Jesus said, "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." - Luke 14:33
Some time ago, I was standing next to the copy machine with my friend, Neal. I stick some papers into the feeder to make copies and push "print". The machine kicks into action, but my papers don't move into the feeder. However, a copy does pop out, but, of course, it's blank.
I looked at Neal and matter-of-factly said, "Well, there's tomorrow's Day of Praise." Neal looked at me and started laughing. I said, "Hey, that's a great parable for how much of Christ we image to the world when we're not engaged. Nothing."
And it's true. The papers were laying there on the copier feeder but were not touching the "grabber" that the papers needed to touch. And because the papers were not engaged, therefore the image that came out was a blank, so too when our lives are full of religious activity but aren't touching the "grabber" (the Holy Spirit) that our lives need to touch, then the image the world sees is a blank.
That's why, in today's verse, Jesus says, "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples" (Luke 14:33). When we're not engaged to Jesus and his work of pouring God's word into others and breathing the Holy Spirit into others, it's impossible for us to produce an image of him and his life-giving work.
The reason we care about our lives producing an image of Christ and his life-giving work is that God made us for that very purpose, as God attests in the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1, and in countless places in the Bible after Genesis 1. And since God made us for it, our hearts are starving to live lives that produce an image of Christ and his life-giving work.
So what are we to do?
Start by acknowledging that you know you're not engaged with Christ as you ought to be (because who of us sinners is?). But then, thank God for showing us (by Jesus pouring out every drop of blood on the cross and then by pouring out every ounce of the Holy Spirit after the resurrection) that God is fully engaged with us. And then ask God to do what it's impossible for us (or a copy machine) to do, namely, ask God to produce his image and reflect his glory in and through our lives by pouring us out and filling us with himself. (And repeat, over and over, until Jesus comes again.)
Jesus said, "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." - Luke 14:33
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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