By Don Milam
Jesus
- God's Word to Mankind
Jesus is God’s first Word and last Word to man. It is so sad that in our day, men are more consumed with the Scriptures than they are with the Word of God. I understand how that can happen. I spent four years of my life dissecting the Bible. I thought that in the Scriptures I would find life. The reality is that all my studies did not lead me to Christ. In fact, looking back I see that they actually obscured Him. Learning only made me a spiritual glutton, with a bloated soul and starving spirit. My head was huge, but my heart was empty. I had a great deal of knowledge but so very little real experience of the spiritual.
I spent hours reading and memorizing Scriptures, and yet I never arrived at the truth I was seeking. I have to guard against anger when I think that the religious institutes of higher learning are most likely to teach us the word, rather than the Word. I can remember no classes in those four years that were about Jesus. He seemed to be referred to more as a means to an end—ministry.
Tragically, the Church has somehow failed to understand that the Bible is simply a guide—meant to lead us to the very experiences we seek. Our perceptions of the words of Scripture can sometimes obscure the pathway to the Word. I am not saying that the Scriptures do not have great value. The Bible can be a wonderful guide, opening doorways into spiritual discovery; but it must not be exalted to a higher position than the Word. When read with spiritual hunger, the Scriptures can feed our impoverished souls and shed light abroad in our inner darkness. It was while reading the Gospels over and over again that I discovered the Lord in a life-giving new way. But there was a difference in how I read in my later years than how I read in my earlier ones. I was guided by spiritual hunger, not motivated by seeking a good text to preach on, some “new” revelation to feed my spiritual pride.
God longs to speak to us in a way that we can feel, not just in our minds but with our whole beings. The final form of spiritual speech chosen by Father is a Man, not a book. It is in Jesus that we discover the “speaking God.” He is Father’s last Word to man. He is the Word man needs.
He is the Word, and He speaks the forgotten language of Eden. He comes among the children of men to resurrect the memory of that ancient home and tongue. Man lost the ability to speak the old language of Eden, but when Jesus spoke, He stirred long-buried memories. Men and women followed Him as sheep follow their shepherd because they recognized His voice deep within their souls. They knew that Voice.
Sitting mesmerized under this voice, people murmured to one another, “We have never heard a man speak like this!” The intonations of love and the articulation of acceptance reminded them of better times. Jesus was letting Heaven spell itself out in the ancient letters, taking man back to the Garden of Eden and stirring memories of glorious walks with Father.
It was glaringly clear that His way and words were far different from those of the rulers of Israel. These religious aristocrats always made the ways of God so difficult, if not impossible, and presented Him as harsh, demanding and to be feared. The simple people who felt inferior in the presence of these learned men wondered how they could ever hope to experience the transcendent and mysterious God.
Jesus, thankfully, did not speak in the dialect of those religious rulers. He was not addicted to theological language; His mission was to make the Good News simple enough for a child to understand. In anger, He attacked the shepherds of Israel for their abuse of Father’s words. Not only did they not drink, they muddied the pure water of the Word so much that the sheep could not drink it. No more!
Christ succeeded in making his point of view about life and the world prevail over our point of view, not by rhetoric or any of the normal forces of persuasion, but by himself. For the forces of persuasion, once they are spent, allow the previous pattern to re-establish itself. In the case of Christ we have a unique form of persuasion. It is like what happens when an error in our viewpoint is shown to us, and our mind reassembles around the truth that we have not seen. But it is unlike this process in that the truth that takes us over is not a correct proposition but a person. (Sebastian Moore)
Jesus’ style and message were even different from his forerunner, John the Baptist. John’s preaching was a heavy burden laden with the “old-time religion” threat of hellfire-and-brimstone. John lived in the desert. Jesus lived in the cities. John preached God’s judgment. Jesus spoke tenderly of Father’s love. John spent much time in fasting. Jesus spent much time in feasting. John’s message was a funeral hymn. Jesus’ words were a wedding song. The lost lambs came to John. Jesus went seeking the lost lambs. John Shea expressed it so well with these words:
Jesus said
We play dirges and do not mourn,
Frantic rock and do not freak out.
A new music must be heard
Which will drive us to dance
In a world wrung into flatness.
Tonight will we not all sleep
With one ear in dream
And one alert
For the crackling of the concrete.
Loving Compassion and Healing Action
Like cracking concrete, men began to feel a life pushing its way up out of the hardness of their parched souls as they listened to the words of Jesus. The song of the Lamb was restoring hope in the hearts of God’s people. Never had they experienced so much joy and acceptance as they felt in this Man’s presence. His love was like a magnet, drawing all of Israel if it would let Him. His words flowed soothingly over their spirits as they lifted their shame. The people found themselves avoiding more and more the presence of their religious rulers but pursuing with desperation the loving presence of Jesus.
The religious rulers avoided the “unclean” in the Jewish community, but Jesus made them His friends. This attachment to the “common” man was a thorn in the side of the religious community. It was unsettling to their beloved positions. It exposed their hearts hardened by religious tradition and pride.
Jesus’ passionate devotion to the poor did not go unnoticed by the surrounding populace. They streamed to Him in ever-growing numbers—the broken, the sick, the helpless, sinners, lunatics, demon-possessed, common folk, prostitutes, rebels, the disinherited, and the dispossessed. No one felt unwelcome. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus could never escape the crowds of people irresistibly drawn to His tenderness. His divine alliance of loving compassion and healing action drew the hopeful to Him day after day. There was no rest from the people who desperately followed Him wherever He went—but His shepherd’s heart could not resist these poor, lost sheep.
And the blossoming of earth? One thing about him, however, he was never known to desert other people if they had trouble. When women were in tears, he stayed by their side. When old folks were lonely, he was with them quietly. It was nothing miraculous, but the sunken eyes overflowed with love more profound than a miracle. And regarding those who deserted him, those who betrayed him, not a word of resentment came to his lips. No matter what happened, he was a man of sorrows, and he prayed for nothing but their salvation. (Shusaku Endo)
On any given day you could find Him in places like the home of Simon the leper sharing a meal, or in the streets protecting a prostitute from the outraged attack of religious hypocrites, or walking the roadways in search of those who were lost and shunned by society. They pressed in all around Him. If only they could touch Him. If only they could get His attention. All throughout the land they had heard of the power of His touch and longed to experience that human-divine connection for themselves. The words of Jesus were empowered in the people’s eyes by His actions. He didn’t send the hypocritical message of the religious hierarchy, “Do as I say, not as I do!”
To the abiding rancor of the sanctimonious religious leaders, no self-preservative fear or religious inhibition prevented this Man from touching the defiled, as such were religiously defined. Lepers, prostitutes, the blind, the filthy, the crippled, the poor, and even the dead—He reached out to them with total compassion and gathered them to Himself. There, within His arms, they experienced the warmth of Heaven’s love and received the healing and forgiveness their souls had so craved.
Jesus violated every conceivable tradition when it came to His associations with the marginalized of Jewish society. He infuriated the Pharisees with every compassionate touch. The Qumran community of the Essenes had an unconditional law: “No madman, or lunatic, or simpleton, or fool, no blind man, or maimed, or lame, or deaf man, and no minor shall enter the community.
“Jesus came to shatter these man-made laws with the vengeance of Heaven. It was these very rejected ones whom He had come to save. To the Pharisees He declared, ‘But go and learn what this means, “I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’ The Pharisees surrounded themselves with the rich, the wise, the educated, and the elite of society. Jesus, conversely, surrounded Himself with the poor, the uneducated, the rejected, and the outcasts of society.”
He had faith in the love of God. He was so moved by this love that wherever he saw the pitiable men and women of Galilee, he wanted to share their suffering. He could not think, since God was Love itself, that God would forsake these people. Yet no one could appreciate the mystery of God’s love. The people by the Lake of Galilee eventually fell away from Jesus because they demanded material benefits rather than love, and therefore Jesus prayed earnestly to God for guidance to discern what best to do in this situation. (Shusaku Endo)
Jesus Stories—Parables and Aphorisms
The words of Jesus, though simple in nature, had dramatic impact on the hearts of the listeners. His manner of delivery as much as the words themselves made the people receptive to His message. He spoke to them as an equal, not a superior speaking to inferiors. His stories were compelling and convicting, yet full of humor and compassion. His words seemed almost to compose some heavenly hymn that only those who had ears to hear could discern.
His actions were in perfect harmony with his words. No contradiction existed to create confusion or disappointment in those who followed Him. His life was a living symbol of the very words He spoke. He was a book read of all men. The love of the Father was fleshed out in His daily associations with the very lowest in the caste system of society and religion. He ate meals with the untouchables, defended the prostitutes, healed the afflicted and pursued the oppressed. And He didn’t do this to make a statement. He preferred these people. He truly enjoyed their company. And they all in turn were at ease in the Jesus’ presence; all, that is, but the religious leaders who despised this reversal of established order in their precious community.
Personally, I think they would have liked to be at some of those parties with Jesus, but they couldn’t bear not being the guests of honor. It was unthinkable for them to have to take the lower seats with the riff raff.
Jesus’ language was sprinkled with the poetic, the imaginative, the
metaphorical. It disarmed and stirred curiosity in the hearers, opening
their hearts without their even being aware. His powers of persuasion were
honed by His ability to see beyond the ordinary. He loved the story method
of getting His point across. Everyone loves a good story, and Jesus could
tell a good story. He liked to end His stories with a twist that left the
hearers walking away scratching their heads and thinking about them for many
hours to come. His stories always had the goal, though not obvious to the
hearer, of opening them up to the love of Father, who was always waiting in
the wings.
The aphorisms and parables of Jesus function in a particular way: they are
invitational forms of speech. Jesus used them to invite his hearers to see
something they might not otherwise see. As evocative forms of speech, they
tease the imagination into activity, suggest more than they say, and invite
a transformation in perception.
Drawing pictures from their own familiar world, He arrested their minds,
captured their imaginations, and opened them ever so gently to the stirrings
of the ancient language deep within them. Jesus liked to put His listeners
in almost every story He told, and by the way, you and I were there as
well—the least, the last, the little and the lost. These were the objects of
His loving attention in those stories He told.
“But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that
their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in
heaven.”
And said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and
whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among
all of you, this is the one who is great.”
Parables—Stories That Reveal the Heart
Parables were not a new form of communication. For many years they had been
an accepted form of communicating spiritual reality. So what made Jesus’
stories so different? In them He attacked the conventional wisdom of His
day—the accepted psyche of the Jewish community. He reversed religious
order, violated accepted social practices, and challenged the motivations of
men’s actions. In His stories He made the “bad guys” the “good guys” and the
good guys were made the bad guys. The less honorable were made heroes in the
stories of Jesus. The religious and the rich were always the villains.
The only judgment to be found in His stories was against the righteous and
the rich. What was that judgment? They were judged by the Father’s love. The
compassion of their heavenly Father exposed the hypocrisy of their lives. Be
careful what you wish for—the recognition of others, the riches of success,
and the rewards of religion. In your attempts to move up the ladder you are
actually descending. Pursuit of the first place will put you in the last
place.
For most of my life I yearned for recognition. I threw myself into sports in
high school because everyone knew that jocks were the BMOC (big men on
campus). I decided after high school that I was going to go off to be
trained for the ministry. Everyone knew the ministry was the place to be if
you were looking to make points with God and man. Then came years of working
for God, but I still didn’t feel like I had found what I needed. I was
afraid of anonymity.
Comparing myself to ministry people around me, I always felt like I came up
short. (You do know that comparing is a stupid thing to do!)
I was in parachurch ministry in the early days, so when I returned to the
United States from Mozambique, I decided the Church was where I’d find what
I was looking for. And I did find it, well somewhat, but it didn’t do it for
me. What I didn’t realize was that seeking the public place, rather than the
private place, was leading me ever downward on the spiritual ladder. Only
when I finally hit the bottom rung did I began to truly understand the truth
of the Jesus stories. At the bottom, I was finally content because He was
down there with me! What I was searching for was there all the time.
Well, Jesus challenged the established precepts upon which Jewish society
was built. Hard work brings its rewards. Everyone gets what he deserves. The
righteous will prosper. No rest for the wicked. Life is about rewards,
requirements, judgments, and success. These precepts never prevailed in the
stories of Jesus. They always ended up taking the brunt of the story. They
were relics of the old ways of religion and just did not fit in the coming
kingdom.
With His stories, Jesus created paradoxes and reversed religious rules: the
broad way, enemies, rules, synagogue, religious ceremony, and the way less
traveled; the internal over the external, relationships over knowledge,
mercy over judgment, last before the first.
Their main object is not to present the gospel, but to defend and vindicate
it; they are controversial weapons against its critics and foes who are
indignant that Jesus should declare that God cares about sinners, and who
are particularly offended by Jesus’ practice of eating with the despised.
(Joachim Jeremias)
Forgiveness, compassion and mercy are the golden threads of the gospel that
Jesus wove through His every story as proclamations of the Good News. To
sinners He extended gentle invitations. Come to Him and receive water, come
and eat to never hunger again, come receive forgiveness, come receive life,
come follow Me. His critics, those who rejected Him, did not understand the
gospel parables because Jesus gathered the despised around Him. Because they
were expecting a day of wrath, the religious elite closed their hearts to
the Good News Jesus was proclaiming in His stories. It was cheap grace.
Sloppy agape. No one pleased God by simply being needy and willing.
Otherwise, why had they spent their whole lives training for and toiling in
the ministry. What was the use of unfaltering piety? The religious
authorities had too good an opinion of themselves. To these men the gospel
was an offense because it exposed them—their religiosity, hypocrisy and
pride—and that was intolerable.
Drawing back the metaphoric curtain, Jesus revealed to the world the hidden
language of God—the secret messages that unlock the gate of Heaven. “ ‘I
will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the
foundation of the world’ ” (see
Matthew 13:34-35). Understanding the secret meaning behind these words
is at the very core of hearing God. This is why Jesus was so insistent that
His apostles decipher His words and not just listen to the literal stories,
encapsulating what He had to say. “And He said to them, ‘Do you not
understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?’ ” (see
Mark 4:13-14). Interpreting
Scripture requires an understanding of spiritual language, the hidden truth
that lies just beneath its surface.
The Penetrating Questions of Jesus
Jesus manifested a profound ability to ask the right question at the right
time. He knew what lay in the dark corners of men’s hearts. Through the use
of questions He exposed the motivations of the hearers—not to shame but to
heal them. Through the use of the poignant question, Jesus gently uncovered
the realties of our inward life, the life seen by no one. But Jesus sees it.
He knows what is in the heart of man because He has traveled the corridors
of every man’s heart. In fact, as many of us have discovered, sometimes to
our chagrin, He sees our hearts better than we do. By the power of the query
He turns the light on our inward parts.
The questions of Jesus were much different from the interrogations of the
religious leaders:
The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with the tax- collectors and sinners?”
Luke 5:30
But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the
Sabbath?”
Luke 6:2
“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
Luke 20:22
The questions of religious men are crafted that they might expose for the
purpose of judging and condemning. In contrast, the questions of Jesus were
specifically designed to reveal for the purpose of healing.
Most of us live in the external world rarely examining the inward way of the
soul. We are more comfortable with the light turned off in our inner life
because we know there are things buried we’d rather not have to confront.
Questions force us to look inward, examining our motivations, fears,
desires, and aspirations. Jesus had mastered the art of asking questions,
and through the effective use of a question He opened a door to the inward
world of man and led him to places rarely visited. Many are the questions
Jesus posed to His enemies and followers. Lifted out of their ancient
setting, these questions can still challenge us to look into our hearts.
“But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who
wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces!”
Matthew 11:8
But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother
and who are My brothers?”
Matthew 12:48
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Matthew 16:15
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his
soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Matthew 16:26
And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?
Mark 4:40
“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not
seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”
John 5:44
“But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
John 5:47
Questions such as these test our ability to look deeply at spiritual reality
as they also force us to peer beneath the surface of life. They will also
unlock the door to the ancient language. Our attempts to look for the
answers to the questions and the struggle to express those answers open new
pathways of personal and spiritual reality. We will either answer with a
quick knee jerk religious reaction, or we will wait and let the question
probe deeper into our inner self, shedding light on the things we have
shoved down because we could not face them. If we allow the question to do
its job, it will search us and reveal the hidden, broken places in our
hearts that it may accomplish what Father intended.
I have meditated on the questions above and allowed them to work on me. I
have been overwhelmed by the chord they struck within me. I thought I knew
myself pretty well after the breaking experiences I have been through. But I
discovered, to my dismay, that I still have hurtful, prideful ways that
hinder me in my search for the ancient way. At times I wanted to give the
right, religious answer but knew that there were other forces within me that
contradicted the very answer I wanted to give. But in the struggle, Jesus
has gently wooed me, embraced me and told me He is pleased with my progress.
I have discovered my heart—the good, the bad and the ugly—and been lifted up
in the arms of Father where I am continuing to find cleansing and healing.
There are three sets of questions that have had the greatest impact on me:
And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “what do you
seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are
You staying?” (John 1:38).
What do you seek? What a piercing, poignant question! The answer to that
question unlocks the door of discovery to all that you desperately desire in
your life. How will you answer it and how will that response be reflected in
your life?
This question was posed to the two disciples of John the Baptist when they
turned to follow Jesus after His baptism. Now why would He ask that question
at that time? Remember, the questions of Jesus are asked to illumine our
hearts, to make us really think. On tiptoe with anticipation, Jesus waits
hoping, longing for the desired response. It wasn’t a trick question. He
wanted them to verbalize what they were seeking.
How would you answer that question? Don’t think of a religious answer. Don’t
answer what you think He might want to hear. How does your heart answer? Are
you seeking a spiritual favor, a gift? Are you looking for a powerful
ministry bringing recognition? Are you pursuing a spiritual experience? What
are you seeking?
It appears they didn’t even have to think. Their answer was quick and
decisive, for it had been in their hearts a long time, just waiting for the
question to be asked. Formed out of a spiritual hunger that had been growing
in their hearts for years, their answer was ready for the long-awaited One.
So as He stood waiting, in unison they sang out their response. “Where are
you staying?” They weren’t inviting Jesus into their world; they were
looking to enter Jesus’ world. They weren’t seeking a revolution or a
revival. They were not looking for a restoration or a new word from God.
They were looking for an abiding place, and if they found it, that place
would resolve all the issues of their heart.
Their response shines a searchlight on the Church in our days. Too often we
are more interested in getting Jesus to come where we are than in finding
out where He is. Oh, we’re willing to travel halfway around the world if we
hear there is a great move of God happening. But have we asked Him where He
is staying? That could very well be different for each one of us. So it is
critical that we ask Him where is He staying. Where can we find Him?
Smiling at their alacrity, Jesus also had His answer ready. He had looked
into their hearts and was not surprised by their answer. His response was in
the form of an invitation. Come and see. Jesus was inviting them home. They
would find a home in the presence of Jesus—the home they had been looking
for all of their lives.
Phillip then runs to get Nathaniel, urging him to ‘come and see.’ The woman
at the well goes into her city and encourages the town folk to ‘come and
see.’ This is an ancient invitation that still sounds from an ancient
garden, calling us home. And it is the sound that needs to be resounded in
our times. It is the call of the true evangelist!
2. And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do
for you?” (Matthew 20:32).
Another penetrating
question sounds forth from the heart of the Son of man. It is a question
looking for its answer. How do we answer that question? Probing our heart,
the question asks if we know what we really want. Is it healing? Is it
friendship? Do we want forgiveness for our wretchedness? Someone to care for
us? Do we want a severed relationship restored? Whatever the answer given,
Jesus has a loving response.
At the same time it is a question seeking to open a door. The heart of Jesus
is ready to respond to whatever the answer. This is not just a curious
question needing to understand man’s desires or expose his selfish requests;
it is a question seeking to respond to man’s most intimate wants and needs.
The question is birthed in the pool of heavenly love, longing to draw into
its healing waters the sick, hopeless, helpless, broken, and lost.
The Lord cares deeply about the hidden desires of man. Pushing their way up
through the disappointments and failures of life, these longings of our
hearts are like a signal light searching the heavens for an answer—for
someone to calm our troubled waters, heal our pain, and save our families.
There is One who saw our S.O.S., and before it was ever signaled He and the
Son of His love planned the rescue mission. That Son now asks you the
question, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
3. So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at
the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?”
(John 13:12).
This last question may be the key to the whole ministry of Jesus as well as
the true ministry of the Church. The answer to this question can unlock the
secret codes of the ancient language of Eden. Here again we are confronted
with a challenge—the challenge of familiarity. Having read these verses so
many times we believe we understand them. We know the beginnings of Jesus’
stories, and we know the ends, but have we caught the hidden meanings? We
skim over the words in familiarity, and again and again chance missing the
power of their true spiritual meaning. Do we really know what He did that
night when He washed the disciples’ feet? We are proud of ourselves when we
make this a sacrament in our churches, but may have missed its true
significance. It is easier to celebrate a sacrament than it is to walk in a
truth.
The events of that evening became a sign for all future generations. Have
you been taught the power of the towel? Jesus was leaving no room for doubt
as He knelt at the feet of each disciple that servant hood was the calling
He entrusted to us. As Jesus had served them, so He calls us to serve one
another.
This call seems to have become lost in duty rosters of the Church. We have
reversed the order. Far too often the focus of ministry and leadership is on
being served rather than serving. Many are the sermons and the conferences
teaching the people how to support their pastor or their elders. Rather than
the shepherds caring for the sheep, we find sheep being fleeced for the sake
of the ministry. The people sitting in the pews (or chairs) are being told
by the pastor, the bishop, and every traveling minister who passes through
to support the vision of the pastor and the church. We expect people to
listen to our sermons but schedule an appointment here and there to hear
what is on their hearts. Let’s be honest; we are more concerned with our
needs as ministers of the gospel than with the needs of those to whom we are
to minister that gospel.
So what is this washing of the feet? Where is the value? Is it just a
symbolic ritual?
By washing His friends’ feet, Jesus was demonstrating that He came to
cleanse and cover, not judge and condemn. This was to be the Kingdom way.
Religion will always be the moral conscience for mankind—more concerned with
exposing sin than with providing a covering for man’s nakedness as Father
did in the garden.
We live in a “dirty” world. There is much pollution soiling our
souls—rejection, unforgiveness, betrayal, emotional trauma, and countless
other diseases of the soul. Man strives, ineffectively, every way he can
think of to remove the oily film of sin and shame that is smothering him. He
has already discovered that the waters of religion do not remove the filth,
but only spreads it.
The Son of man comes with a towel in one hand and a bowl in the other,
tenderly offering to wash the muck from the feet of man. He stoops down at
your feet, and caressing them in His hands, He lovingly looks at the caked
grime encasing your feet. Religious men looking on want to condemn you for
that filth. Jesus looks up to them, holds up His hand as if to shut their
mouths, and then quietly returns to the job of cleaning and then covering
your feet. With tears streaming down His cheeks, He washes until all is
clean.
To its great loss, the Church has exchanged the towel for the sword. We seem
more comfortable with the sword of judgment than with the towel of healing.
The world is more aware of the judgmentalism of the Church than they are of
the cleansing power of the Church. Men have heard our judging, condemning
words but rarely have they heard words that offer to clean their dirty
souls. It has always been easier to judge others from our ivory towers than
to step down into the mire with them with the cleansing towel. We need to
rediscover the cleansing towel and rediscover the example and call left to
us by our Master.
Thus, Jesus asked them if they understood what He was doing. He loved these
men and was prepared to serve them, even knowing that each one of them would
deny Him in some way in the hours ahead. The memories of that night were
etched on the hearts of the disciples as long as they lived. They went forth
into the world as an army of servants. The weapon of choice for these
soldiers: the cleansing towel.
The One who lived His life in service of others will return in that same
spirit. He is certainly coming back as King, but it will be as a serving
King. The Son of man has not lost His towel. When He returns He will come
with the towel, girding Himself as He prepares to reign as a servant King.
The invitation is clear. We are all called to sit at the table of the
Father, where the Son will once again serve the children of His love. He is
the “waiter” at the supper of the Lamb.
“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he
comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them
recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.”
Copyright © 2005 by the author
All Rights Reserved