Today's daily lesson is from Luke chapter 7 verses 33 through 35. It is an expanded version of an earlier lesson about my friend Pastor John Barnes. He passed away earlier this year. This is a reprisal and expansion in his memory. May you rest in peace, Man of God.
33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
The guy who shines my shoes is also preacher of the hot Gospel variety. To sit down in the seat of his shine stand is to enter the pews of one of the most fervent and fiery preachers in America. It's 3 to 5 minutes of full-force and furnace-fueled frontal attack on everything worldly, including greed, backbiting, Sabbath-breaking, smoking, fornication, the Devil, and the dangers of calling our children "kids" -- I'm still trying to figure that one out. His name is John; and yes, he's Baptist.
I have another preacher friend who is, well, a bit less morally stringent. His dad owns a liquor store; sometimes he shops there. He watches the Comedy Channel, the Cowboys (on the Sabbath), and is ok with gay folks. His church ordains women as deacons and pastors too and has even auctioned off libation from his dad's store to support their missions program. His name is Ryon; and yes, he's Baptist also.
I figure somehow God in His wisdom is using both of these Baptists for His own purposes. They each have their own call and their own message. They both belong.
A decade ago Brian McLaren wrote a book: "A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/calvinist, anabaptist/anglican, methodist, catholic, green, incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian." Okay, so the subtitle was a bit long; but in fact it was really not long enough to include all that is the Kingdom of God.
This should make us far more at peace with others, and also far more at peace with ourselves also.
And wisdom justified by all her children . . .
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