Fathers, Regrets, and Preventions, Part 4

Posted on May 26, 2015 by parklinscomb

Fathers, you hold a really important place in the home; don’t ever let anyone tell you differently. In actual practice, it is probably more important than you would really prefer it to be. You are far more than a sperm donor or bread-winner; and to consider yourself anything less is just begging for an older life of regret.

And one of the major things that causes regret is failure to let your children know that you love them. There are, of course, lots of reasons or excuses fathers sometimes use for not communicating their love to their kids…

  • “I’m busy making a living
  • “I’m just not a very emotional person”
  • “I’m not reall a verball expressive person”
  • “I’m just not a hugger”
  • “My dad didn’t show me and I don’t know how”
  • “I’ve given them everything”
  • “I never restricted them”
  • “They’ll just know”

…but these won’t really help, when you realize that the opportunities have passed and the relationships have been lost.

How can I show my children how much I love them? Here are a few easy ones…

Tell them daily
Sure, I know that some of us dads are only a little more verbal than cavemen, but it isn’t rocket science to simply tell each child in the morning, “I love you, you know.” Five words daily— three, if you’re in a hurry—aren’t much to ask; and they will mean the world to your kids. You can be sure that they’ll remember those words more than many others that you’ll utter in their growing-up years.

Discipline them fairly and instructively
We’ve talked about discipline already, but I think it is important to stress here again how much appropriate discipline really does mean to children. OK, not so much, when they are being disciplined, but certainly later—especially if it is done fairly and instructively. Fair and instructive discipline says to the adult that the child will become, “I loved you and will always love you.”

Give them plenty of hugs
Yes, I know that not everyone is a hugger, but the good news is that you can learn to be one and should do so, if you have kids. Tickling and wrestling (‘rasling) with your kids will work just about as well, too. Children crave physical affection; and when hugs are accompanied by the words, the effect is powerful in the heart of a child.

Do stuff with them
One of the things that most kids want with their fathers is time. They want to learn by observing one of the most important people in their lives—so, work with them, fish with them, build with them, walk with them, go to ballgames with them, ride bikes with them, hunt with them, have tea parties with them, etc. And, no, watching TV with them doesn’t really count. Words can be hard to remember, but experiences with dad will last a lifetime.

Talk with them
Don’t know what to talk with them about? Well, try what you did together (see above). Other things would include school, church, friends, and anything that you know interests them. Don’t know what interests them? Hmmm, you need to talk more.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep
We’ve all seen TV or movie stories of fathers that disappointed their children by promising to come to some event, only to break that promise because of work. Perhaps you’ve even experienced such disappointment yourself. Make and keep your promises, because they say, “You’re important and I love you.”

Don’t be a father with regrets. Tell your children how much you love them—early and often, as the saying goes. Use the opportunities now to build strong relationships and family ties for later in life.

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Fathers, Regrets, and Preventions, Part 3

Posted on May 22, 2015 by parklinscomb

It’s just an observation, but one of the major ways that fathers create regret for themselves is through failing in the area of discipline of their children. There is plenty of indication of this in Scripture…

  • Proverbs 17:21 “He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.”
  • Proverbs 13:24 “He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”
  • Proverbs 23:13, 14 “Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.”
  • Proverbs 17:25 “A foolish son is a grief to his father And bitterness to her who bore him.”
  • and of course, 2 Samuel 18:33 “The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!””

There are a few reasons why men don’t discipline their children…

  1. “I don’t want to become the bad guy”
    Discipline is not pleasant for either the child or the parent. We love our children and we want our children to love us back. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, so we avoid discipline in hopes that the other parent will take care of it or that they child will simply never do it again.
  2. “I’m afraid I’ll do it the wrong way”
    Much of this fear is the result of a lot of conflicting advice from “parenting experts”. There always seems to be a new parenting method on the bookstands, in popular magazines, or the morning talk shows. Every one of them warn about the danger of ruining our children. The effect has often been parental paralysis. Who should we listen to?
  3. “There’s no harm in letting them do that”
    Not wanting to discipline, or sometimes just being lazy, some fathers just dismiss poor behavior as being harmless or not worth the hassle.

May I offer a few words of encouragement and admonition?

  1. You’ll only be “the bad guy” for a while to your children, but you’ll be a hero to God and your family. Well-disciplined children almost always come back to thank (yes, I said “thank”) the parents who disciplined them. It sometimes takes until 25 (the age of literal brain maturity) to reach that point, but is often much earlier. You’ll go from being the “bad guy” to the “respected guy”.
  2. How does a person discipline the right way? Listen to God. “Yeah, but…” No; listen to God. He is the one true parenting expert. God teaches us (in a nutshell) to discipline: consistently, rationally (non-emotionally), with explanation, and with love. And yes, sometimes it will include a spanking (see the Proverb quoted above).
  3. Bad habits are much easier to break, when they are broken young. We all know this. It is foolish to overlook behaviors because they’ll become bad habits, which will become offensive habits, and which in time will become lifelong handicaps and problems. So, although a toddler may not be hurting anyone now with his tantrum, the responsible parent isn’t just concerned about today; his job is to be forming a responsible adult, husband, wife, worker, citizen, and Christian for tomorrow.

The disciplinary part of fatherhood isn’t easy, it isn’t fun, and you may make a few mistakes along the way. But don’t wimp out; shoulder your responsibility as a dad; and discipline your children now, so that they can be self-disciplined adults later!

It’s part of the way that fatherhood can be enjoyed later in life—without regret.

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Fathers, Regrets, and Preventions, Part 2

Posted on May 19, 2015 by parklinscomb

Last week we began a short series on fatherhood and regret. We started with David’s regret about his failures with Absalom, but there are plenty of regretful fathers in the Bible. The high priest Eli would be just one such example. His story is found in 1 Samuel’s first several chapters. His sons were blatantly sinful and disrespectful toward their assigned work at the Tabernacle of God. When you read the story you are caused to wonder, “Why didn’t Eli rebuke his sons, discipline them, teach them?” By the time Samuel comes to Eli with a prophecy about God’s judgment, Eli seems to have recognized his failures, but it seemed to have been too late to curb. What regret Eli must have felt at the shameful behavior of his sons.

How do we avoid the regret? Last week we began by talking about a father’s example—attitudes, actions, words, everything. This week we’ll consider the teaching part of fatherhood.

Besides the provision of the necessities of life and showing love, teaching is the number one job of a dad. Children enter this world completely ignorant of how the world works. God gave children parents for a reason—to teach them! The book of Proverbs often speaks as a father teaching a son. The entire book seems to be mostly a collection of principles, pieces of wisdom, and insightful nuggets that one might teach to one’s son. And the promise given to the son who listens is long and satisfying life (Prov. 3:2). A slightly different aspect of this truth is that the father who doesn’t teach is depriving his children of a long and satisfying life.

So how do you teach?

Modeling
The first place I’ll stop on this whirlwind tour of fatherly teaching is modeling. We talked about it last week, but I’ll emphasize it again here, because a child’s ears will always be closed to the oral teachings of a man who is not practicing what he preaches. As the poem goes, “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way: The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear, fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear.” (Edgar Guest)

Recognize and Use Teachable Moments
A father needs to recognize “teachable moments”. Teachable moments are those precious opportunities, when the child is sincerely asking why. When they are just not getting it and are looking for help. When they are standing in awe of the night sky, or a gorgeous sunset, or a baby’s innocence. When disaster or failure or tragedy strikes. And sometimes, when you yourself just start to spontaneously (and appropriately) share your thoughts with them. They are the moments without the pride of “I’ve got this”, the moments without the “I know, I know” attitude; when the walls are down and curiosity’s up. They will happen; they do happen; and when they do, you have to recognize them and take advantage of every second those windows are open—in a globally connected world, they don’t happen as often as they used to.

Taking Time
Time is precious to us all, and finding the time to teach children is hard. Some frustrated and selfish parents have been known to spout-off, “That’s what they have teachers/youth ministers for!” But the father who fails to carve out, chisel out, blast out the time to teach his children will pay with heart-breaking regret. Teachers and youth ministers may do some good, but poll after poll, year after year teens name their parents as their primary influence in life. Without you deliberately taking the time to teach them the spiritual things, the Biblical stories, the godly ways, the responsible life, etc., the only thing left is the school of hard knocks. If you don’t know how to do this, run, do not walk, to a brother who is doing it or has done it well and get some help.

Use All Avenues
Teaching, as any good teacher will tell you, is not a one-tool endeavor; it’s not, for example, just a lecture. Rather, effective teaching uses a box full of tools: discussion, question and answer, testing, correction, doing a “post-mortem” on a failure and a success, training, coaching, praising, pointing out (discretely, of course) the successes and failures of others and discussing the whys, allowing consequences, modeling (as mentioned above), and even punishment—to name just a few.

Explaining
Explaining is another one of those tools of teaching, of course, but I mention it specially here, because there are ways of teaching that are basically just “Do this; don’t do that,” that aren’t very effective. The question, “Why?” isn’t always a challenge to authority—sometimes it’s a genuine and legitimate question. You see, while “Do this; don’t do that” might work for a few kids, most want and need an explanation. Explanations helps kids (and adults) to apply the principles to a much wider range of life experiences. Explanations take more time, but they better equip kids for the life that they will face now and in the future. Take the time and explain things.

Be a father who teaches, not a father who regrets.

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Following Jesus Into Unexpected Places: A Locked Upper Room

Posted on April 29, 2015 by parklinscomb

Jesus had been crucified. His body had been interred in a tomb close to the place called Calvary (also known as Golgotha). It had been been a grief filled Passover in Jerusalem for the disciples and family that had gathered in Jerusalem. Just days before Jesus had been greeted with “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9 ). But a different crowd had shouted down the efforts of a politically weak governor Pilate’s efforts to release innocent Jesus. The sudden reversal of their situation had left those who loved Jesus in stunned and shocked mourning. But equally oppressive was the spiritual confusion—“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.” (Luke 24:21). And then there was the guilt that some of his closes disciples carried for having abandoned Him and denying Him.

Three days had now passed, and bringing into this mixture of grief, spiritual confusion, and guilt was strange news. Some of the women in their group had gone at dawn to the tomb to finish the hasty embalming efforts made on the day of Jesus’ death. They had returned from the tomb reporting that His tomb was empty and that they had seen an angel that said that Jesus had risen. Peter and John had literally run to the tomb themselves to investigate and came back scratching their heads about the mystery of the empty tomb. One woman, Mary Magdalene, later reported that she had seen the Lord. Most of Jesus closest disciples gathered that evening in an upper room in Jerusalem behind a locked door to try to make sense of what had been reported. His tomb was verifiably empty; there had been no mistake. Had the body been moved? And if so, by who? The Romans would have no interest in it, and the Jewish officials wouldn’t have risked breaching the Roman seal on the tomb (punishable by death). And by the way, where were the guards? Yes, they knew that Jesus had spoken of rising from the dead, but weren’t we all going to be raised at the judgment? And what of Mary Magdalene’s claim that she saw the Lord? It was probably just a grief-generated case of mistaken identity made possible by teary eyes. There was probably a lot of discussion, maybe some of it heated, none of it enlightened. And then to top it all off, there was a knock at the locked door. Were the religious officials here to snuff out the last of Jesus’ inner circle? But it was Cleopas and his friend; let them in but lock the door behind them. And they came with more puzzling news: they had seen and talked with Jesus over an extended period of time. But skepticism and confusion was thick enough to cut with a knife in that upper room; one of the more vocal “realists” in the room probably argued, “C’mon, people don’t just spontaneously rise from the dead.”

And then—surprise. Jesus appears before them—in a locked room. Not like a ghost without any physical substance; but a flesh and blood Jesus you could touch, see, and hear. Oddly enough, the last person in the world that this skeptical room full of men expected to see (and touch) was Jesus.

It was an amazing journey for these men over the next 40 days. They’d previously given lip service to believing in the resurrection, but there was still a piece of them that hadn’t yet believed enough in it to effect their thinking and living. So, they feared for their physical lives, abandoned the Lord, denied Jesus, hid in the shadows, and locked doors of the upper room. Then the resurrected Jesus appeared to them, the missing part of the equation; and they became committed, courageous, uncompromisable, convicted, vocal, and active disciples that turned the world upside down. The resurrection was the missing piece—the key truth they had “possessed” but never used—to make sense of everything and turn mice into men.

And it still happens. Yes, we know that this world and this life is not all there is; but consider how we often prioritize this physical life, things and experiences above spiritual realities. Consider how we sometimes lack the courage of our professed convictions in the face of worldly opposition. Consider how we so easily jettison church attendance for something fun or something “special” (are we saying that church isn’t special?). Consider how we resist physical risks (aka “stepping out on faith”) that we could or should be taking for the sake of the Kingdom. Somehow, the “realist” in us is still saying, “C’mon, people don’t just spontaneously rise from the dead.”

But the resurrection of Jesus has been verified, evidenced, and witnessed enough to enter the category of a fact. And being a fact, we can confidently believe that death is not the end, the sins of obedient believers are forgiven, Jesus is the Son of God, obedience matters, this physical world is not worthy of the attention and priority we usually give it, and we will all be resurrected on the Last Day—for some a resurrection to life but for others a resurrection to judgment (John 5:29).

Are you factoring the resurrection of Jesus into your life?

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Fathers, Regrets, and Preventions, Part 1

Posted on April 28, 2015 by parklinscomb

King David was good at a lot of things. He was courageous warrior; he was a man after God’s own heart; he was the sweet psalmist of Israel; and he was a loyal friend. But although he fathered many children, he wasn’t always a good dad. Under his own roof one of his sons, Amnon, raped one of his daughters, Tamar. When this heinous sin was revealed to David, king David did exactly nothing. And when Absalom, Tamar’s brother, did do something about it—it was sheer, premeditated, revenge murder. But rather than bring justice to Absalom, David just let it go, and let Absalom return (he had run away for fear of consequences to his deed) to Jerusalem. And when Absalom mounted a full-fledged rebellion, David could still not bring himself to put a stop to it. The result of the inevitable battle was the death of Absalom.

Upon hearing about the death of his son, (2 Samuel 18:33) “The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’” Words of deep, deep regret. But regret can’t rewind time and fix the missed opportunities, the missed corrections, the unspoken words, or the poor examples.

Regret is a common human experience; it has to be, since we’re so sinful. But there are few things that we will regret more than those of poor parenting. This article is for dads especially.

Fathering is easy, even pleasurable. Earning a living to support your family—well, you know you’d be going to work anyway, so, no extra sweat really. Right? But the parenting part—ah, there’s a horse of a different color! And for many dads it doesn’t come as naturally as mothering seems to come to moms. There’s discipline, example, teaching, mentoring, coaching, playing, helping, encouragement, love, and time. So many places to slip up. Have I got your attention?

For the next few posts I’d like to talk to Christian dads about some of these matters. And I’d like to start with example.

We’ve all seen and been moved by the scene of a toddler (or older) trying to walk in dad’s big shoes. Too bad the lesson doesn’t always stick with us. There are little ears and little eyes that are taking everything in. We’d like to hide some things from those little ears and eyes, but as they say in Jersey (aka, Joisey), “F’get about it!” All the language (good and bad), all the attitudes (good and bad), all the habits (good and—well, you get the point), all the priorities, all the traditions, all the husbanding and fathering things you do, your values, your integrity, your honor, and your discipleship to Jesus. How you deal with frustration, how you deal with anger, how you deal with family, how you deal with stress, how you cope, how you respond to personal attacks, and so much more—your kids are absorbing it all like little sponges—for replication and patterns for life. Even after they’ve gone to bed, they’re listening to what mom and dad are doing, saying, watching on TV, etc.

This is really hard, because it means that I have to behave myself, even in the privacy of my own home. I actually have to be the person that I want my children to become. So, I need to curb my tongue, check my attitudes, get rid of the bad habits, and be a person of integrity. I need to show the way.

One of the major reasons (though not the only reason) that the Son of God became a man is to give mankind an example of righteousness, of love, of compassion, of courage, and more. The Word became flesh and showed men what God looks like and what holy living is. Why? Because while words are good, examples are best.

Of course, living a sincere, 24-hour/day, 365 days a year is exactly what we need to be doing anyway, but maybe children are a gift from God to us, to remind us that He is also expecting full-life integrity, full-life discipleship, in every nook and cranny of our lives—that He’s also always listening, seeing, and even reading our hearts.

Dads, please take the time to take a long look at what your children see in you (good and bad), and make the changes—for your children and for the Lord.

And live a life without regret.

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Some more stuff you might find interesting

Posted on March 10, 2015 by parklinscomb

A few days ago I posted links to some of the sermons that have been recorded at the Manchester church of Christ. I hope you enjoyed one or more of them. There are some more video podcasts that I’ve recorded, too. I thought you might find them uplifting, too.

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Following Jesus to Unexpected Places: Gentile Territory

Posted on March 4, 2015 by parklinscomb

Of the many unexpected places Jesus went, going among the Gentiles had to have been among the more surprising to His apostles and close disciples. So, why did He go to Tyre and Sidon (Matt. 15:21ff and Mark 7:24ff)? Everyone, including Jesus (He was God in human flesh), needs a little rest from the labors of healing, teaching, traveling, arguing (with religious teachers who didn’t understand God’s will), and mentoring the apostles and disciples that would change the world after His ascension. And the best place to do that would be away from the center of the Jewish world, Judea / Galilee. So, He and His close disciples all went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, non-Jewish cities northwest of Galilee. Here He found a place to stay, hoping to go unrecognized and be able to rest.

But by this point Jesus reputation had spread like wildfire, even among the non-Jews, and those who heard of His presence in Tyre couldn’t resist the chance to appeal to this worker of miracles for help. One such person was a desperate woman whose daughter was cruelly demon possessed, who begged Jesus for help.

Surprisingly, Jesus initially tries to ignore her. But this was a woman who wouldn’t be easily ignored; she keeps asking. Her persistence is enough to drive the disciples to distraction, and they ask Jesus to make her stop. So, Jesus tells her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This all by itself tells us something about the virtue of focus. But still this Syro-Phoenician woman doesn’t get the hint and continues to ask, “Lord, help me!”

Interestingly enough Jesus responds with a metaphor, a parable, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Matt. 15:26). Now, we’re likely to recoil a bit and wonder, Did Jesus just call her a dog? The answer is yes, but not in the unkind sense that it sometimes was and is used—it’s a parable, not an insult. People food was not prepared for the household animals, but for the family; Jesus’ teachings and signs would be offered to the Jews, the people God that had been working with for about 1800 years.

The woman wasn’t insulted or deterred; she grabbed on to the parable and pointed out that although dinner was prepared for the family, the pets did get a share, the crumbs accidentally dropped on the floor. And in my imagination, I can picture Jesus breaking out into a smile at the faith, the persistence, and the insight of the woman. She, a Gentile, got it. Surprise! And because she “got it”, she got the miracle that she sought at once.

Do we get it? Faith, persistence, and insight.

Faith to come to the Lord with our problems is bigger than it might seem at first, even for Christians. There’s just something about being human that pushes us to try to solve our own problems our own way rather than look to the Lord. I can’t help but wonder how much burden, heartache, trouble, and worry I might have saved myself over the years by taking my problems to the Lord and did what He commanded—instead of what I actually did and/or said. While God doesn’t desire us to be lazy and “helpless”, He also doesn’t expect us handle it all either. Truth be known, we really don’t have the power or even know how to handle most things well—1 Corinthians 1:25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” The woman knew where to go with her need; do we?

Persistence is yet another challenge to many of us who do look to the Lord for the solutions to our problems. When we don’t get the answer we desire immediately, we sometimes (maybe often) wrongly conclude that a) God isn’t interested in us, b) God isn’t interested in our problem, or c) we should bother God anymore. Sometimes—sometimes—God’s delay (as in the case of this Syro-Phoenician woman) has more to do with testing our faith than with God’s indifference to us our our problems. You didn’t really think Jesus was indifferent to the woman’s problem, did you? Persistence, importunity, not giving up is many times exalted as a virtue in Scripture, as an evidence of real faith. It’s not that God is amused by making anyone beg, but rather that He is interested in finding out through our persistence the depth of our faith.

Insight is perhaps the most tricky of the three, since it requires thoughtful reflection based on knowing God. The Syro-Phoenician woman may not have known much about the God of Israel, but she sensed Jesus’ kindness and compassion that spanned racial or ethnic boundaries by means of faith. And using Jesus’ parable, she found hope that her request might be fulfilled—“Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” The point here is that insight, seeing things from God’s point of view, looking at things above not below, can lift our spirits, buoy us with joy, and give us hope, when hope might seem useless.

Are there requests that you are making of God? Faith, persistence, and insight. Don’t handle it all on your own; turn to the Lord. Don’t lose hope when things don’t happen within your timeframe, persist and continue. Look at things from God’s point of view, and hold on to hope!

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Something You Might Find Uplifting

Posted on March 3, 2015 by parklinscomb

My posts are usually about 900 words or so—not so today.

Over the past few years, we’ve had an occasional video recording ministry going at the Manchester NH church of Christ. This link leads the way to some of those videos; hopefully, they will provide some encouragement to you. You are, of course, welcome to share them with others.

Today my post will be whole sermons, I guess. 🙂

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Following Jesus to Unexpected Places: Zaccheus’ House

Posted on February 23, 2015 by parklinscomb

Jesus was on His final approach to Jerusalem and He was passing through the city of Jericho. His fame by this point had already spread far and wide, but in addition to this just outside of Jericho he had just given sight to a blind man named Bartimaeus. So now there was quite a crowd that was accompanying Jesus as He walked through town; it must have resembled a minor parade, because people were lining the streets to catch a glimpse of Jesus—including a man named Zaccheus.

Zaccheus was not the most popular man in town. He was a tax collector, and not just a tax collect, a chief tax collector. And not just a chief tax collector, a rich, chief tax collector. So, nobody was going to make a place for him along the “parade” route, and that was a problem, because Zaccheus was short. For some folks that would have been enough reason just to go home; but Zaccheus had heard about Jesus, the controversial, miracle-working rabbi. Perhaps he had even heard about some of the powerful, wonderful, and convicting things that He had taught. And now Jesus was in his own home town. How could he pass up this opportunity to see Him? So, Zaccheus climbed a tree to get a view of Jesus—and a view is all someone like him (a sinner is what everyone in town called him) could really hope for. Others in town perhaps hoped to touch Him, some others might have hoped for a healing (like Bartimaeus), others might have attempted to engage Him in conversation, some might have held hope that He would accept an invitation to dine with Him; but Zaccheus’ expectations were lower, all he wanted was a view.

But then just as Jesus was passing by the sycomore-fig tree Zaccheus was in, Jesus looked up, looked right at the rich, chief tax collector and called his name, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

“Wh-what?” Zaccheus must have thought. “Really? Did He really say my name? No way!” He may have almost fallen out of the tree as he hurried getting down with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.

But then the grumbling began, and Zaccheus quickly realized how this great honor to himself was turning out to be a great dishonor to Jesus— “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (Luke 19:7). Now, Zaccheus may have initially thought of refusing Jesus’ opportunity, but what he does say is pretty impressive, Luke 19:8, “Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’”

This is impressive not just because it is repentance, but because it is radical, enthusiastic repentance. Perhaps the taxes levied by the Romans, that Zaccheus had contracted to collect, had impoverished some of his neighbors; Zaccheus voluntarily pledged to give half of his own legitimately earned wealth to the poor. And if there had been any fraud in his collection (the word “if” is interesting here), he again voluntarily pledged to do better than the law even required: (Leviticus 6:5) “or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.” Zaccheus wouldn’t repay them a mere 120%, but 400%! And none of this was required by Jesus; it was all volunteered from joy of Jesus coming to his house that day.

Jesus is impressed. He declares that salvation had come to Zaccheus’ house and He declares him to be a true spiritual son of Abraham. And I think that there is something to be learned by us here who aspire to be sons of Abraham—the enthusiasm that should accompany repentance.

The Lord, of course, calls for our repentance; but the response that we often give him is something a little less than enthusiasm—maybe a lot less than enthusiasm—maybe something a little more like grudging compliance. We repent sometimes, only because Jesus calls upon us to do so. Rather than gain the joy of the new life in Jesus, we settle for mere grudging compliance to requirements. No doubt it is because we enjoy the sin too much, blind our eyes to the death that it brings, and fail to see the joy and life-giving benefit of committed discipleship to Jesus.

But what if we followed Zaccheus’ example—really enthusiastically repented of our sins. What would our lives be like? What would the church be like? What would worship be like? What would the church’s numbers be like? What would your family be like? So, what’s keeping us from doing it?

Going to Zaccheus’ house was a surprise to everyone who heard and saw it that day, including Zaccheus himself. What was really surprising, however, was the heart-felt, eager, ardent, fervent, passionate, zealous, excited, committed, and earnest response to Jesus’ invitation. Complete, nothing-held-back repentance. Go on, surprise your world today!

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Following Jesus to unexpected places—Samaritans

Posted on February 18, 2015 by parklinscomb

The essence of discipleship is following the Master. As disciples, we follow and observe and imitate. A few weeks ago I proposed that in occasional blog posts we consider a few of the surprising places that Jesus went—and didn’t go. And one of those surprising places that Jesus went was Samaria (John 4).

Once again, because we’re familiar enough with this story, we might be tempted to say something like, “Well, yeah, of course, Jesus visited with the Gentiles, the outsiders, those significantly below His station in life. That’s one of the things that I love about Jesus!” But, this being a posting about being disciples to Him, the question to us is “Are we following Him?”

And in asking whether or not we are following Jesus into strange surroundings, I’m not just asking if we ever go places outside of our comfort zones, to the homes of the down and out, the poor, or the foreigner. I’m asking are we doing what Jesus did?

Samaria and Samaritans were considered by most Jews as people and a region to best be avoided. Most Jews traveling from Galilee in the north of Judea to Jerusalem in the south of Judea would deliberately detour around Samaria which was located between Galilee and Jerusalem. And while Samaritans worshipped the same God, followed a very similar law, worshipped God in a very similar way; they were rejected as unclean by most devout Jews. Oddly enough, however, Jesus’ disciples found themselves coming back from the region around Jerusalem right through—of all places—Samaria.

He started a conversation with a Samaritan, and more than just a Samaritan, a Samaritan woman. From the point of view of most Jewish men, this was well beneath his station in life. But He didn’t just talk to a Samaritan woman, He talked to a Samaritan woman of probably questionable virtue. She’d had 5 husbands and was currently living with a man not her husband. She seems to have had a reputation, because of the timing of her coming to get water—noontime, not morning like most women did—probably to avoid the disapproving looks of the other townswomen. But Jesus initiated a conversation with her, “Give Me a drink.” Would we have initiated a conversation—at all? Do we initiate conversations with strangers, people different from us, people with potentially questionable values. Or do we just tell ourselves that we have nothing in common with this person, and that they will have no interest in talking with us, let alone have any interest in a spiritual conversation?

Even the Samaritan woman was shocked, (John 4:9) “…’How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?’” Her answer might even have carried a little bit of resentment in it. An answer like that might have shut many of us down, ended the conversation immediately; but not for Jesus.

Jesus, instead, turned what had begun as a simply request for some physical water for a weary traveler into something spiritual, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water” (v.10). Bet she didn’t see that one coming! Nor did she see Jesus’ surprising sign to her (telling her about her personal life, vvs. 15-19) that He was the Messiah (vvs. 25,26). Using Jesus’ example, the disciple of Jesus will also find natural ways of turning ordinary conversations into extraordinary conversations. The world around us is filled with potential segues into spiritual conversations—if only we’ll follow Jesus into these surprising and uncharted waters. How easy is talk of who’ll win the Super Bowl turned into who you think will win in the end? Or talk of health turned to the perfect health of the resurrection body? Or the complaints about mistreatment we get from others is turned into how God will avenge every sin?

Even Jesus disciples didn’t see this one coming (v. 27). They only saw the woman leave her water pot, running toward town and returning to the well with the men of the town to listen to the Jesus. “How,” they must have been asking themselves and Jesus afterward, “did a pit stop for lunch in Sychar turn into an evangelistic harvest of despised Samaritans?”

Discipleship is about more than merely going where the Master goes, but also about doing what the Master does. Let’s follow Him to surprising places, to start up conversations with surprising people, and turn ordinary conversations into unexpected and extraordinary sowing of the seed.

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