Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet.!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me." Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.!” John 13:8-9, NKJV

We have a small utility vehicle that we use for many chores about the farm. It truly lives up to its designation for hauling water, feed, fencing and other supplies to our livestock. First, though, we have to start the engine. Once the small, one cylinder gas engine sets for a while and cools off, we have to ‘prime’ the engine to get it started. It is not a problem, really, we use the choke control, just a routine that we expect if we want to get some work out of that vehicle.
I find that my personal life it is a lot like that engine - in a comparative sense. Once a task has ”set” for a time, it takes a lot to get going again. Maybe it is a form of inertia - the property of a body in motion to stay in motion, and a body at rest to stay at rest.
After giving the matter considerable thought, I have come to the conclusion that Peter had a similar “carburetor” problem. I don’t know how else you would explain it. First, Jesus had to apply the “choke” to prime Peter, to get him started.
To further the engine analogy, Peter lacked throttle control. Once started, Peter would go from dead stop to full on, that’s Peter. But, then, there is a lot of Peter in all of us. We
deny the Lord’s requests - “Not me, Lord!” -until He really gets our attention.
Jesus was enacting a parable in servitude by administering a symbolic ritual for His disciples - that of a host washing the dusty feet of his guests. The service was usually provided by a servant, and to omit this courtesy was a breech of etiquette on the part of the host. However, to refuse to accept the service was a breech of etiquette on the part of the guest. If we wish to be associated with the host (Jesus) we must welcome and accept what He desires for us.
Jesus established the church to continue the tradition of servitude as the gracious host for all who would be associated with Him. First, we need to accept both the physical and spiritual ministries of the church by participating in regular attendance and the sacraments provided. We should strive to be the gracious guest of the Lord’s Servants.
Then, as a member and participant of the church, there is also a role for each of us as as Jesus taught in this example - “You should do as I have done for you.” (vs. 15) We are to be the physical hands and feet of a loving God reaching a world in need.
We shouldn’t have to be ‘choked’ to read the Bible more, join that Bible study group, participate in a mission activity, or volunteer to serve on a church committee.
Peter may have it right, though. It is not a “feet” thing, but an “all of me” thing, whatever and wherever there is a need for ‘disciplining’ as Jesus taught - the hands and feet of a Loving God.
May 20, 2007

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “Even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites.” Matthew 23:28-29a, NKJV

“To start with, I’m gonna’ choke you good. Then, I’ll throttle you into submission.”
Violence? Not at all! Just talking to an internal combustion gasoline engine, the kind that powers thousands of our vehicles and utility tools.
Words that have double - or multiple - meanings. We seem to have a knack for that in the English language. We say ‘choke’ to describe cutting off someone’s air supply by constricting the throat, or to initiate the starting process by restricting the air passage in an engine. One word - and the result could end life, or bring an engine to life.
Likewise, ‘throttle’ could mean a severe beating, or the threat thereof, until someone submits to your control. Or it could mean the technique of controlling that speed or rate at which action takes place.
At their most basic and beneficial level, we call them controls. Devices to initiate and regulate what takes place in an engine, or a life.
We use a term called “red-line” for engines and mechanical devices. That is the speed at which mechanical stress may cause catastrophic failure. Run too slow, and the engine ‘dies’ (stops running.) Useful work is done somewhere in between those limits. That is where the throttle comes in: “get -’er done without doing in the do-er.”
We can apply the same concepts - in thought, anyway, to our physical and religious lives. Throttle back too much, and we die. Exceed the stress limits, and things go to pieces. We realize the tragedy of a physical life run amok, even if we don’t always follow the rules on food, morals, and proper exercise.
But religion? We can be too religious? I think so, if we are not burning the right ‘fuel.’ If we are not truly using The Holy Spirit, according to God’s Operating Manual, The Holy Bible. People can ‘red-line’ by becoming so heavenly minded that they have no earthly value. Jesus encountered many people who so fixated upon displays of their ‘holiness’ that God-like duties to their parents and neighbors were ignored. They didn’t ‘have’ religion, but rather a love of looking to be religious, pious, and holy. They were ‘play acting,’ putting on a show, a participant of the art of drama- in short a ‘hypocrite.” From engines to Thespians in one leap? Sure; here is why:
The ‘throttle’ is a means of control. A throttle keeps things running at the proper power level, without dying out or red-lining. Self control - one of the praised virtues from Proverbs to Peter to Paul. Father, Son, Holy Spirit - that’s the linkage we need to make it all run smoothly. Sure, it may be exciting (to some, anyway) to put it to the red line, burn rubber, peal out. On the race track! But our ‘religious’ life is supposed to be more like the old family sedan - not showy, not loud and boisterous, not ostentatious, but to be kept under control. Day in and day out dependability, with a proper and delicate touch on the ‘throttle’ of our lives by God.
May 6, 2007

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Under [Christ’s] direction the whole body [of the Church] is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4: 15b-16, Living Bible)

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the backyard mechanic could service his own automobile. Fast forward to the 21st Century. The electronic diagnostic equipment required in a modern auto repair facility to interact with the computer systems monitoring and operating your vehicle exceeds that of a radio and TV repair shop in the 1960’s. When that little warning light on the dash comes on, you know you are headed for a computer read-out.
Still, at heart, the modern internal combustion engine beats much like the lowly lawnmower engine: intake, compression, ignition, power, exhaust. Sure, there are some differences, as purists will no doubt argue, but the entire process involves the explosion of a fuel mixture pushing on a piston or rotor coupled to a crankshaft, coupled to whatever work you want the engine to do.
I can still tinker with a lawnmower or small utility engine to satisfy my wistful mechanic longings, and sometimes get them back in running condition. And if I don’t? I have had the fun of tinkering, gained knowledge by taking something apart, and and the pleasure of recycling scrap metal.
So let’s consider the more simple engine as an example of how something needs to function as a whole, requiring all the parts of it to work as intended.
The piston started it by boasting, “Hey! I’m the heart of this engine; without me nothing works.” “Which is true enough,” said the connecting rod. “But take me out and see how much ‘heart’ you have. It is one ‘boom’ and you are done, without me keeping you on the move.”
“Well, I’m the spark that lights your fire,” sputtered the ignition system. “Turn me off, and see how well this engine runs.”
“We are the gatekeepers,” interjected the valves. “Nothing comes in or goes out except by us. And we do it on time, every time.”
“Without my energy, the rest of you are just cold metal,” harrumped the carburetor, nearly choking on his words. ”The fuel system gives and gives, and when I run dry, you don’t run at all.”
The crankshaft listened patiently while all of the systems and their related parts presented their case, each disputing loud and long how important they were. Turning slowly, the crankshaft noted that each followed the movement, in their own way. The piston moved up and down, kept on schedule by the connecting rod. The valves opened and closed, admitting the fuel mixture, which the carburetor gracefully shared from its fuel supply. The ignition watched intently, becoming so excited that it discharged like a miniature lightning bolt, but right on time. “This way out,” urged the exhaust valve, opening wide the passageway.
“You see, each of us is important in our own way. When we work together, we can accomplish things that none of could do by ourselves.” The crankshaft was on a roll now, fairly humming. “Our designer and master mechanic fitted us together perfectly. Even the tiniest bolt and screw is necessary to bring us all together as a whole. If anyone fails, our entire organization suffers because of it. Let each part in its own special way help the other parts, without strife and bickering.”
So, too, “God’s people will be equipped to do better work for Him, building up the Church, the Body of Christ to a position of strength and maturity; until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord - yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:12, 13)
February 28, 2010