For many years when I heard the story of the prodigal or lost son in church, I identified with the self-righteous jerk of the older brother. Of course I didn’t see him as a self-righteous jerk then. I happened to agree with him. I thought it was “unfair” that the father threw a party for the younger son. I thought the younger son should have been punished for what he did. You see, I identified with the cultural belief that sins or mistakes should be punished. And that one earned God’s or parental love by being good and taking your punishment when you deserved it. I know I worked very hard at being good to earn that love because I didn’t feel loved the way I was. Those were the cultural beli
Memorable for all the Wrong Reasons Dr. Rick Mac Arthur June 21, 2015 #koinoniagj
Some 2000 years of deep thinking have been put into discerning the meaning of Jesus’ words. Some of that deep thinking has been helpful. Some has not. The story of the Good Samaritan is a prime example. Jesus says a traveler walking on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.. If you have been in that part of the world you’ll know what a tough road that is. Jerusalem sits at a high elevation. 3,000 ‘ above sea level. The road down to Jericho drops about 4000 feet. You run into the Dead Sea. Jericho is about 1000 feet below sea level. It takes eight hours... To read more... Download the PDF here! #KoinoniaGJ