Post by Admin on Apr 6, 2017 5:39:36 GMT
The two scripture passages used for tonight’s Bible discussion present challenges and a paradox. The first passage, from Luke 9, has Jesus clearly directing his disciples to deny themselves. That led to robust discussion about what the instruction means, “deny myself.” Many people had different visualizations, from a desire to empty oneself and only be filled with Christ, to a process that filters out ungodly traits and habits and purifies us to worship and follow Jesus. Much discussion revolved around the notion that some parts of us – our ego, our presumed wisdom, our self-protection – need to go, while unique aspects of us as individuals will remain for God’s use in His kingdom.
Another angle presented when thinking about this passage is to realize that “taking up your cross” does not just mean carrying the burdens which life hands out – it literally means going to your death, which is what happened in Jesus’ time when a person was told to pick up a cross and carry it to his place of execution. That understanding, along with the reminder from Jesus that we need to do this daily, brought us to consider that every day we need to take on the challenge of putting to death our own will.
The second passage was selected by the study guide to be an affirmation of the love and reward of God that come out of denying ourselves and giving control to God. In our circle, the text was taken more as another reminder of our need to put aside our earthly ambitions and concerns, to deny them in other words, because God will take care of us and guide our path. We talked about the willingness to sell everything and give it away in both the earthly sense and the spiritual sense.
Both passages give reference to the Kingdom of God. While the Kingdom is not prevalent everywhere (yet), we can feel the Kingdom if we bow to its authority, and we have all experienced moments in the Kingdom when we have been able at least for a moment to put all our trust in the Lord and let go of our ego and need for control.
Another angle presented when thinking about this passage is to realize that “taking up your cross” does not just mean carrying the burdens which life hands out – it literally means going to your death, which is what happened in Jesus’ time when a person was told to pick up a cross and carry it to his place of execution. That understanding, along with the reminder from Jesus that we need to do this daily, brought us to consider that every day we need to take on the challenge of putting to death our own will.
The second passage was selected by the study guide to be an affirmation of the love and reward of God that come out of denying ourselves and giving control to God. In our circle, the text was taken more as another reminder of our need to put aside our earthly ambitions and concerns, to deny them in other words, because God will take care of us and guide our path. We talked about the willingness to sell everything and give it away in both the earthly sense and the spiritual sense.
Both passages give reference to the Kingdom of God. While the Kingdom is not prevalent everywhere (yet), we can feel the Kingdom if we bow to its authority, and we have all experienced moments in the Kingdom when we have been able at least for a moment to put all our trust in the Lord and let go of our ego and need for control.