Grace Emerges: Gospel of Luke

Showing posts with label Gospel of Luke. Show all posts

Thursday, April 5, 2012

An Easter Reflection

by Brad Duncan

As I reflect on what Jesus did in his ministry on Earth and with his death on the cross, I can't help but see human nature through God's eyes. At the same time I see God's nature through Jesus.

God, who sent his Son to be human, so he could in turn show us what the Father is like.
God whose plan from the beginning of time was to establish something good on Earth, where his creation would participate in a kingdom of his design.
God made something good when he designed us.
Jesus came to us and showed us good.
The Holy Spirit continues to be the force of good in the world, working among us and bringing about God's good intentions.

Take a look at this table: it lists some of the things that Jesus did in Luke chapters 4-7. It challenges us to consider what these choices and actions shows us about God's nature. As Jesus reflected God's nature, why did he do these things. what do they show us about God's nature? Then it challenges us to consider what we should do to follow Jesus as we continue what he started through the help of the Holy Spirit.

	The Good News of the Incarnation and God’s Kingdom
God the Father: What does this show us about God’s nature and God’s view of human nature?	Jesus the Incarnation of God: What Did Jesus Do?	The Holy Spirit: What should we do with the help of the Holy Spirit as part of God’s kingdom?
	Brought good news to the poor, released the captives, healed the blind, liberated the oppressed, proclaimed God’s favor (Luke 4:18,19, 6:20,21)
	Forgave sins, healed the sick, was compassionate and taught us compassion (Luke 5:17-26,6:36)
	Accepted the rejected, called them to follow him, led people to change their hearts and lives (Luke 5:27-31)
	Valued doing good over following traditions and rules, resisted the religious establishment (Luke 6:6-11,39-48)
	Loved his enemies, always resisted peacefully, taught that God blesses both the good and evil with kindness, taught us to do the same (Luke 6:27-35)
	Withheld judgment of sinners, outcasts and outsiders, taught us not to judge others, taught us to be generous and gracious (Luke 6:37-38, 7:36-50)

So why do I see human nature in the Incarnation? Well we were created in God's image. But we can't see God to know what he's like. Instead we can see Jesus, who shows us God. He's like a mirror of what human nature can be on its best day: forgiving, compassionate, accepting, able to resist favoritism and prejudices, kind to enemies, generous, gracious, and firmly standing for justice!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Being Positive Is ...

by Brad Duncan

Being positive is ...

having faith in God's love for me
and having faith in other people, seeing the best in them

expecting good things
but knowing that if hard things happen I have a foundation that will withstand the storms

having good news for the world, the poor and needy, the sad, the hungry, the sick, the oppressed -- God is on their side and so am I
having good news for the hated, judged, and rejected -- God accepts them and so do I

The Theology of Freedom - Repost

This article I wrote a while back goes well with my series on Luke. So I'm posting it again!

Freedom is essential to the nature of God. Jesus came to free everyone who suffers (Luke 4:18).

God in his freedom, made and makes choices about how to interact with us, (created us, loves us, relates to us, came to Earth in the flesh as Jesus, involves himself in our lives, answers our requests, shows us his wisdom, connects to us through the Holy Spirit).

God in his freedom, made us in his own image, a picture of Freedom. We can choose to relate to God, choose to care about others, choose to be unselfish, choose to grow. In his design, God endowed us with a creative mind that is capable of complex choices involving facts, feelings, and spiritual ideals.