Saturday, October 15
Behold
Matthew 13:36-43 MSG
Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, “Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field.”
So he explained. “The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels.
“The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
Be Perfect
The Incarnation is the divine invasion of us, an invasion of incorrigible love. You, then, do not have to find God; you simply have to let God find you. Religions are man’s search for God; the gospel is God’s search for man. There are many religions; there is but one gospel. This therefore puts our feet on the right way, gives us a sense of right orientation. We do not have to seek laboriously for God, nor try to lift ourselves into transformation by our own disciplined efforts—we simply have to accept a gift and then belong forever to the Giver. Transformation is so close it is breath-taking. If I reach out, I reach too far—it is here! And here for the taking!
E. Stanley Jones, How to be a Transformed Person.