The 'lost' parables

Michael Wilcock, in The Message of Luke (IVP, 1997 - part of the series The Bible Speaks Today) makes an interesting connection between the 3 parables told by Jesus in Luke 15, often referred to as the 'lost' parables. The parables are the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost (or prodigal) son.

Working from the assumption that "it seems unlikely that so fastidious a writer as Luke would narrate the third, or even the second, merely to underline the meaning of the first," (ibid. p. 149) Wilcock argues that characters of each of the parables represent different aspects of the Holy Trinity. Other parts of scripture refer to Jesus using the imagery of the great Shepherd caring for his sheep. Similarly, the father of the third parable can be none other than our own Father in heaven. Which leaves the middle parable, the parable of the lost coin.

The upshot is that the symbolic meanings often attached both to 'woman
and to 'lamp' elsewhere in Scripture may well be the meanings we are intended to see in this parable. The church in Old Testament and New is the Lord's bride, and as a community through which the Spirite reveals God's truth it is also a light; in the picture-book of Revelation the symbols of woman and light are both used to depict the people of God. If Luke 15:8-10 is meant to have this added significance, we may see in it the Spirit of God lighting the church's way as she sets about the divine work of seeking the lost.

- Michael Wilcock, The Message of Luke (IVP 1997, p. 152)

He goes on to quote Spurgeon as arguing that the second parable is necessary to understand the parables either side of it.

We have sometimes heard it said - here is the prodigal received as soon as he comes back, no mention being made of a Saviour who seeks and saves him. Is it possible to teach all truths in one single parable? Does not the first one speak of the shepherd seeking the lost sheep? Why need repeat what had been said before? It has also been said that the prodigal returned of his own free will, for there is not hint of the operation of a superior power upon his heart, it seems as if he himself spontaneously says, "I will arise, and go unto my Father." The answer is that the Holy Spirit's work had been clearly described in the second parable, and needed not to be introduced again. If you put the three pictures in a line, they represent the whole compass of salvation... yet each one is distinct from the other, and by itself instructive.

- C. H. Spurgeon, 'The Lost Silver Piece', quoted in The Message of Luke (IVP 1997, p. 153)

Vessels

I've been listening to a number of podcasts by Bayless Conley (available at answersbc.org), and there was one in particular that caught my attention, and that I wanted to share parts of here. It has to do with vessels.

In simplest form, as vessel is anything that can act as a container e.g. a jar, a bowl, a cup etc. What they contain can be vastly different, depending on the purpose for which they were created. Conley describes 7 different kinds of vessel used in biblical times:

Vessels of honour
Outside of every Judean home would have been a stand with 3 vessels on it: a vessel of honour, a vessel of dishonour and a small drinking vessel. Whilst we will come to the vessel of dishonour later on, it is the vessel of honour that we are initially interested in.

The vessel of honour was the largest of the three, and was used to hold water. In a time before running water to the home, this would have been the main source of water for the family, as well as for guests to the home. The water would have been used for drinking (hence the drinking vessel on the stand) and washing of hands & feet. It would have been refilled daily.

This is the image that Paul is drawing on as he writes to Timothy:

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

- 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NIV)

The word translated "articles" is the greek word skeuos (&sigma&kappa&epsilon&upsilon&omicron&sigmaf). It has been variously translated "article" (as here in the NIV), "instrument", "container", "jar" or "vessel". Assuming "vessel" as the correct translation here (as do the KJV & NASB, for example), Paul is urging Timothy to be a 'vessel of honour', or, as The Message puts it, "the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing." (v. 21).

By custom almost as strong as law, it was forbidden to refuse anyone a drink from your vessel of honour as you were carrying it back from filling it up at the well. Hence, when Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink at the well (see John 4:1-10), it would have been nearly as much of a scandal for her to refuse as it was for him to be talking to a Samaritan woman in the first place!

I believe that this instruction to Timothy is one that Paul would urge upon all of us also - are you "holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work?" If not, pray that God might make it so.

Vessel of Mercy
Similar to a vessel of honour, a vessel of mercy was a water jar kept in the town square. Its purpose was to provide water for any stranger to the town. Paul writes to the Romans that God chooses to "make the riches of his glory known to the objects [skeuos] of his mercy." (Romans 9:23, NIV)

You see, whereas the vessel of honour was primarily kept in the home or the temple, special provision was made for those who were a part of neither. Paul is explaining that God has similarly made allowance for those who are not in Christian homes, who are not a part of a church. If the water is the news of God's saving grace through Jesus, then the vessel of mercy would be those whose calling is to evangelism. This is not to say that only some Christians have the responsibility for sharing the gospel - remember, anybody could ask for a drink from the vessel of honour - but rather to say that God sets apart people whose specific purpose is to "make the riches of his glory known."

Chosen Vessel
On occasion, you might have need of a particularly special vessel, for a very specific purpose e.g. as a wedding gift, or to celebrate/commemorate an occasion. In this case, you would go to the potter, and ask for a 'chosen vessel'. The potter might raise an eyebrow, and would probably ask you what you required it for, before turning and walking by himself into the back room, where he keeps his very best work. After selecting an appropriate vessel, the potter does one last thing: he turns it upside down and gently chisels his mark.

You see, by asking for a chosen vessel, you are asking the potter to choose for you. After all, he knows his work, he knows which is good, which is not so good, and which is his absolute best. A chosen vessel represents his utmost skill and effort, and he puts his name on it because he knows that he will never be put to shame by it.

Consider, then, the impact of the following words God speaks to Ananias:

Go! This man [Paul] is my chosen instrument [skeuos] to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.

- Acts 9:15 (NIV)

God, the Master Potter, says of Paul, "He is my chosen vessel, my finest work, selected and crafted by me for a very specific, very important purpose."

Clean Vessel
Over time, a vessel of honour would start to get dirty, and would develop a thick film of scum on the inside, leading to the water tasting foul. Or perhaps the lip or handle would wear away through constant use. In this case the owner, rather than throwing it out and getting another one, would take it back to the potter. The potter would then go through the following process: first he would empty it; he would use stiff brushes to break up the layer of scum; he would fix the lip; and finally, he would return it to the fire of the kiln.

I believe that we, too, can become jaded. Perhaps, through long use, we are feeling worn. Maybe our lips are no longer the accurate espousers of God's Word that they once were. Possibly the taint of sarcasm pervades everything we say, leaving a foul taste in the mouths of those who would otherwise quench their thirst with gusto. And God's response is the same as the potter's: he empties us of all the things that have gone bad; he cleans out the filth, sometimes through (painful) scouring; he fixes our lip(s); he returns us to the fire of the kiln.

If you feel like this is you, be encouraged. The Potter is too careful with his work to simply let it go to waste. He will not suffer it to remain a source of bitterness. And after he has restored you, you may well go on to do even better things than before. Consider, for example, Isaiah 66:20, "They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels." (NIV)

Vessel of Dishonour
You might remember that there were 3 vessels on the stand outside the front door of the Judean house? The third vessel, after the vessel of honour and the drinking vessel to go with it, is the vessl of dishonour. Essentially, this was the Judean garbage can.

Sometimes, when making a vessel, the potter would notice some flaw, some inconsistency that meant it was sub-standard. He would then put this in his yard for sale as a vessel of dishonour. Once purchased, this vessel would sit on the stand by the doorway until full, at which time it would be thrown away and another purchased instead.

Paul makes it clear, in writing to Timothy, that men and women have a choice about whether to be a vessel of honour or a vessel of dishonour.

In a large house there are articles [skeuos] not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument [skeuos] for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

- 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NIV) (emphasis added)

Broken Vessel
Sometimes a vessel comes out of the kiln cracked. You or I would probably throw such a thing away and start again, but that is not the Potter's way. Instead, when the day's work was done, he would head out into the fields to collect mosquitoes, bloated on the blood of bulls and goats. He would then take them back and grind them up, before mixing them with dry clay powder. Together, the blood and the powder would form a type of glue, which the potter would then lovingly work into the cracks, before re-firing in the kiln. He would do this again and again, until the vessel is complete.

This is God's method, also, for dealing with brokenness. Instead of the blood of bulls and goats, however, he uses the saving blood of Jesus to restore us to wholeness. He works that blood into every corner of our lives, until we are complete.

Vessel of Wrath
Sometimes, however, the vessel will not accept the blood. In such a case, the potter is left with no option but to throw it away - he has invested all that he can in making and then restoring that vessel, but there comes a point where he must say, "Enough!"

---

I can leave you with no better challenge than the one Eugene Peterson gives in his translation of 2 Timothy 2:21 (the passage we started with):

Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.

- 2 Timothy 2:21 (Message)

Amen.

Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

- Declaration of Independence

"I wonder how Jefferson knew to include the word 'pursuit'?"

So ponders Chris Gardner (ably played by Will Smith) in the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness.

Tracing the journey of a struggling salesman with a product few want and nobody needs, The Pursuit of Happyness is a tale of courage and determination. In the face of his difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Even when his wife Linda (Thandie Newton) leaves him because of this choice, Chris clings to this dream with his son - even when the odds become more daunting by the day.

For me, one of the most poignant scenes sees Chris and his son Christopher playing basketball.

Christopher: "Look at me, Dad, I'm going pro!"

Chris: "Well, actually, son, you have my genes, so it's not terribly likely."

Seeing the slump of his son's shoulders on hearing that, however, Chris repents.

Chris: "Never let anyone tell you you can't do something - not even me!"

It is this gritty determination that pervades the entire movie and ties it together. It is a true "pursuit of Happiness".

All in all, The Pursuit of Happyness is an enjoyable film. Will Smith is a revelation as a dramatic actor, and his performance delivers on an excellent script. Whilst I can't agree entirely with the content of the film (the pursuit of money is not the same as the pursuit of happiness in my book), nevertheless I heartily recommend it as a film of great humanity and emotion.

Authenticity

Supposing you had before you a manuscript of some great work, either a symphony or a novel. There then comes to you a person, saying, 'Here is a new bit of the manuscript that I found; it is the central passage of that symphony, or the central chapter of that novel. The text is incomplete without it. I have got the missing passage which is really the centre of the whole work.' The only thing you could do would be to put this new piece of the manuscript in that central position, and then see how it reacted on the whole rest of the work. If it constantly brought out new meanings for the whole of the rest of the work, if it made you notice things in the rest of the work which you had not noticed before, then I think you would decide that it was authentic. On the other hand, if it failed to do that, then, however attractive it was in itself, you would reject it.

- C. S. Lewis, The Grand Miracle (in Faith, Christianity and the Church, Harper Collins 2000, p. 4)

Lewis goes on to argue that Christ's resurrection, as the central miracle of Christianity, is integral to our faith. It cannot be excised, as some would have it, in order to make Christianity more palatable.

Like Water in the Desert

Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he said "'Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'" (Matt 10:39)?

Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack - a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away - an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out.

Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, "You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave."

He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted.

He studied the possibility of both option. What should he do, pour it into the old and take a chance on fresh, cool water or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written, no telling how long ago?

Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents.

Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little not: "Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back."

- Charles R. Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity (quoted in Swindoll's Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1998, p. 197))

By trying to hold on to what we have, we risk everything. But if we surrender all in accordance with God's instruction and will, we receive all that we ever need... and more!

The Waiting Game

I went out on a shoto today, as I sometimes do on Tuesdays. Today I went down to Warumbul, a place in the Royal National Park that I was totally unaware of until last Tuesday, when I went there with Katrie and Rachel. (Rachel had been there before and showed us the way.)



So I'm down at Warumbul with my camera, trying to get a few nice shots of the pier, when an improbably extroverted seagull lands himself in the middle of my shot.



Naturally I click off a couple of frames - he might be just what I need to liven things up a bit. With a bit of luck, I might get a couple of really good ones when he takes off again, seeing as how I'm already set up for the shot and all. So long as I sit here with my finger on the shutter release, and keep my eye on him.



Must be nice being a bird, having nothing to prevent you sitting around checking out the world around you? Doing what you want to do, going where you want to go?

I wish you'd hurry up and take off, though - can't wait all day, you know, and I'm starting to burn in this sun...

What're you looking at?



I'm starting to get bored now, maybe I should just go. But I don't want to admit to being out-waited by a bird. [Stubborn mode on]. Especially since I've invested all this time (a good 10 minutes by now, at least!) waiting for my avian subject to weary of his circumstances. No doubt as soon as I start to pack up my camera, he will fly off.

Here comes a boat, perhaps that will scare him off.



Nope, no such luck. Maybe I could throw a rock...

I kinda feel like the women Jesus describes, waiting for their master to come home. The ones with the lamps. Yawning, bleary-eyed, and yet hopeful of their lord's return at any moment. When he eventually does come, only half of them are actually ready - the others have to go and refill their lamps, and so miss out on the master's blessing.



Yeah? I can stand on one leg too, so what??

Paul expresses the same idea (about waiting, not about standing on one leg), but using different imagery. He compares the Christian's life to a race. You see, in a race, it doesn't matter how fast you go in the middle, it's the end that counts. Paul encourages us to run the race hard to the end, and not to be discouraged in the middle.

Bet Paul never had to sit out in the hot sun waiting for a recalcitrant, chronologically challenged winged rodent.

Uh-oh...



Damn.

There's a series of ads on TV at the moment - one with a pianist giving a recital, one with a golfer, probably a couple of others that I can't remember or haven't seen. The tag line runs something like "It takes more than a single recital/shot to be an expert pianist/golfer - it takes every single note/shot you've played." Paul would've been right with those guys, I'm sure.

Here we go - at last!










OK, so perhaps I'll have to take a few more before mustering up the "perfect shot", but I am happy with the results :-)

(For the record, I waited just over 45 mins altogether!)

Destiny

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
1Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'

3"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg— 4I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'

5"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

6" 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.
"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'

7"Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
" 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied.
"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'

8"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

Additional Teachings
16"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

18"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

- Luke 16

Jesus' parables in Luke 16 seem clearly designed to elicit a response from, firstly, his disciples and then the Pharisees. The question he poses is this: "Given what you now know [from the parables in Luke 15 about the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son] how will you respond?"

The "unrighteous steward" uses everything that he now has to try and secure a future for himself. The rich man does not, and suffers the consequences i.e. torment in hell.

One interesting parallel can be found between verses 16 & 17 "The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law," and v. 31, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

We have both of the testimonies listed - Moses & the Prophets, as wells as the testimony of one risen from the dead. How much more, then, should we make sure we don't try to "serve both God and Money"(13)? How much more should we be seeking to serve the poor at our gates? How can we continue to hoard our wealth for our own uses, when God has so much more in mind for it?

The Vineyard of the Lord

"I don't understand it - I treated them all the same, they all got the same shelter, the same water, the same soil. But one dies, and the others are fine."

Such are the frustrations my wife, Katrie, faces in her role as household gardener. How do you respond to that? It makes no sense, there is no clear reason why such a thing should happen - it just does. Perhaps the poor thing just lost the will to live - I've certainly told myself that in the past, when anything green and under my care has died (as just about everything green and under my care has!) Fortunately, Katrie is a much better gardener than I am, being possessed of the necessary patience and care as I am not. (For the record, my gardening responsibilities are purely destructive - by which I mean cutting the grass!)

In Katrie's angst-filled cry I hear echoes of another gardener's bafflement:

1-2 I'll sing a ballad to the one I love, a love ballad about his vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard, a fine, well-placed vineyard.
He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds,
and planted the very best vines.
He built a lookout, built a winepress,
a vineyard to be proud of.
He looked for a vintage yield of grapes,
but for all his pains he got junk grapes.

3-4"Now listen to what I'm telling you,
you who live in Jerusalem and Judah.
What do you think is going on
between me and my vineyard?
Can you think of anything I could have done
to my vineyard that I didn't do?
When I expected good grapes,
why did I get bitter grapes?

- Isaiah 5:1-4 (Message)

Having hoed, planted, watered, weeded, sheltered and generally nurtured the vines, he expects to be able to enjoy the literal fruit of his labours. The passage details just how expectant he was: he plants, not just any vines, but the "very best vines"; he builds a watchtower, both a place where he can guard over his investment, but also one in which he can sit and enjoy the sight of the vines, his vines; and he builds a winepress, ready to make the finest wine from his "vintage yield of grapes." Clearly this is a prizewinning "vineyard to be proud of," one he no doubt can't help but boast about to everyone he knows.

Imagine, then, his disappointment and anger, when all of the grapes that he has laboured so long over prove to be sour. Picture him hanging his head in shame amongst his neighbours, whose barely concealed sniggers reproach him at every turn. "Can you think of anything I could have done to my vineyard that I didn't do?" he pleads.

Isaiah's "ballad", perhaps first sung at a harvest festival, would have called to mind amongst his listeners many of the joys and frustrations of life on the land. The audience would likely have shared in the vintner's joy, and sympathised with his anguish, many of them having faced similar circumstances.

Isaiah's message is not, however, about a literal vineyard:

7Do you get it? The vineyard of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
is the country of Israel.
All the men and women of Judah
are the garden he was so proud of.
He looked for a crop of justice
and saw them murdering each other.
He looked for a harvest of righteousness
and heard only the moans of victims.

- Isaiah 5:7 (Message)

"Do you get it?" It is a mark of the inventiveness of the prophets, that they use parables, stories and, as in this case, songs to deliver truth where it would otherwise not reach. Isaiah does it here through familiar and comforting images, parallels to pictures of everyday life. He drives his point home brutally, however, leaving no room for misunderstanding. God expects justice: he sees bloodshed. God expects righteousness: he hears only cries of distress. This is even worse than no fruit - instead the fruit being borne is the exact opposite of what he sought.

The heart of Isaiah's message on this occasion, however, lies in the verses in between these two sections:

5-6"Well now, let me tell you
what I'll do to my vineyard:
I'll tear down its fence
and let it go to ruin.
I'll knock down the gate
and let it be trampled.
I'll turn it into a patch of weeds, untended, uncared for—
thistles and thorns will take over.
I'll give orders to the clouds:
'Don't rain on that vineyard, ever!'"

- Isaiah 5:5-6 (Message)

God will not allow this situation to continue forever. Having had no response to his plaintive appeals regarding his own actions, the vineyard owner makes his decision: root it all all; remove the shelter; leave it to the weeds; withhold the life-bringing water. In other words, leave it to die.

Here's how Jesus puts it:

6-7Then he told them a story: "A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. He said to his gardener, 'What's going on here? For three years now I've come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?'

8-9"The gardener said, 'Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down.'"

- Luke 13:6-9 (Message)

We are like the vines and the apple tree. We have been given every advantage we need - we have been provided life, love, shelter, food, relationships. If, in spite of these advantages, we bear no fruit, or if we bear bad fruit, we will eventually be chopped down & pulled out. "Why waste good ground with (us) any longer?"

Right now, we are living in a period of grace, such as that granted to the apple tree. Let's make sure that the fruit we bear is good fruit: justice, righteousness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Remember, it's not enough to look like an apple-tree - to be an apple-tree, one must bear apples.

Holiness

Holiness isn't some nebulous thing. It's a series of right choices. You needn't wait for some holy cloud to form around you. You'll be holy when you choose not to sin. You're already free from the power of sexual immorality - it's just that you aren't yet free from the habit of sexual immorality. That is, until you choose to say, "That's enough! I'm choosing to live purely!"

- Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker & Mike Yorkey, Every Young Man's Battle, p.91 (Waterbrook Press, 2002)

Tower of Babel

Josephus provides an interesting insight into the building of the Tower of Babel (or the Tower of Babylon, as he would have it):

Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah... He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers!

- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1.4.2