The Net

Jesus has many parables, sayings in which he throws a spiritual concept out alongside a more familiar circumstance. He often leaves us to draw the connections. Many times people didn't get the point he was trying to make. They heard with their ears but did not understand. I have often been in their shoes.

But that somewhat cryptic (or at least obscure) quality of the parables is part of what makes them special. We have to keep coming back to them and looking at them afresh. Our job is not just to say, "I got that one" and move on. We get to repeatedly explore the comparisons that Jesus made. I think that's one reason He spoke in this manner.

Recently I heard my favorite teacher, Roger Forster, interpret the parable of the net. Before I share his interpretation, here's the parable:

The Parable of the Net
Matthew 13
47"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked.
"Yes," they replied.

I had always just kind of taken this parable at face value. There will be a judgment, a harvest, an end. It happens when the net is full. There are all kinds of fish. Just because you're in the net doesn't mean you're a keeper! The bad fish will be thrown away (burned). No catch and release here.

But Forster focuses on the composition of the net. He supposes that the individual knots of the net are church congregations and the ropes that connect the knots are the Holy Spirit. That really struck me. This is how people come to the Lord--through the Lord's Body, the Church. And what does that say about church unity? We are bound to one another more than we realize. We're not just separate gatherings or denominations functioning independently of one another (or, worse, competing or even judging one another). There is a unity in the Spirit that is a vital part of our role in the harvest. Jesus prayed that we would be one so that the world may believe in Him (John 17:20-21).

If the Church's unity is threatened, the net's structural integrity is damaged. Thankfully, not only are we "fishers of men," but we have a great Fisher of Men, the Lord Jesus. What were several of the disciples doing when they were called? They were "mending their nets." Perhaps this is not just a throw-away detail. Could it possibly be a picture of what Jesus is doing even now--preserving the unity of His Church...mending His Net?

I don't know that Forster's take on this parable is the right one, but it sure is thought provoking. It makes tons of sense to me, too. I'll keep that image of the Fisherman caring for His Church by mending the net, along with the Gardener pruning the Vine and the Builder building His house. In my mind, it's a good one.

Download This Book!

Christian Audio is offering a GREAT free download this month: Eugene Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places.

I have another audiobook from his spiritual theology series, Eat This Book, and it was profound. Listening to it was like taking a seminary course. I have wanted to read the whole series, and here it is!

Until the end of June, the other books in Peterson's spiritual theology series--The Jesus Way, Eat This Book, and Tell It Slant--are on sale for $5 each until the end of the month. That's a heck of a lot of deep teaching for only $15!!

It's not an easy read (or listen), but it's worth the investment. If you're willing to put in the time to listen in your car on on your MP3 player, I guarantee you'll be blessed. Personally, I can't wait to listen!

1 Corinthians 12

Yet again...more quotes:

• “Consider the source.” The devil, not being very creative, takes that which is good and just distorts it a bit. “That sounds biblical, but am I hearing it right?”Discerning of spirits is an important issue.
• Who gets what gift is decided from the top down. God is not your cosmic bellhop. There are a lot of things Christians want, but they don’t need. There are a lot of things that Christians need, but they don’t want. God is not afraid of using the “N” word. He’s not gonna give something that the Body doesn’t need.
• Different gifts for different people. No gift hogs.
• Guess who decides who gets the gifts you have. The Holy Spirit.
• You have an internal resource within you. You have everything you need in the Spirit. Just stop quenching the Spirit, and give Him more to work with.
• God has chosen to relate to us personally. He could compel us to do whatever He wants, but He chose not to.
• The Holy Spirit guides, goads, guards. He woos, wins, and operates in you as a friend. God is love, and He relates to us in love. A loving response cannot be compelled.
• We have all been given the one Spirit, from which we drink. You don’t drink involuntarily. We have been given this well of the Spirit, but we are required to drink. Are you regularly taking time to drink?
• I need more unction to function! The source is within. That’s a great relief!
• I don’t need to pray for God to shower grace down from above. God has sent us the resources. We need to pray that God get all of the obstacles out of the way and let the Spirit have free reign in us.
• There is NO Christian without the Holy Spirit. Who joins you to the Body of Christ? The Holy Spirit! The Spirit is a person. You don’t get Him in installment plans. You don’t get Him in doses. You either have Him in your life or you don’t. You don’t get more of Him. But as you are sanctified over time, the Holy Spirit gets more of you!
• God can give or take away gifts, according to the way He wants to bless the Body.

You Are My Joy

It seems that my posts have been somewhat melancholy lately. This thought just hit me as I was listening to the David Crowder Band's song called "You Are My Joy." If you don't know this song, find a way to listen to it. It's so much fun! Joshua and I like to scream it in the car together while listening full blast.

I don't want to give the wrong impression by just writing about somber topics. The Spirit gives joy! I'm giddy inside just writing about it! Perhaps the range & depth of feelings is just a personality trait...or maybe it's the natural fruit of "the Life that is truly life." I tend to side with the latter. Beauty, love, awe, & emotion are part of our human experience that point to the fact that we're more than just random tissue. There is something more.

Here are the lyrics to the song that inspired this post:

You Are My Joy
David Crowder Band

And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone
And I cannot hold it in and remain composed
Love's taken over me and so I propose the letting myself go
I am letting myself go

You are my joy
You are my joy
You are my joy
You are my joy

I need to catch my breath, I need to
I need to catch my breath, give me a moment now
I'm laughing so hard

(uh-oh another song just came on that's making me giddy again...I think I need to go catch my breath...)

Gerhard Tersteegen

I recently came across the story of this man in my Church History II class. Of all the figures who were introduced in that short survey of the Church (from 1500-present), Tersteegen impressed me the most. He was a German Pietist who lived in the early 18th century.

Just to give you a taste of his teachings, I submit the following thought from his sermon on "True Godliness":

One of the roles Tersteegen saw the Holy Spirit filling is that of Builder. In the heart of a believer, He seeks to build a sanctuary--a place of worship for the Lord. Our hearts were made for this. Remembering that, in Hebrew, the heart was seen as the locus of the will, the goal of our lives is to establish a heart of worship. This is one of the Spirit's aims, to conform our will to the adoration of the Father--the first and greatest commandment.
The Spirit, in building this spiritual temple in our hearts, uses three building materials--
"filial fear and veneration,"
"a heartfelt confidence and faith,"
and "a fervent attachment and love to God." (in short--reverence, faith, & love)

Tersteegen's description of how this process takes place is beautiful and captivating. If you're intrigued at all, please take the time to read him for yourself at http://path2prayer.com/article.php?id=259

May the Holy Spirit build such a spiritual temple in us. May reverence, faith, and love never be in short supply! And may the worship of our hearts bring God manifold glories.

I conclude with a quote from Tersteegen and a verse from 1 Corinthians--
"One thing alone is needful, and that is God, in whom the truly pious soul, withdrawing all her desires, love, and affection from every other object, collects them into one, and thus the spirit arrives at its origin, center, and aim to which it belongs..." - G. Tersteegen

1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

Pentecost

Well, today is Pentecost Sunday.

Come, Holy Spirit. Move in power.

Here is "An Invocation of the Holy Spirit," taken from Celtic Daily Prayer, p. 284.

Most powerful Holy Spirit,
come down
upon us
and subdue us.

From heaven,
where the ordinary
is made glorious,
and glory
seems
but ordinary,

bathe us
with the brilliance
of your
light
like dew.

Please pray this with me today. We need Him so much.

Come, Holy Spirit. Move in power.