Hard-Hearted

 “He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”  Mark 3:5

I spent lots of time last night grading papers, and let’s just say that if I was disposed to discouragement, I would be down in the dumps.  I told my students how to work those problems.  I showed my students how to work those problems.  I answered questions, explained examples, and monitored their practice, but somehow the material only seemed to get under their skin and not into their skulls.  When it came crunch time, being hard-headed didn’t help.

Neither does being hard-hearted.  And it makes God mad. Jesus wasn’t happy when He turned over the tables of the Temple money-changers, but Mark tell us that He was angry when the people had hard and stubborn hearts. 

It happened on a Saturday.  Jesus was at the synagogue for Sabbath services, and so was a man with a messed-up hand.  The Pharisees were falling over themselves to see if Jesus would do work on the day off and break what they considered a divine command, so Jesus had the guy stand up and stumped them with a simple  question. “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”  Knowing any answer would implicate only themselves, the Pharisees said nothing, and their silence made Jesus mad and sad. “He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart”(Mk 3:5).

How do our hearts get hard?  How do our souls get stubborn? These questions have haunted me for days as I’ve pondered these verses.  Don’t think it can’t happen because it can and will unless we are diligent and determined to keep our spirits pliable.  Since sin is sly and deceptive and will slowly but surely turn our soft hearts into stones, we must continually and repeatedly “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness(Heb 3:13).

Just as my students do best with daily review, we require the same.  That’s why manna fell every morning—so God’s people would be required and reminded to stay freshly involved with God’s provision.  Picking up God’s Word early and often and getting to know God's heart are the best ways to prevent calluses from forming on our own. Since the thought of grieving God should grieve us, as “dearly loved children” we should deeply desire to bring Him delight and not distress.

It’s relieving and refreshing to note that man’s hardness can't prevent God’s holiness from showing and shining, and though the Pharisees were silent, Jesus got the last word by healing the man’s helpless hand.  “Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored”(Mk 3:5).  Some of those who saw might have gone home with a hardened heart, but we can be sure that the guy with fixed fingers felt the sweet softness that only gratitude for grace can give.

The math my students can’t do isn’t worth getting mad about, but so much in life truly matters.

Remember that it’s better to be hard-headed than hard-hearted, but it’s best for both to be soft.

The Tale of Two Tables

“As he walked along, Jesus saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.”  Mark 2:14

That morning, like every other morning, Matthew (a.k.a. Levi) sat down at the table—the greed table.  

He was a tax collector, and in those days being a tax collector was a lot like being in the mafia in modern times—you didn’t go into the business unless you were willing to be bad.  Tax collectors made sure Rome received their due, but the surcharge for services went straight to their own padded pockets.  Tax collectors were looked upon by fellow Jews as traitors and thieves, or, at best, dirty, rotten scoundrels, so when Jesus walked by with the summons to be a disciple, no one was more surprised than Matthew himself.  But he didn’t hesitate.  “‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him” (Mk 2:14).  

That night, different than every other night, Matthew sat down at the table—the grace table.  For once, he wasn’t looking for what he could get but what he could give—special honor and a special meal to the man who had given him the chance for a change.  The dinner was crowded, for God’s grace had called more than just Matthew to this marvelous new life. “While Jesus was having dinner Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him”(Mk 2:15).

The prideful Pharisees watching through the windows were appalled for they would never have been seen socializing with someone they considered a sinner, but Jesus shut them up with the truth that only those who know they have needs will ever find them met, and the celebration continued at the table continued on.

At some time or another (or several times and others) we find ourselves like Matthew—sitting at the table of greed, breaking boundaries so we can pad the pockets of our own affirmation, security, or supposed significance.  And then Jesus comes by (as He always does) and instead of writing us up or writing us off, He calls us to get up and follow close, to realize that what we really need is not what we can get from others but what only He can give:  forgiveness, freedom, and the continued covenant of His presence.  Such mercy overwhelms us, and we celebrate at another table—the table of grace.

Sadly, a few will always be found looking down their noses, pointing their fingers at our failures, and doubting that God’s grace is really great another to give us yet another chance.  What a sad place to be—not knowing the delight of being saved securely, forgiven infinitely, and loved unconditionally.  Don’t become like them by pointing at them; scoot over and invite them to sit down.

As each day dawns, we must decide.  Will we sit at the table of greed getting every thing we can any way we can, or will be spend our moments at the table of grace reveling in God’s goodness and enjoying His presence?

It can be the best of time or it can be the worst of times.

Your choice of table will tell the tale.

The Blessed Burden

 ^“Some men came, bringing to Jesus a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.” Mark 2:3

Over the past few days, our family has been praying for friends in harm’s way.  While the weekend headlines here focused on the NFL playoffs and the President’s guests at his upcoming speech, many in the world were reeling from the aftermath of recent terror attacks and the fear of what might come tomorrow—or today.

As Boko Haram continued its violent sweep across central Africa, we prayed for missionaries in Niger literally running for their lives on Saturday night, hiding with their three young children outside their village and begging God for grace.  In a different part of the country, other friends listened and watched in terror as rioting extremists burned churches, hotels, and an orphanage in their town.  Though their home and school were spared, their hearts are heavy and in need of strength and wisdom as they move forward.

These brothers and sisters, and many more like them around the world and across the street, are in situations which cripple them with uncertainty and paralyze them with fear, and we are blessed to be the friends who can pick up their mats and carry them to Jesus.

The way may seem crowded with pressing tasks and responsibilities, but clear a path and do what it takes to take them there.  Climb to the roof, tear away the tiles, and lower them (or, rather, lift them) to the Lord.  

Yes, God knows before we tell Him.  Yes, God cares more than we ever could, and, yes, God is already at work when we say our first word, but there is something powerful and precious about the privilege of praying for a friend in need.  When the four guys in Capernaum brought the paralyzed man to Jesus, He did more than they dared dream possible—He healed the man’s legs and restored the man’s heart.  This same, unchanging God will “do more than we can ask or imagine” if we will but take the time to intercede.

Carrying others to Jesus is never a burden but a blessing.  Pick your friends up in prayer and don’t stop until you set them before the Savior.