"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Thursday, 03 July 2008 | |||
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Restful Wisdom | |||
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In The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien often
draws the biblical contrast we find mentioned at least twice in this
text. Spiritual insight, which is a gift of grace, is granted not to the
greatest and wisest of this world, but to the small and humble. In
Tolkien, not to elf lords and wizards, but to hobbits. In Scripture, not
to learned holy men, but to "little children," as Jesus calls
His disciples in
Matthew 11:16-30. After chiding those who accused Jesus of loose living, but who also accused John of extreme asceticism, verse 19 ends with the cryptic saying, "But wisdom is proved right by her actions." The wisdom of Jesus is revealed in the good that He does, not in a particular program of spiritual achievement. Verse 25 speaks of that which is hidden from the wise being revealed to little children. Then in verse 27 Jesus speaks that which is sometimes called "the thunderbolt from the Johannine heaven," since it connects Jesus and the Father in a way which smacks much more of John than of the synoptic Gospels. Yet the point here is that the important knowledge (wisdom) about God is a gift of gracious revelation. So the passage concludes with the wonderful invitation to come and learn from Jesus, yet in a way that offers rest. The wisdom we receive from Him is not a laborious, heavy thing, but a path which brings rest to our souls. How can we hear this invitation truly and well in the midst of all the spiritual exertion and competition so many of "the wise" of our time promote? | |||
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Profile |
I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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