(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better — and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
Can you simultaneously love and reject someone?
Intro:
Can I just encourage you for a moment? The first thing — and best thing — God wants from you is faithfulness. Like a spouse, right? Remember what Jesus said to His disciples after they’ve been out on tour, coming home all excited that they were able to cast out demons. He be like, “That’s not what to focus on, rather be glad that your name is written in the Book of Life.”
So you, me, us…our hope isn’t in the number of people you get to witness to every day…it’s in knowing (and I know it’s not always easy) that your faithfulness makes your husband Jesus smile.
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
And, in a way, that’s the first thing you’re going to hear from Jesus in our NT segment today…that
Passage: Luke 13
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 35
Words: ~748
ORIGINAL TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Passage: 1 Chronicles 17-18
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 44
Words: ~865
Wisdom SEGMENT:
Passage: Proverbs 12:16-22
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 7
Words: ~115
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Can you simultaneously love and reject someone?
At the end of our NT reading today we heard Jesus lament over a Jerusalem…a Jerusalem that represents the whole nation of Israel…because she had rejected Him. And we heard some other tough stuff today about the way to heaven been the narrow path. That means, sadly, that our hearts should break for those who don’t know Jesus, too.
But did Jesus reject them?
To be fair, the clearest answer to this question doesn’t come from today’s reading…Paul and John make it a little clearer.
For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. (Ro 1:18–23, CSB)
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. (Jn 3:17–19, CSB)
So, can you simultaneously love and reject someone? I think the example Jesus sets is that we have boundaries with someone, because we love them, because we love them unconditionally. They choose where they fall relative to those…like a parent who says to a kid on drugs, “I love you so much that you’re not welcome in this house. I will do whatever I can to help you, but these are the boundaries.”
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 272.