Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 17
Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 17
Sin, Faith, Duty
1Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
6He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
We live in a society that is fiercely independent and individualistic. We hear things like “fend for yourselves” and “look out for number one”. And, in general, we are warned to stay out of other people’s business. We often hear it said, “Just worry about your own side of the fence.”
Yet, in this passage, Jesus says next to our allegiance to Him, we are accountable to each other, especially those under our care. Jesus gives a solemn warning to those who lead others into to sin, especially those he calls “little ones”. Why? It is because the younger ones are especially vulnerable, and naturally look up those in authority over them for guidance and teaching. 99 times out of 100 when we see someone acting out, it is related to the patterns that they grew up, or were allowed to continue without correction in their home environment.
When we see troubled teens in our society, many of these kids come from backgrounds with no parents, no guidance, or parents who set horrible examples for them. That is why Jesus tells us that we are bound to sin, but we should be especially on guard against leading others into sin, especially those in under authority.
Also this passage teaches us a way to deal with those who offend us. We are to confront the person and if they repent (change their way of acting), we are to forgive them. How many times? We should forgive as many times as they truly repent from their behavior.
As I look on my spiritual life, some of the biggest growth spurts happened when other Christian friends confronted me about sinful patterns in my life. To these men in my life I will always be grateful for caring enough to confront. The bottom line is we can’t grow in isolation. One of the purposes to living in Christian community together is speaking the truth in love when the occasion warrants. As the Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Gracious God, we come before you today and thank you that you are a forgiving God and forgive us when we truly repent. Help us to speak the truth in love to our brothers and sisters when they have sinned against, knowing that if they repent we should likewise forgive them as many times as necessary. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sin, Faith, Duty
1Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
6He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
We live in a society that is fiercely independent and individualistic. We hear things like “fend for yourselves” and “look out for number one”. And, in general, we are warned to stay out of other people’s business. We often hear it said, “Just worry about your own side of the fence.”
Yet, in this passage, Jesus says next to our allegiance to Him, we are accountable to each other, especially those under our care. Jesus gives a solemn warning to those who lead others into to sin, especially those he calls “little ones”. Why? It is because the younger ones are especially vulnerable, and naturally look up those in authority over them for guidance and teaching. 99 times out of 100 when we see someone acting out, it is related to the patterns that they grew up, or were allowed to continue without correction in their home environment.
When we see troubled teens in our society, many of these kids come from backgrounds with no parents, no guidance, or parents who set horrible examples for them. That is why Jesus tells us that we are bound to sin, but we should be especially on guard against leading others into sin, especially those in under authority.
Also this passage teaches us a way to deal with those who offend us. We are to confront the person and if they repent (change their way of acting), we are to forgive them. How many times? We should forgive as many times as they truly repent from their behavior.
As I look on my spiritual life, some of the biggest growth spurts happened when other Christian friends confronted me about sinful patterns in my life. To these men in my life I will always be grateful for caring enough to confront. The bottom line is we can’t grow in isolation. One of the purposes to living in Christian community together is speaking the truth in love when the occasion warrants. As the Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Gracious God, we come before you today and thank you that you are a forgiving God and forgive us when we truly repent. Help us to speak the truth in love to our brothers and sisters when they have sinned against, knowing that if they repent we should likewise forgive them as many times as necessary. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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