| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship” Our Bible verse for today: “But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fatted calf for him.” Luke 15:29-30 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Are you living in denial?” The elder son in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son chose to focus on the negative rather than on the positive. Rather than focusing on and celebrating the fact that his little brother had returned home, repented of his sin, and was being restored to the family, he focused instead on the boy’s sins. I’m sure the older brother was thinking that he was justified in focusing on the negative and that to do otherwise would be a denial of reality. But aren’t there two realities in this scene? While it is true that the younger son committed terrible sins, it’s also true that he repented and has now come home. Aren’t both of those things true? And if it would be a denial of reality to not focus on the negative truth, wouldn’t it equally be a denial of reality to not focus on the positive? In his wonderful little book, “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” Henri Nouwen tells us about a friend of his who is a world traveler, mostly to impoverished nations. When he returns from his trips Henri is always expecting him to tell stories about the terrible poverty he witnessed, and of the extreme suffering of the people he encountered. But he never does. Instead, he always talks about the faithfulness of the Christians he met, and about the great works of God in people’s lives, and about funny situations he experienced. His stories are filled with hope and joy and fun. Henri’s friend doesn’t deny the reality of the poverty and suffering he witnessed, he just chooses not to dwell on it. During his trip he did encounter those situations, and he did do what he could to address those issues, but he also experienced many good things too. And it was those good things that he chose to focus mostly on. That isn’t minimizing the bad, it’s just highlighting the good. Both realities exist, he just chooses to give more attention to one rather than the other. He isn’t ignoring or denying the negative, but neither will he ignore or deny the positive. Deep discipleship helps us to remember that God is good, all the time, and He is always present and at work even in the worst of situations. And since that is true, there is always something to celebrate and to praise Him for. Certainly, pay attention to and do something about negative situations that need to be dealt with. But please don’t ignore the good either. Don’t give so much attention to the bad that you effectively live in denial of the good. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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