Thursday 19th January - Luke 14

Today’s chapter is Luke 14

Tom writes:

I wouldn’t want Dr Luke as my GP; it seems that everything he says is so harsh. You need to choose the lowliest seats. You need to invite people to dinner who can’t pay you back. You have to carry your cross and hate your wife and children. It is impossible for a rich man to inherit eternal life. Matthew and Mark record these sayings in gentler formats - why did Dr Luke opt for such an abrasive bedside manner? Well, Luke, with his straight-talking, shows that the very things that have wreaked destruction on the early church are the things that Jesus had warned against all along. If only Ananias and Sapphira had counted the cost of the “narrow door” before their catastrophe of clinging to cash. If only the Judaisers in Galatia had mulled over Jesus’ parable of the Kingdom Banquet before they arrogantly annulled the validity of grace gifted to gentiles.

Luke is like an elderly GP who has seen it all before, has heard every trick in the book and who can’t be fooled by any of our clever explanations. Luke knows that sin so often sneaks through our defences and subtly convinces us that some other thing must have caused the loss of our salty flavour. No. It will be pride. No. It will be an old view of yourself. No. it will be you trying to get approval from the wrong people in the wrong way. And, in this sense, Luke is a brilliant doctor because the prescription he is giving is direct from our Maker himself. All through his ministry Jesus asked people to really hear him. All through his ministry Jesus warned people about the “yeast of the pharisees” and of the evil that comes from within. Jesus urged people to trust him when he pointed the finger at the real source of their sorrows. He urged them to relentlessly put into practice every remedy that he prescribed. Jesus knew it wouldn’t be easy - that’s why he called it “carrying our cross”. But he also knew the result of it would be delightful, like building a tower, like winning a war or like feasting on a great banquet that never will run dry. If you want easy words then look elsewhere. But if you want the words of life, Luke’s gospel will do you well.

Question for reflection

Are there any places other than God that you gain your approval?

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