The Plumbline

  So he got up and returned to his father. The father looked off in the distance and saw the young man returning. He felt compassion for his son and ran out to him, enfolded him in an embrace, and kissed him. (Luke 15:20) I was struck with a thought this morning about the father. The father never gave up on his son, though there was little sign that he had any intention of being 'made right' again. The father never gave up watching, though the road was long. The father never lost the intensity of love for his wayward son. I wondered for just a moment if God the Father was looking with such intensity of love for his Son's return to heaven's realm - if he stood, arms outstretched, heart filled with love, and took Jesus into his embrace. All that Jesus had endured, all he had experienced, not because of his own folly, but because there was absolutely no other way for US to know that same embrace unless he did! We all experience the folly of sin because we are all sinners.

Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the misfits?” Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.” (Mark 2:15-17) Unlikely as it seems - that statement really says way more than we might initially think. We have a tendency to 'gloss over' some words that really 'set the stage' for what is about to be revealed. We cannot ever forget the 'company' Jesus kept, because not only was it a 'sticking point' for the religious leaders of the day, but it was a revelation of what was about to come - liberty, healing, hope, and restoration. Unlikely candidates for grace are oftentimes the most grateful for

8-11 It's true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say. It's obvious, isn't it, that the law code isn't primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth, whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I've been put in charge of by this great God. (I Timothy 1:8-11) In the opening verse of our passage this morning, the writer is recalling the importance of tempering our words, being aware of our audience, and of being sensitive to the timing of our message.  The pastor of our church spoke about Christmas yesterday, as I am sure a good many pastors across the Christian churches did.  It is the holiday season, is it not?  There were a few things that he said that really spoke volumes.  If you'll give me a moment, I will share just a couple of them: Salvation is the POINT of Christma