Luke and the Lost

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Jesus closes his teaching with the “alter call” of repentance, of making the decision of a lifetime to following God. “You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things”, He says. You’re lost. Be found by God through Me. Then follows a discussion about the levels of sin to which Jesus responds with “unless you turn to God, you too will die.” There is no middle ground. We are either with God or against God. We are all sinners in need of a Savior.

Mention was made to Christ of the death of some Galileans. This tragic story is briefly related here, and is not mentioned by in any other historians. In Christ’s reply he spoke of another event, which, like it, gave an instance of people taken away by sudden death. Towers, that are built for safety, often prove to be men’s destruction.

He cautioned his hearers not to blame great sufferers, as if they were therefore great sinners. As no place or employment can secure from the stroke of death, we should consider the sudden removals of others as warnings to ourselves. On these accounts Christ founded a call to repentance. The same Jesus that bids us repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, bids us repent, for otherwise we shall perish.

Luke 13, The Message
Unless You Turn to God
13 1-5 About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, “Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die. And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.”

6-7 Then he told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’

8-9 “The gardener said, ‘Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’”

Jesus is the Gardener who stands before God, our Heavenly Father, and says, “let’s give them a little more time…maybe they will produce next year…”

Is that person me? Is that person you? A brother, sister, aunt, uncle, dear friend? God is patient with unconditional love, mercy and grace…but there will be a time when there is no time left to make the decision of life eternal, the decision Jesus is asking us to make…to turn to God. Repent and be saved. Live forever with Him!

Dear Heavenly Father, We are not the judge of the severity of sin. All sin is just that…sin. We are all sinners. I repent of those things that have broken your heart in my thinking and in my actions. May Your Holy Spirit guide us today in all things. May we listen and obey with enthusiasm, bearing Your fruits of love, gentleness, goodness, longsuffering and quick forgiveness for others who disappoint us, extending mercy and grace as you have given to us. In Jesus Name and by His power within us, Amen. I believe.