn lessons from the stupid—lessons of life and truth that could be learned by no other means.
Here was Jesus, the sinless perfect Son of God (God in flesh), giving perfect smart teaching on how to gain victory over stupid—over sin, self, and Satan. Yet these slow-to-learn disciples were just that—slow to learn—prompting from Jesus one of the sternest rebukes we’ve heard from His lips. I note that Jesus did not reprimand them for their built-in stupid—in fact that’s why He came—to deliver mankind from that very bondage. But He reprimands them for their slowness to embrace and implement the gift of smart that He was offering.
Jesus had just returned from the glorious display on the mountain with Peter, James, and John. He is nearing the end of His time with these disciples. Yet He faces more of their flawed performance. There is surely more going on here than their inability to cast out a particular demon from a boy. Look at the stupid competitive selfishness that transpires in the next section—“An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest” (v. 46). Good grief! How mature is that? Then in the next section we behold James and John overcome with stupid arrogant vengeance against the Samaritan village that declined to welcome them—wanting to blow them away. Is that the Jesus way? The last section presents three “wanna be” disciples who all have stupid reasons for their part-time discipleship. Little wonder that Jesus was grieved.
Far be it from me to imply the thesis that we are saved wholly on the basis of our own smart—our own human intelligence. But what hope could we have if we were to throw our God-given intelligence out the window?! The salvation equation, as I see it, is a two-part deal—and your response is an essential part. Consider Romans 6:23 this way: “For the wages of stupid yields death, but the gift of God, which is smart to embrace, yields eternal life through—don’t miss this—THROUGH Jesus Christ as Personal Savior and Lord.” By no other means are we able to be rescued from our deplorable bondage. It truly is AMAZING GRACE!
(Note: This is not to say that I regard John Wayne as an authority and role model of Biblical themes. But if we apply Biblical themes to the statement, its meaning is expanded.”