I Like My Something Better Than Your Nothing

They understood the problem. So when Jesus asked the disciples, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?", they were stumped. There wasn’t enough money, even if they had some place to buy food from. Jesus knew that He just wanted to see how they would handle it.

Then Andrew spoke up. "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"(John 6:9)

It wasn’t much of a suggestion. Andrew talks himself out of it before he finishes his sentence. It won’t work. It’s absurd. It’s not practical.

Yet it did. Jesus made it work. That ‘bad idea’ became a miracle that every gospel writer mentions.

A solution is better than no solution.

I often noticed in the work of the church people are experts in why things will not work. Ideas are picked apart. Plans are shot down before even fully formed. Yet, no other suggestion is given; no course of action is proposed.

Do we really think nothing is better than something?

The one talent man believed that. He let his fear convince him the best solution was to bury his talent rather than try to use it. He was condemned for it.

We can’t let fear of failure or a desire for perfection keep us from doing the things we know need to be done. The Bible has some clear command on what we are supposed to be doing as his church (Matthew 28:19-20, Hebrews 13:16, Galatians 6:10). Do we doubt God can make our weak attempt flourish?

Are we alright with doing nothing?

Comments

Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Mighty Gulf

It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding. To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two. Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God? In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

How Dare You!

Lewis Keseberg was tired of all the accusations against him so he filed a defamation lawsuit against Ned Coffeemeyer the man he saw as responsible for the rumors. The court found that Ned had indeed called Keseberg a “thief and murderer” without any proof but it didn’t rule very strongly in his favor by only imposing a fine of one dollar. Maybe they were lenient because Ned Coffeemeyr had earlier rescued Lewis Keseberg from a terrible situation. Maybe it was because the accusations while not proven were highly likely. And maybe because Lewis Keseberg had admitted to eating people. Lewis Keseberg was one of the members of the infamous Donner Party, a wagon train that got caught in the Siera Nevada mountain and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Keseberg wasn’t known as a very good person before those events and they certainly didn’t help improve his image. But to sue the very person who saved you seems to define the kind of person he was....

Ecclesiastes 12:10

Search This Blog