The good samaritan--how good can you be?

So, I am still developing the discipline it takes to publish these posts weekly on the same day--I have the weekly part down, and I will keep working on the regularity of posting them on the same day each week.

For the last couple weeks I have been reading and re-reading the story of the good samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  This story of a man being beaten, left for dead, ignored by the religious, and helped by his enemy is probably one of the most well known Bible stories of all time.  The samaritan's story is told time and time again to motivate us to do good works.  When I see someone broken down by the side of the road I need to stop and  help; when my elderly neighbor's sidewalk is covered in snow I need to get my wife to shovel it when she finishes with ours. You get the idea.  Only God knows how many millions of people have been helped because of this timeless story.

But I wonder if in spite of all the countless acts of kindness, we have missed the point of this story.  When I google, "what is the message of the good samaritan?" I get responses like, "do unto others as you would have done to you". But the story as we find it in the Bible opens with a lawyer asking Jesus this question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" and in response Jesus tells the story of the good samaritan.  This begs the question: Is behaving like the good samaritan the way to heaven?  I think the answer lies in the lawyer's original question--what must I do?  He comes to Jesus looking for something to do, and I think Jesus tells him a story of something the he knows the lawyer would never do--Jesus is illustrating that the "doing" path to God is an impossible one.

There is a little bit of the lawyer in me--I often come to Jesus looking for things to do.  I am naturally a doer, and I am always looking for the next assignment.  In my doer mentality I need to be reminded that there will always be something that I am unwilling to do.  I need to be reminded that the first step is not doing--the first step is believing.  Jesus tells me all I need to "do" in Mark 1:15, "repent and believe in the gospel."  If I can get the order down and believe first and do second, then the works of the gospel will flow out of me--not because of my effort, but because of the Spirit that is at work in me.

I hope the story of the good samaritan continues to motivate the people of the world to help each other.  But I also hope the story of the good samaritan wakes each of us up to our own inability to do enough--if the way of Jesus was about doing we would all fail.  Thankfully the way of Jesus is about believing, and that belief motivates us to do good works.  (James 2:14-26)

Lily Rose

Originally my plan for this blog was to update it weekly on Mondays, and here we are the second week into my new year's resolution and I am late--Oh well, life happens (literally).  On Saturday evening 1/15/2011 my daughter, Lily Rose Glidden was born.

This evening I have been thinking of Psalm 139--particularly verses 13-14:
¹³ For you created my inmost being; 
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
   your works are wonderful, 
   I know that full well.

Tonight I slowly peck away at the keys with one hand as my 3 day old daughter lies peacefully in the other.  As our eyes meet I can't help but be overcome with gratitude to the One who created my daughter's inmost being.  I sit here in wonder thinking of the God of the universe knitting together Lily Rose.  

The image of God as a knitter is not one I dwell on much.  Knitting seems reserved for widows and grandmothers, not The Alpha and Omega.  It seems like he would have more important things going on in all of eternity to tend to.  But maybe we would all benefit from meditating on the great knitter in the sky.  A weever dedicated to each garment--he weaves together the perfect combination of skin tones, body parts, hair color, boldness, innocence, sensitivity, and individuality.  He works slowly and methodically leaving a little bit of himself in each of his creations.  He is a perfectionist; he cuts no corners, and he takes great pride as he sets each of his precious creations free into a fallen world.  

Lily Rose is his creation and he has set her free into my care, and I praise him because my daughter is fearfully and wonderfully made.  His work is wonderful . . . I know that full well . . . full well.

New Year's Resolution - Start writing

So it's 2011 and I have finally stopped holding out on the idea of having a blog.  I actually opened this blog in January of 2008, but got cold feet and decided it was too cliche and/or narcissistic.  Im almost over that now and willing to give it a whirl.  The concept is pretty simple--I try to regularly read the Bible and let its stories and teachings shape my life.  So, once a week I will write about a biblical story or teaching that has particularly moved me.  Here's the first:

I have recently been reading the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50).  At the end of Genesis 39 Joseph has been falsely accused of raping the wife of his boss--a high-ranking Egyptian official.  To get to this point Joseph has already been ambushed by his own brothers, thrown into a pit, and sold into slavery.  He ends up far from home as a slave in Egypt only to be falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison.

I have heard the story of Joseph countless times, and each time I get to this point my tendency is to champion Joseph as one who refuses to let the unjust circumstances of life bring him down--he is nearly a perfect character who consistently focuses on the positive and maintains such a high-level of integrity and faithfulness that despite his dire circumstances he repeatedly earns the respect of those around him.  I find myself wanting to be as unwavering in the face of trials as he is. But I wonder if perhaps I give Joseph a little more credit than the text actually does.

In Genesis 39:20, Joseph has been unjustly sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into prison in a foreign land; and by Genesis 39:22-23 Joseph is in charge of everything in the prison.  What happened in verse 21?  Did Joseph remain faithful to his faith and keep his focus on God?  Was Joseph unwavering in the face of this trial?  Did Joseph let this negative circumstance affect him? . . . We don't know, the story doesn't tell us--and the importance of that fact should not be overlooked.  Verse 21 says, "the Lord was with him, he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden." At this point in the story the author cleverly shifts our attention from Joseph to God--why?

In my life I am constantly battling this misconception that God will reward me based on my performance.  I read this story of Joseph and if I don't check myself I will walk away with the idea that I need to be more like Joseph so that God will bless me like he blessed Joseph.  So I turn the sinful, selfish, complex character of Joseph into a one-dimentional, selfless, saint; and I beat myself up because I always fail to respond like Joseph.  But, I wonder if Joseph actually sat in that prison cell totally demoralized and ready to give up on life and faith.  I wonder if maybe what pulled him out of his depression was a prison guard that believed in him and repeatedly showed him kindness.  I wonder if Joseph failed sometimes--just like I do--but God in his kindness and grace gave him another shot.  We will never know how Joseph initially responded to being thrown in prison, and that, to me, is the beauty of the moment.  We will never know because the significance isn't found in Joseph's performance--the significance is found in God's grace.

My significance is not found in my performance, my significance is found in God's grace.