"He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake." Psalm 23:2-3
That would be easy for David to say, wouldn't it? Who wouldn't be able to claim the Lord as his shepherd after such a great experience? Who wouldn't rejoice in the One who made him lie down in such green and peaceful pastures?
"...one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray..." Luke 11:1
Many, if not most, people would think that this must have been one of those "delayed disciples." One who sat "in the back of the class." Surely this was not one of those who had spent the most time and had learned the most from our Lord. Indeed, I think that it must have been. In my heart I hear John the Beloved Disciple asking, "Lord, teach us to pray."
You see, it is easy to pray, but it can be very difficult to pray for the right thing. It would be very easy for us to ask, "Lord, teach me to pray" because we tend to look out for ourselves and our interests. But it is those who sit in the front of the class, who have spent the most time listening to and learning from the Lord, who ask for Him to "teach us to pray."
Photo: Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images[/caption]
"They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'" Matthew 20:7
Those men spoken of in this parable are those standing, waiting, in the market place at the end of the day. Day's end has come and they have yet to be hired by any man. But Jesus is no ordinary man. He calls those the world is unwilling to employ. He finds a spot, a place, in His vineyard for those who are the world's rejects. In fact, in a strange sense, it seems that Heaven trusts earth more than earth trusts herself.
There are more workers available than the world could ever realize or would be willing to admit. The problem is not with the availability of workers, but with the attitude of the world. We are so quick to reject those who have ever stumbled or made a mistake. A sailor who shipwrecks will seldom find a second ship. We deny even the possibility of the presence of perfume in a broken box. A stained life is a life set aside - never be used or trusted again.
"He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
It was a lesson I learned early, and I might add painfully, in my life - just because a broken bone is set doesn't mean that the injury is immediately and completely healed. What is true for a broken bone is also true for a broken heart.
What is a broken heart? We hear so much about this condition in songs and stories and the everyday conversations of life. A broken heart is a heart that can no longer move. It is paralyzed. It is a heart that can no longer soar or stroll and as a result is unfit and unable to take its place and part in the world.
"These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 7:14
It's not what I expected. I would have thought robes washed in blood would have come out stained red. So, why then is the result of the washing so different from the process? The answer is because the process that makes me clean can't leave a trace of itself. You see, if the blood that washed out my stain remained it would be itself a stain.
"...Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head." Mark 14:3
A simple box - a flask actually - was broken and poured out. That's what Mark is describing for us in this particular passage. I have always wondered not only why Mark tells us that she broke it, but why in fact she did break it. I understand why she would pour out all of that precious ointment on the head of Jesus - a heart devoted to Him would have held nothing back from Him. But why would she destroy the costly container? Surely she could have kept such a beautiful box and used it for herself? No, she couldn't have kept it. After Jesus had been anointed with the contents she had no use for the container. You see, love doesn't consider something a treasure that can't be spent on its object.