A Reordered Life.
You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.
“Jesus replied, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Matthew 8:20; New International Version
Bird nests are remarkable constructions to me. Woven together out of bits and pieces of this and that, they cradle eggs and young, and provide a safe place to grow to maturity. We watched in wonder as this hummingbird, and her miniature baby, rode out some pretty strong coastal winds, just outside our kitchen window.
When one considers that God himself spoke the words of Matthew 8:20, it is even more remarkable. The ‘emptying himself’ theology of the person and work of Jesus included the imagery of this statement. Jesus had a ‘base of operations’ in Capernaum. He had friends and family. Peter, Andrew, James and John appear to have had houses in or around Capernaum. Mary, Martha and Lazarus would have given him a bed, right?
In context, Jesus’ words actually appear to be more directed at us, through the person of a teacher of the law who, apparently convicted by Jesus’ proclamation, came to him and said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” “You might be surprised to learn where I am going,” Jesus responded — if I may be permitted a free hand at paraphrasing. Speaking of a paraphrase, Eugene Peterson in The Message, showing that he also understands Christ in this way, has Jesus say: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”
What it means for you to follow Jesus in this context will be different from what it means for me. Regardless, the common invitation from Jesus is to follow him into a reordering of what is important, what gives meaning. It is a reordering of how we see one another, how we treat the neighbor. It is a reordering of how we can now see God himself—freed from the constraints of our presumptions.
Live for and love Jesus where your nest is located. He is there with you.
Text and picture, copyright Don Schatz
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