Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
“These instructions are not empty words—they are your life!” (Deuteronomy 32:47 NLT)
Observation
Years ago I heard Tony Campolo recite the experience of every teacher (and preacher) when he expressed what it was like, as a college professor, to pour your heart and soul into every word of a lecture, believing it to be not just facts and figures, but vital, utterly essential, life-changing information your students needed to know in order to have a truly successful life—only to have some schmuck on the back row raise his hand to ask, “Do we need to know this for the final?”
My friend, Moses makes it clear—Know this for the final: “These instructions are not just empty words—they are your life!”
I’m tempted to carry on about how I don’t know a pastor worth his or her salt who doesn’t pour every fiber of his or her being into every opportunity God gives for delivering God’s message (and yes, I know some tremendously effective women pastors!)…and so, to carry on about how those words of life ought to be received as such by those who listen—words your very life depends upon! But that’d be preaching to you, and these notes are to reflect what these Scriptures speak to me. So I won’t do that…ya know, that thing I just did.
I’ll simply affirm, instead, what Peter said to Jesus Himself when many disciples had left Jesus because of things He’d said hard to understand and hard to implement. Jesus asked His disciples, “You do not want to leave me too, do you?”
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68 NIV)
“I affirm that, Jesus. You have the words of eternal life.”
No comments:
Post a Comment