A rebellious son who hit rock bottom...

This week we are addressing the distorted view of God as our parents supersized. Yesterday, we discovered that the view of God as our parents supersized is the most understandable, and in many ways the most impactful, of all of the distorted views of God that we have discussed. The role a parent plays in shaping a child’s view of God is real and unavoidable. Our parents are the first and foremost figures in our lives that shape and mold virtually every aspect of our lives.

And for many of us, this distorted view of God as our parents supersized is the reason that we want nothing to do with God. However, when we see God as our parents supersized, we end up with a distorted view of God that will keep us from knowing and experiencing the true father/mother heart of God. And the reason why this is the case is due to the fact that God is not a reflection of our earthly fathers. Instead God is the perfection of our earthly fathers.

We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless and true view of God that can help us rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as our parents supersized and replace it with an accurate view of God that will enable us to experience a growing relationship with God. So let’s jump into this section of the gospel of Luke together, beginning in Luke 15:11-13:

            And He said, "A man had two sons. "The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them. "And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

Now to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to understand the context in which we are jumping into this section of the gospel of Luke. As Jesus was traveling toward the city of Jerusalem, large crowds were accompanying Him. And part of these large crowds consisted of tax collectors and sinners. These tax collectors and sinners were people who did not measure up to moral standards of the day in a way that resulted in them being viewed as outsiders. These were people who were far from God and who were viewed as outsiders by others.    

However, as the self-righteous religious people of Jesus day observed Jesus engaging these outsiders who were far from God, they began to grumble and complain out loud. Because that is what self righteous religious people do. Self righteous religious people unlovingly judge others as being outsiders, while considering themselves to be insiders who are better than anyone else.

Jesus responded to the grumbling and complaining of these self righteous religious people by telling a series of parables. Now a parable is an earthly story that reveals a deeper spiritual truth. In this parable, Jesus explains that there was a father who had two sons.

Now when Jesus states that the younger son said to his father "Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me", here is what the younger son was really saying to his father: Father, I wish you were dead so that I would not have to deal with you. But since you are not dead, give me what I should get from you once you are dead.” You see, the younger son did not want a relationship with his father; he just wanted what he could get from his father.

Jesus then explained that the father responded to his sons request by granting his request. The father divided up his estate between his older and the younger sons. Now here is a question to consider: If your child talked that way to you, would you have given him what he asked for? No, you might have given him something else, but you wouldn't have given him an inheritance from you, would you?

After all, your child does not want a relationship with you, he just wants something from you. To give your child an inheritance after saying such a thing would seem foolish, wouldn't it? You would have to be incredibly gracious and forgiving to do such a thing, wouldn't you? Jesus then explained that after receiving his share of the inheritance, the youngest son gathered his inheritance and "went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.”

Now, if Jesus was telling this parable today, this parable might have sounded something like this: the younger son took all that he received from his father and moved to Vegas. And once in Vegas, the younger son hit all the strip clubs and crap tables. The younger son called all the numbers that he got from the flyers that they hand out on the strip and had some fun. The younger son got his groove on at all the local clubs."

In other words, the younger son did everything that his father had taught him not to do. The younger son went as far away from his father as he could and lived a life that was as far from his father's lifestyle as he could. We see what happens next in verse 14-16:

              "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. "So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. "And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.

Now, if Jesus was telling this parable today, these verses might have sounded something like this: “After the younger son spent all the money that he had received from his father's inheritance, there was a severe economic downturn. And as a result of the severe economic downturn, the younger son ended up broke and without a job. As a matter of fact, things became so bad that the only job that the younger son could get was to work for a local casino cleaning out their garbage dumpsters with a toothbrush. And while he was so hungry that he wanted to eat all of the food that had been thrown into the dumpster, his bosses would not allow him to eat the food that had been thrown into the dumpster. So every day the younger son spent his day cleaning out nasty casino dumpsters with a toothbrush, while desperately wanting to eat the food that others had thrown away as being no good to eat."

 Now, here is a question to consider: Could it get any worse for the younger son? You have burned your relational bridges with your family. You are broke and without a job. You have no friends. You are lost and alone. You have hit rock bottom. If you were the younger brother, what would you do? What could you do? Maybe you can relate to the younger brother. Maybe you feel like you have hit rock bottom. We see what the younger brother did in verse 17-19:

             "But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men. ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father."'

Jesus explained that, at rock bottom, the younger son had a V-8 moment and came to his senses. And as he came to his senses, the younger son came to a conclusion and a decision. The younger son came to the conclusion that his father's servants had it much better off than he had it off. The younger son came to the conclusion that his father treated his servants in a way that was way better off than he was being treated.

And as a result of coming to that conclusion, the younger son made the decision to return to his father and ask to be hired on as one of his servants. The younger son made the decision to own his selfishness and rebellion against his father in hopes that his father would take him in as a servant instead of a son. You see, the son came to the conclusion that he did not deserve to be in a relationship with his father as a result of how he had treated his father. So the son made the decision to confess his selfishness and rebellion to his father in hopes that that his father would hire him and provide for him as a slave.

And with that the son prepared and practiced the speech that he would give to his father and headed off to meet his father. Friday, we will see how the father responded to the son...

God as our parents supersized...

At the church where I serve, we just concluded a sermon series entitled Distorted. During this series, we spent our time together addressing six distorted views of God that flow from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. During this series, we strived to replace those distorted perceptions and assumptions about God with six accurate views of God that were given by us by Jesus Himself. And as we went through the series, our hope and our prayer was that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands to enable us to rid ourselves of any distorted views that we have of God and replace them with an accurate view of God so that we would be able to experience a growing and maturing relationship with God.

During the series, we have discovered that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as a cop around the corner instead of a late night neighbor.  We have discovered that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as a sweet old man instead of the lord of a boardroom.  We have discovered that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine instead of the green-thumbed gardener.  We have discovered that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge instead of the equal opportunity employer.  We have discovered that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the all you can eat buffet instead of the single minded shepherd.

This week, as we come to the conclusion of this series, I would like for us to spend our time together addressing another distorted view of God that flows from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. And the distorted view of God that I would like us to address is the view of God as our parents supersized.

The view of God as our parents supersized is the most understandable, and in many ways the most impactful, of all of the distorted views of God that we have discussed during this series. You see, the role a parent plays in shaping a child’s view of God is real and unavoidable. Our parents are the first and foremost figures in our lives that shape and mold virtually every aspect of our lives.

I mean, just take a minute and ponder the influence that a parent has on their children. A parent’s ability or inability to give us the affection that we need will influence how we picture God. A parent’s ability or inability to give us the acceptance that we need will influence how we picture God. A parent’s ability or inability to give us the love that we need will influence how we picture God. A parent’s ability or inability to give us the stability that we need will influence how we picture God. A parent’s ability or inability to exercise their strength and authority appropriately will influence how we picture God.

And for many of us, this distorted view of God as your parents supersized is the reason that you want nothing to do with God. Maybe for you, every time you hear God referred to as “Father” you gag in your mouth because of the negative experience that you had with your earthly father. Maybe you grew up in an environment where you never experienced the affection, the acceptance, the stability, or the love that you should have from your parents. Maybe you grew up in a home where your parents either abdicated their authority or abused their authority. Maybe you want nothing to do with God because you grew up in a home that was marked by hurt, pain, conflict, and divorce. Maybe your picture of God is the equivalent of a “big gulp” version of your earthly parents.

However, when we see God as our parents supersized, we end up with a distorted view of God that will keep us from knowing and experiencing the true father/mother heart of God. And the reason why this is the case is due to the fact that God is not a reflection of our earthly fathers. Instead God is the perfection of our earthly fathers.

We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless and true view of God that can help us rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as our parents supersized and replace it with an accurate view of God that will enable us to experience a growing relationship with God.

Tomorrow, we will begin to look at this section of the gospel of Luke together…

We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the all you can eat buffet instead of the single minded shepherd...

This week, we have been addressing another distorted view of God as the all you can eat buffet. To do that, we have been looking at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John.  Jesus responded to being confronted by this group of religious legalists by telling a parable. In a parable, Jesus revealed the reality that there was only one entry way, or door, to God, and that was through the shepherd, who would lead the people through the door. And it is in this context that Jesus identifies Himself as being the good shepherd.

Jesus explained that as the good shepherd, Jesus lays down His life for the sheep. As the good shepherd, Jesus has total ownership and total commitment to His sheep. Jesus is the Co-Creator of the universe. And as our creator and Lord, Jesus loves us and is willing to sacrifice His life for us. Jesus then revealed the reality that as the good shepherd, Jesus has intimate knowledge of His sheep.

Jesus point is that, as the good shepherd, Jesus has a mutual and intimate relationship with His sheep. Jesus does not have a superficial relationship with His sheep; instead Jesus cares, feeds, and leads His sheep. Today, we will see John reveal how the self righteous religious leaders, and the crowds that had gathered around this conversation, responded to Jesus referring to Himself as the good shepherd, in John 10:19:

 A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?" ²¹ Others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?" ²² At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; ²³  it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. ²⁴ The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

John tells us there was a division among the self righteous religious leaders of the day. You see, Jesus always divides people. Jesus is not the type of person that one remains on the fence about.

Many of  the self righteous religious leaders of the day responded to Jesus  referring to Himself as the good shepherd by viewing Jesus as being demon possessed and mentally unhinged.

Others, however, could not understand how someone who was demon possessed and mentally unhinged could perform a miracle that only God could do. John then tells us that this event from history occurred during the Feat of Dedication.  Actually, the Feast of Dedication is still celebrated today by Jewish people throughout the world as the celebration of Hanukkah.

The Feat of Dedication, or Hanukah, celebrates an event from history when the temple at Jerusalem was cleansed and rededicated after the Maccabean revolt from Antiochus Epiphanies in 168 BC. This revolt was the last great deliverance that the Jewish people had known from foreign occupiers.

And now, once again, the Jewish people were a conquered people who were living under the rule of the Roman Empire. And because of that reality, those who opposed Jesus continued their confrontation by asking Jesus a very direct question: "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." John records Jesus response in verse 25:

 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me. ²⁶ "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. ²⁷ "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. ³⁰ "I and the Father are one."

John tells us that Jesus responded to the direct question by basically saying “I have told you who I am and the miracles that I have done have provided the proof of who I am. I mean I just miraculously healed a man who was born blind. And the man who had been born blind, the man who never had an opportunity to study the Bible, responded to my activity in His life by believing in Me, but you will never believe and trust in Me. And the reason you will never believe in Me is because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Now to fully understand Jesus answer here, we first must understand something else about sheep. Earlier this week, we discovered that sheep are some of the dumbest animals on the planet.  Sheep are so dumb that they cannot even play fetch. With a dog, you can say to a dog, go lay down, and a dog will go lay down. However, if you tell a sheep to go lay down, they just stand there. A sheep will never go anywhere on their own.

Instead, a shepherd would always have to go before the sheep, so that the sheep would follow the shepherd. So what would happen in the first century Jewish agrarian desert culture, where there was not a great deal of food for sheep, is that many flock of sheep would inhabit a same feeding area. When it was time to move, each shepherd would call out to his sheep; here sheep. The sheep would hear and recognize their shepherd’s voice and would follow that voice to where the shepherd was leading them. The sheep would not respond to a command to go somewhere that the shepherd was not at. The sheep would only go to where the shepherd was at and was leading them to.

That is the word picture that Jesus was painting to the self righteous religious leaders of His day who were confronting Him. As the good shepherd, Jesus knows His sheep and His sheep know Jesus. And because of the reality, when His sheep hear His voice they will respond by trusting that voice and by following that voice. If you do not know the shepherd, you will not trust the voice or follow the voice of the shepherd.

Now if that did not anger this group of self righteous religious people, Jesus then explained, that as the good shepherd, Jesus alone provides eternal life. Eternal life is not simply living forever. You see, everyone lives forever, humanity was created as eternal beings. The question is not whether or not you are going to live forever, the question is where are you going to live forever. When Jesus uses this phrase, He is revealing that, as the good shepherd, those who follow Jesus will not be separated from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion, but will experience forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for.

And that relationship with God, Jesus explained, cannot be taken away or lost. That relationship with God cannot be taken or lost, because nothing can take the sheep from the good shepherd’s grasp.  That relationship with God cannot be taken or lost, because God the Father, has given the good shepherd the sheep that follow Him as shepherd. And nothing and no one can take them out of God the Father’s hand.

Jesus then made a statement that resulted in this group of self righteous religious leaders losing their collective minds:  "I and the Father are one." Jesus had the audacity to call God His Father. Jesus had the audacity to claim that He was equal to God. Jesus had the audacity to claim He was God.

And it is here, in this event from history that we discover a timeless and true view of God given to us by Jesus that can enable us to rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the all you can eat buffet. And that timeless truth is this: We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the all you can eat buffet instead of the single minded shepherd. 

The timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the all you can eat buffet that we can customize your to avoid what we do not like so that we can double up on the things that we do like. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the all you can eat buffet that we can customize around our preferences, our wants, our desires.

However, when we see God as the all you can eat buffet, just like continually eating at an all you can eat buffet, we can end up spending our whole lives filling our plates with our favorite parts about God, while our soul slowly starves from the Divine malnourishment that we really need and is necessary, but that we continually avoid, about God. And the timeless reality is that God is inseparably whole and cannot be divided and portioned out into the parts we find most palatable.

However, unlike the all you can eat buffet, a more accurate view of God is that of the single minded shepherd. A more accurate view of God is that of the single minded shepherd who knows each sheep. A more accurate view of God is that of the single minded shepherd who does not settle for a superficial relationship with His sheep but instead cares, feeds, and leads His sheep.

A more accurate view of God is that of the single minded shepherd whose love for His sheep would cause Him to do anything for the sheep. We see this revealed for us in a part of a parable that Jesus told that is recorded for us in a section of another account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Let’s look at this section together, which is in Luke 15:3-6:

So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

You see, a more accurate view of God is that of the single minded shepherd who displays a single minded devotion to His sheep: A single minded devotion to search for His sheep when they are lost; a single minded devotion that rejoices when they are found. A more accurate view of God is that of the single minded shepherd that recognizes that not only can we be found by God, but we can be lifted up out of the mess we get ourselves in and placed on the safe and strong soldiers of God.

So here is a question to consider: Which of these two views describe how you view God? Do you view God as the all you can eat buffet? Do you view God as the as the all you can eat buffet that you can customize your to avoid what you do not like so that you can double up on the things that you do like? Do you view God as the all you can eat buffet that you can customize around your preferences, your wants, your desires? Are you spending your life filling your plate with your favorite parts about God, only to be slowly starving your soul from the Divine malnourishment that you really need from God?

Or do you view God as the single minded shepherd?  Do you view God as single minded shepherd who knows you, who does not settle for a superficial relationship with you but who instead desires to care, feed, and lead you into the life you were created for?

Because the timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the all you can eat buffet instead of the single minded shepherd...

A parable of Jesus as a shepherd...

This week, we are addressing the distorted view of God as the all you can eat buffet. Yesterday, we discovered that this view is reinforced by the current of the culture we live in. In Western American culture, we take pride in reinforcing the reality that everything is about us. And because we repeatedly reinforce the reality that everything is about us, we create environments, products and services that are customized to meet our wants and desires.

And as a result of living in a culture that makes everything about our preferences, our wants, our desires, we can find ourselves finding ways to customize God around our preferences, our wants, our desires. We find ways to double up our God around all the things we like about God while avoiding all of the things we don’t like and don’t want in or from God. 

However, when we see God as the all you can eat buffet, we end up creating a faith that is centered around ourselves. And just like continually eating at an all you can eat buffet, we can end up spending our whole lives filling our plates with our favorite parts about God, while our soul slowly starves from a lack of the Divine malnourishment that is necessary, but that we continually avoid, about God.

The problem with viewing God as the all you can eat buffet is that God is inseparably whole. God cannot be divided and portioned out into the parts we find most palatable. We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John.

And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless and true view of God that can help us rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the all you can eat buffet and replace it with an accurate view of God. So let’s jump into this section of the gospel of John together, beginning in John 10:11-13:

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ¹² "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

John begins this section of his account of Jesus life by giving us a front row seat to an event from history that occurred between Jesus and the Pharisees. Now to fully understand what is happening in this event from history, we first need to understand two things. The first thing that we need to understand is the context in which this event from history took place. Just prior to this event from history, Jesus did the unexplainable by healing a man who had been blind since birth.

The problem for Jesus however, is that he healed the man on the Sabbath, which broke one of the religious rules of the day.  As a result of breaking this religious rule, a group of men known as the Pharisees, who were the self righteous religious legalists of the day, confronted and challenged Jesus for breaking one of their religious rules. Jesus responded to being confronted by this group of religious legalists by telling a parable.

A parable is an earthly story that is designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. In this parable, Jesus painted the self righteous religious legalists as thieves and robbers who were attempting to steal people, who Jesus referred to as sheep, away from God. In the parable, Jesus revealed the reality that there was only one entry way, or door, to God, and that was through the shepherd, who would lead the people through the door. And it is in this context that Jesus identifies Himself as being the good shepherd.

Now that leads us to the second thing that we need to understand, which is the relationship between sheep and their shepherd. You see, while the Jewish people of Jesus day would have totally connected with this picture, we do not spend any time around sheep and shepherds. So let’s take a minute to understand a few things about sheep, shepherds, and how they related to one another. The first thing about sheep and shepherds is that sheep desperately need a shepherd.

The reason why sheep need a shepherd because sheep are needy. And sheep need a shepherd because sheep are stupid. Sheep are some of the dumbest animals on the planet.  And because of that reality, sheep need protection, sheep need guidance. Sheep need direction. Sheep need care. Sheep need feeding. Without a shepherd, a sheep’s needs remain unmet. Without a shepherd, the sheep suffer, and even die.

You see, Jesus used this metaphor because we are a lot like sheep, aren’t we?  Like sheep, we can be very needy. Like sheep, we can be very stupid. Like sheep, we need, guidance, direction. Like sheep, we need to be cared for. Like sheep, we can easily get off track, lost, and in a position where we suffer and even die as a result to the direction we decide to take in our lives.

Jesus explains that as the good shepherd, Jesus lays down His life for the sheep. Jesus then unpacks this statement by revealing the difference between Himself and the self righteous religious leaders of His day.  Jesus referred to the self righteous religious leaders as the hired hand and explained that when the sheep are threatened, the hired hand will not put his life in danger. Instead, the hired hand responds to the threats and danger by fleeing.

You see, for the hired hand, watching the sheep is just a job. For the hired hand who is working as a shepherd, his interest is in the money alone. He doesn’t own the sheep; he only does the job for the money and the money isn’t worth putting his life in danger. The hired hand does not have the investment in the sheep to sacrifice or endanger his life to save the sheep from the danger of wolves or other predators. The hired hand does not have the investment in the sheep to sacrifice or endanger his life to save the sheep from death if they fell in a pit or off a cliff.

However, as the good shepherd, Jesus has total ownership and total commitment to His sheep. Jesus is the Co-Creator of the universe. And as our creator and Lord, Jesus loves us and is willing to sacrifice His life for us. Jesus then continues to unpack His nature and character as the good shepherd in verse 14-18:

 "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. ¹⁷ "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. ¹⁸ "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."

Jesus continued His confrontation with the self righteous religious legalists of His day by explaining, that as the good shepherd, I know My own and My own know Me. Jesus here is revealing the reality that as the good shepherd, Jesus has intimate knowledge of His sheep. In the agricultural culture of Jesus day, sheep were more like a family pet. A shepherd would name His sheep. A shepherd would call for and talk with his sheep. And the sheep would know his shepherd much in the same way that a family dog knows his owner.

Jesus point is that, as the good shepherd, Jesus has a mutual and intimate relationship with His sheep. Jesus does not have a superficial relationship with His sheep; instead Jesus cares, feeds, and leads His sheep. Jesus then revealed the reality that as the good shepherd, Jesus did not simply come to earth to be the shepherd of people who were like him ethnically. Instead, Jesus came to call people from every ethnicity to follow Him in communion with Him as their shepherd and in genuine and authentic community with one another that represented every ethnicity with Jesus as their shepherd.

Jesus explained that this was the reason God the Father loved Him. God the Father loved Jesus because, as the good shepherd, Jesus was willing to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived the selfish and sinful life of the sheep, so that God that Father could treat the sheep as though they had lived Jesus perfect life. John then turned to reveal how the self righteous religious leaders, and the crowds that had gathered around this conversation, responded to Jesus referring to Himself as the good shepherd.

Friday, we will discover how they responded together...

God as the all you can eat buffet...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Distorted. During this series, we are spending our time together addressing six distorted views of God that flow from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. During this series, we are striving to replace those distorted perceptions and assumptions about God with six accurate views of God that were given by us by Jesus Himself. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands to enable us to rid ourselves of any distorted views that we have of God and replace them with an accurate view of God so that we would be able to experience a growing and maturing relationship with God.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together addressing another distorted view of God that flows from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. And the distorted view of God that I would like us to address is the view of God as the all you can eat buffet. Like so many of the distorted views that we can have about God, this view is reinforced by the current of the culture we live in.

You see, in Western American culture, we take pride in reinforcing the reality that everything is about us. And because we repeatedly reinforce the reality that everything is about us, we create environments, products and services that are customized to meet our wants and desires. I mean, we just don’t want any car; we want to make sure that we have a customized car with the features and accessories that we want. We don’t want just any home; we want a custom built home that has the look and feel that we want. We see this especially in the food industry. For example, one fast food chain’s slogan for hamburgers was “Have it your way.” So we have custom coffee, custom burgers, custom fro you sites where you can add your own toppings.

And perhaps the pinnacle of customization in our culture is the all you can eat buffet. You see, the all you can eat buffet sends a crystal clear message, you can eat all you want of what you want.  You can customize your meal to avoid what you do not like so that you can double up on the things that you do like.

And as a result of living in a culture that makes everything about our preferences, our wants, our desires, we can find ourselves finding ways to customize God around our preferences, our wants, our desires. We find ways to double up our God around all the things we like about God while avoiding all of the things we don’t like and don’t want in or from God.  Could it be that the reason that 90 percent of Americans claim to believe in God is due to the fact that they only believe in about 10 percent of God?

However, when we see God as the all you can eat buffet, we end up creating a faith that is centered around ourselves. And just like continually eating at an all you can eat buffet, we can end up spending our whole lives filling our plates with our favorite parts about God, while our soul slowly starves from a lack of the Divine malnourishment that is necessary, but that we continually avoid, about God.

You see, the problem with viewing God as the all you can eat buffet is that God is inseparably whole. God cannot be divided and portioned out into the parts we find most palatable. We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John.

And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless and true view of God that can help us rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the all you can eat buffet and replace it with an accurate view of God.

Tomorrow we will jump into this section of the gospel of John…

We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge instead of the equal opportunity employer...

This week, we have been addressing the distorted view of God as the talent show judge. We have been looking at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. In this section of the gospel of Matthew, we see Jesus, after an encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler, have a conversation between Jesus and His disciples about the rank and rewards that followers of Jesus would receive in the kingdom of heaven.

And in the middle of this conversation about rank and rewards in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus tells the disciples a parable. In this parable, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Jesus explained that the landowner entered into an agreement with the laborers to pay them a denarius for their wages and then sent them into the vineyard to work. In Jesus day, a denarius was the equivalent of a day’s wages.

Jesus explained that as the landowner looked over his workforce, he saw that he could hire some more men. So the landowner went out about the third hour, which would be around 9 a.m. and saw others standing idle at the marketplace. The landowner approached these men standing at the marketplace and offered them a job, saying “go into the vineyard and whatever is right I will pay you”.

Notice that the landowner did not enter into a prearranged agreement with these laborers; he only stated that he would do what is right. The landowner is simply stating to these laborers that they will not be shortchanged or treated unfairly. Jesus then explained that the landowner went back to the same marketplace at the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same thing.

Then, at the eleventh hour, the landowner went out to the marketplace and found others still waiting to be picked up for work. To these laborers, however, the landowner asked a question: “Why have you been standing here idle all day long”?

You see, no one hired these laborers because they were the least desirable workers. They showed up to work late; they were not as prepared or as motivated as the other workers; they did not have the best resume or work history. The landowner then hired these workers and sent them into the vineyard for the remaining hour that was left.

So at the end of this day the landowner called his foreman and directed him to pay out their wages, beginning with the last group and ending with the first group. Now remember, the only laborers who entered into a prearranged agreement for a denarius for a day’s wages were those who were hired first; all of the rest of the laborers have no idea of exactly what they are going to get paid. All the landowner said was that he would pay them what was right.

Jesus explained that when the laborers came forward to receive their pay, they each received a denarius which, as we saw earlier, was the generally accepted pay for a fair days work. The reason that a denarius was considered a fair days pay for a fair days work was because a denarius was what was needed financially in order to provide for one’s family. So the landowner did not pay them what they deserved; the landowner paid them what they needed.

Now a natural reaction at this point could be “But hold on there, just wait a minute. These are the least desirable workers; these are the slackers, the Johnny come latelies. They did not earn a full day’s wages; that’s not fair”.  Well, if you think that is not fair, look what happens next in Matthew 20:10-12:

"When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. "When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'

Here we see Jesus explain that when those who were hired first came to receive their wages, they expected to receive more. I mean that would only be fair, right? However, to their surprise, the landowner responded to their day of hard work by paying them the exact same amount that he had paid the laborers who worked one hour. Now, if you were one of the laborers who worked all day to only get paid the same amount as someone who worked only one hour of a day, how would you respond?

You would respond the exact way that the laborers responded, which was that the laborers grumbled; in other words, the laborers responded by whining. “These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day. That’s not fair”.

Isn’t this the exact same thing that we tend to do when it comes to fairness? “God it’s not fair that she is better looking than me. God it’s not fair that he makes more money than me. God it’s not fair that she is married and I am single. It’s not fair that he always has a girlfriend and I can’t get a date”.

And when we become concerned and even consumed with comparison and the issue of fairness, we tend to focus on the wrong things, don’t we? We see the landowner’s response to the whining and grumbling of the laborers in Matthew 20:13-15. Let’s look at it together: 

"But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 'Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'

Notice the landowner’s response here. “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius”. The landowner responds to the whining and complaining about his lack of fairness by reminding the laborers that he simply gave them what they had agreed upon in advance. You see, the landowner did the right thing, not the fair thing, or the even thing.

The landowner followed through by keeping the agreement that was made in the beginning. And to bolster his point the landowner reminds that laborers in verse 15 that as the landowner, he has the right and the freedom to distribute his resources as he desires because they are his. The landowner then exposes the motivation behind the laborers whining and complaining with a simple question: “Or is your eye envious because I am generous?”

The phrase “Is your eye envious” literally means to give someone the evil eye as a result of being jealous of what someone else has or has been given. The laborers whining and complaining had nothing to do with whether the landowner was just; the laborers whining and complaining had everything to do with the landowner’s generosity. The laborers whining and complaining had nothing to do with whether the landowner was just; the laborers whining and complaining had everything to do with the landowner giving equal opportunity to people in spite of their resume or their performance.

And it is here, in this event from history involving a parable involving day laborers, that we discover a timeless truth that can enable us to rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the cosmic slot machine. And that timeless truth is this: We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge instead of the equal opportunity employer. 

The timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge that leads us to live a life that endlessly attempts to please a distant and difficult to please God. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge that leads us to live a life of perpetual performance and experience feelings of regular rejection when we fail to perform well.

We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge that leads us to live a life that continually hears the whisper “more, you need to do more” in our ears. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge that leads us to live a life that substitutes activity for God for intimacy with God. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as a nameless, faceless, unpleased being that is constantly evaluating our performance.

However, unlike the talent show judge, a more accurate view of God is that of the equal opportunity employer. A more accurate view of God is that of the equal opportunity employer who is not fair, at least in the way we define fair. A more accurate view of God is that of the equal opportunity employer who rewards all He chooses to with a disproportionate measure of grace. A more accurate view of God is that of the equal opportunity employer who will take anyone at any time who comes to Him.

You see, where we can tend to struggle when it comes to viewing God as the equal opportunity employer is due to the tendency that we have to want to accept the concept of grace as it applies to our lives, but we struggle to accept the concept of grace when it is applied to others lives. So often, we act like the rich young rulers of the world who were picked up at 6:00 am, and have followed Jesus their whole lives and want to be rewarded for our performance over others who came to Jesus later in life. So often, we demand and expect ourselves to live up to, to impress, and to earn what God had already offered us long before we began to perform.

So here is a question to consider: Which of these two views describe how you view God? Do you view God as the talent show judge? Do you view God as the talent show judge who is a nameless, faceless, unpleased being that is constantly evaluating our performance?

Or do you view God as the equal opportunity employer?  Do you view God as the equal opportunity employer who will take anyone at any time who comes to Him? 

Because the timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the talent show judge instead of the equal opportunity employer…

A parable on performance...

This week, we are addressing the distorted view of God as the talent show judge. Yesterday, we discovered that as our culture reinforces life as one big performance that is being judged by those around us, this reality seeps into how we view God. And as a result, we can find ourselves in a place where we view God as the talent show judge and our day to day lives are driven by two questions.

The first question is basically, “If life was a talent show and God was the judge, God would rate my performance as a…” The second question, the deeper question that often drives our view of God as the talent show God is “If I do not do enough for God….”

And as a result of our lives being driven by these two questions that flow from viewing God as the talent show judge, we often choose to live a life that endlessly attempts to please a distant and difficult to please God. We choose to live a life of perpetual performance and we experience the feelings of regular rejection when we fail to perform well. A life that continually hears the whisper of the word “more, you need to do more” in our ears. And we end up in a place where we live a life that substitutes activity for God for intimacy with God.

When we view God as a talent show judge, we create of ourselves a God that we can never please. When we view God as a talent show judge, God becomes a nameless, faceless, unpleased being that is constantly evaluating our performance. And most importantly, when we view God as a talent show judge, we demand and expect ourselves to live up to, to impress, and to earn what God had already offered us long before we began to perform.

However, to view God as the talent show judge who is constantly evaluating our performance and who we can never please and never do enough for is a distorted view of God. We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless truth that can enable us to rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the talent show judge and replace it with an accurate view of God. So let’s jump into this section of the gospel of Matthew together, beginning in John Matthew 20:1:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Matthew brings us into this section of his account of Jesus life by giving us a front row seat to a conversation that Jesus was having with His disciples. However, to fully understand the nature of this conversation, we first need to understand the context in which this conversation took place. Just prior to this conversation, Jesus had a conversation with a rich young ruler, who had asked Jesus what he needed to do to obtain eternal life.

The rich young ruler responded to Jesus questions about keeping all of the Ten Commandments that concerned how he related to those around him by proclaiming that he always obeyed them. You see, the rich young ruler took pride in his performance for God. However, Jesus explained to the rich young ruler that he needed to demonstrate that he obeyed the commandments about worshiping God and nothing other than God by selling all he owned to follow Jesus. However, the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus because he loved his money, possessions, and treasure more than he loved Jesus.

Jesus then explained to His disciples that is was harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven that it was for a camel to pass through the eye of a sewing needle. Jesus point was that money, possessions and treasure compete with Jesus for our devotion and for those who are rich, this competition often results in a choice to treasure their treasure instead of treasuring Jesus as their ultimate treasure.

This encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler led to a conversation between Jesus and His disciples about the rank and rewards that followers of Jesus would receive in the kingdom of heaven. And in the middle of this conversation about rank and rewards in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus tells the disciples a parable. Now a parable is an earthly story that is designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth.

In this parable, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Jesus explained that the landowner entered into an agreement with the laborers to pay them a denarius for their wages and then sent them into the vineyard to work. In Jesus day, a denarius was the equivalent of a day’s wages. So this landowner was paying the laborers what was generally accepted as a fair pay for a fair days work. Jesus then continued the parable in Matthew 20:3-7:

"And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went. "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'  "They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.'

To understand what is happening in this parable, we first need to understand a little about what working in a vineyard entailed. Now in the agricultural society that Jesus lived in, a typical workday would begin at 6 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. Laborers would be hired during the harvest season to go into the vineyards to hand pick the grapes off the vines. There was no special automated machinery; this was manual, intensive, time sensitive work.

Jesus explained that as the landowner looked over his workforce, he saw that he could hire some more men. So the landowner went out about the third hour, which would be around 9 a.m. and saw others standing idle at the marketplace. Jesus explained that the landowner approached these men standing at the marketplace and offered them a job, saying “go into the vineyard and whatever is right I will pay you”.

Notice that the landowner did not enter into a prearranged agreement with these laborers; he only stated that he would do what is right. The landowner is simply stating to these laborers that they will not be shortchanged or treated unfairly. Jesus then explained that the landowner went back to the same marketplace at the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same thing. This landowner went out at noon and at 3 p.m. and hired more workers.

Now a natural question that arises here is “Why would laborers still be standing at the marketplace at noon and 3 p.m.? The workday is more than half over, isn’t it?” Most likely, either these workers showed up late or they were less motivated to work than the earlier workers. However, the landowner could still hire more workers, so he entered into the same agreement that he entered into with the workers that he hired at 9 a.m.; “go into the vineyard and whatever is right I will pay you”.

Then, in verse six and seven Jesus explained to the disciples that, at the eleventh hour, the landowner went out to the marketplace and found others still waiting to be picked up for work. To these laborers, however, the landowner asked a question: “Why have you been standing here idle all day long”?

In other words, “What have you been doing all day? Why have you not been hired? What’s your problem? Are you not worthy to be hired?” The laborers respond to the question simply; “because no one hired us”. You see, no one hired these laborers because they were the least desirable workers. They showed up to work late; they were not as prepared or as motivated as the other workers; they did not have the best resume or work history.

The landowner then hired these workers and sent them into the vineyard for the remaining hour that was left. At the end of that hour, when the workday is over, it was time to pay the laborers. Jesus then revealed what happened next in Matthew 20:8-9:

"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'  "When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.

At the end of the day, as a day laborer, you would be paid for the day’s work. You were not under a contract; you are not a salaried employee; you simply received your pay and went on your way, because tomorrow you would begin this process all over again. So at the end of this day the landowner called his foreman and directed him to pay out their wages, beginning with the last group and ending with the first group.

What would happen is the foreman would call all the laborers to line up in a line according to the time that they were hired. The laborers would then come forward, one at a time, and receive their pay for the day. Now remember, the only laborers who entered into a prearranged agreement for a denarius for a day’s wages were those who were hired first; all of the rest of the laborers have no idea of exactly what they are going to get paid. All the landowner said was that he would pay them what was right.

Now, if you were a day laborer who was hired at 5 p.m., would you really expect to receive much in terms of pay? Probably not. After all, you hardly worked compared to those who had been there all day.

Yet Jesus explained that when the laborers came forward to receive their pay, they each received a denarius which, as we saw earlier, was the generally accepted pay for a fair days work. The reason that a denarius was considered a fair days pay for a fair days work was because a denarius was what was needed financially in order to provide for one’s family.

You see, the landowner did not pay them what they deserved; the landowner paid them what they needed. Now a natural reaction at this point could be “But hold on there, just wait a minute. These are the least desirable workers; these are the slackers, the Johnny come latelies. They did not earn a full day’s wages; that’s not fair”.  Well, if you think that is not fair, then you will really think that what happened next was not fair.

Friday, we will look at what happened next…

The view of God as the Talent Show Judge...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Distorted. During this series, we are spending our time together addressing six distorted views of God that flow from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. And during this series, we are going to strive to replace those distorted perceptions and assumptions about God with six accurate views of God that were given by us by Jesus Himself.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together addressing another distorted view of God that flows from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. And the distorted view of God that I would like us to address is the view of God as the talent show judge. This distorted view of God, in many ways, is revealed and reinforced by the culture that we live in today.

I mean, just think of the most popular television shows over the past several years: American Idol, The voice, and America’s Got Talent. What do all of these shows have in common? All of these shows are all about people performing before judges. And then there are television shows like the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, where people put on their best performances in front of someone, and in front of the cameras, in hopes of finding a lasting relationship.

And as a culture, we seem to eat it up, don’t we? If you don’t think that is the case, just look at social media on the evenings that one of these shows is on television. Everyone has a comment; everyone is judging the talent or whether or not person X is right for the bachelor.

However, as our culture reinforces life as one big performance that is being judged by those around us, this reality seeps into how we view God. And as a result, we can find ourselves in a place where we view God as the talent show judge and our day to day lives are driven by two questions.

The first question is basically, “If life was a talent show and God was the judge, God would rate my performance as a…” The second question, the deeper question that often drives our view of God as the talent show God is “If I do not do enough for God….”

And as a result of our lives being driven by these two questions that flow from viewing God as the talent show judge, we often choose to live a life that endlessly attempts to please a distant and difficult to please God. We choose to live a life of perpetual performance and we experience the feelings of regular rejection when we fail to perform well. A life that continually hears the whisper of the word “more, you need to do more” in our ears. And we end up in a place where we live a life that substitutes activity for God for intimacy with God.

When we view God as a talent show judge, we create of ourselves a God that we can never please. When we view God as a talent show judge, God becomes a nameless, faceless, unpleased being that is constantly evaluating our performance. And most importantly, when we view God as a talent show judge, we demand and expect ourselves to live up to, to impress, and to earn what God had already offered us long before we began to perform.

You see, to view God as the talent show judge who is constantly evaluating our performance and who we can never please and never do enough for is a distorted view of God. Because, as we will discover this week, the reality is that when it comes to God, God is in fact the one, and sometimes the only one, cheering us on.

We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless truth that can enable us to rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the talent show judge and replace it with an accurate view of God.

Tomorrow, we will jump into this section of the gospel of Matthew…

We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine instead of the green-thumbed gardener…

This week, we have been addressing the distorted view of God as the cosmic slot machine. We have been looking at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John. In this section of this account of Jesus life, Jesus has been telling His disciples a parable, involving vines and how they grow.

Jesus explained that, vinedressers, or gardeners who grow grapes understand that pruning is necessary for any vine if it is going to bear fruit. And vinedressers or gardeners understand that dead wood is dangerous for the vine, as dead wood can harbor disease and decay. And because of that reality, the vinedresser, or gardener, removes everything that is not a true branch that would bear fruit.  

In addition, a vinedresser, or gardener, understands that an untrimmed vine will develop long rambling branches that produce little fruit because most of the strength of the vine is given to growing wood instead of fruit. And because the vinedresser or gardener is concerned that the vine be healthy and productive, they will prune the vine so that it can bear more fruit.

Jesus used this word picture to explain that God removes the dead wood from His church and is at work in the life of followers of Jesus so that they will reveal and reflect Jesus in their day to day lives. And the message and teachings of Jesus are the means by which He works in our lives to prune and clean away areas of our lives so that we can be more fruitful.  

In addition, Jesus commanded the disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to remain connected to Jesus. Jesus then reveals the reason behind His command: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me”. You see, the issue for Jesus is fruitfulness.

The issue for Jesus is that His followers reveal and reflect Him. And to reveal and reflect Jesus we must remain connected to Him, because as Jesus makes unmistakably clear in verse 5, apart from Me you can do nothing. In other words, we are unable to reveal and reflect Jesus in a way that advances His kingdom and makes much of Him apart from remaining connected with Him.

The image that Jesus is conveying to His disciples and us today is one of openness. Just as a vine forces life and nutrients into the branches to cause growth, Jesus wants to pour Himself into us so that we can grow and bear fruit for Him. What Jesus is asking us to do by remaining in Him is to simply be open to receive from Jesus what He wants to pour into us.

When God prunes and cleans us through His word, He makes us more open to receive what Jesus desires to pour into us. Jesus desires that we remain connected to Him so that He can pour Himself into us so that we reveal and reflect Him in our character and conduct in a way that enables us to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal Himself to the world. Jesus unpacks this for us in John 15:7-11:

 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Here we see Jesus reveal for the reality that as we remain connected to Jesus and open ourselves to allow Jesus to pour Himself into us, the result is that we will reveal and reflect Jesus by producing the fruit that reveals our relationship with Jesus. We will live our lives in a way that is focused on bearing fruit for God and making much of God through our obedience to God.

Jesus then explained to His disciples that God will respond to the life that is focused on living in obedience to God in a way that advances the kingdom of God and makes much of God. God enters into such a life in a way that we experience the love of God and the joy that comes from being connected with God. And it is here, in this event from history involving a word picture of the eternal connection that we can have with God as a result of placing our confident trust in Jesus, that we discover a timeless truth that can enable us to rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the cosmic slot machine. And that timeless truth is this: We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine instead of the green-thumbed gardener. 

The timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine. We have a distorted view of God when we view both God and life are viewed as being one big gamble. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine where life has little to do with love and instead is all about luck. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine where you win sometimes, you lose sometimes, and, at the end of the day, the best you can hope for is to break even at the end of your life.

We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine that leads us to hedge our bets and play it safe for fear that we could lose it all. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine because those who play it safe and hedge their bets on life never really live life because those who decide to play it safe; those who hedge their bets on God never really know God.

However, unlike the cosmic slot machine, a more accurate view of God is that of the green-thumbed gardener. You see, a more accurate view of God is that of the green-thumbed gardener who is intimately involved in our lives. Just like a green-thumbed gardener, God cannot garden from a distance. Instead, it is the trusting, intimate involvement of God in our lives that results in us growing.

A more accurate view of God is that of the green-thumbed gardener who is actively at work in our lives. Just like a green-thumbed gardener, God is actively at work in our lives to cut and prune any branches that are dead and fruitless that can take away nutrients from the rest of the plant. Our responsibility is to remain open and in a position where God can pour Himself into us.

However, just as a branch cannot see the rest of the garden, as finite human beings, we cannot see the big picture. And as a result, our temptation is to view life as a series of random unconnected events that are driven by luck, instead of recognizing the reality that God is actively at work in a through what seems to be random to grow and mature us. A more accurate view of God is that of the green-thumbed gardener who is never done with us but who knows and cares for every branch. And our responsibility is to grow and give of ourselves to the life that has been given to us by God as He cares for us.

You see, when we abide in God; when we remain connected to God as the green-thumbed gardener, that connectedness to God starves our selfishness. As Jesus reveals for us, we survive, grow and bear the fruit, or the results that are produced in our lives, only by the hand of the green-thumbed gardener God in our lives.

So here is a question to consider: Which of these two views describe how you view God? Do you view God as the cosmic slot machine? Do you view as the cosmic slot machine where God and life is one big gamble? Do you view God as simply the cosmic slot machine where life has little to do with love and instead is all about luck?

Or do you view God as the green-thumbed gardener?  Do you view God as the green-thumbed gardener who is intimately and actively involved in our lives?  Do you view God as the green-thumbed gardener who is never done with us but who knows and cares for every branch? Are you willing to remain open and in a position where Jesus can pour Himself into us as God as the green-thumbed gardener is at work in us to produce the fruit, or the results that come from a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus?

Because the timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine instead of the green-thumbed gardener…