AUG 18

Luke 19:11-27
Memorise Titus 2:8
“Sound speech, that cannot be condemned...”

Jesus met with Zacchaeus at Jericho on the way to Jerusalem, and He perceived that His disciples who knew He was the Messiah would assume that upon reaching Jerusalem He would crown Himself as an earthly king and set the Jews free from the Roman rule. To avoid this misunderstanding, Jesus taught them the parable of the pounds, to teach that He was definitely going to be crowned King, but only in the future. But before that would happen, He would first depart this earth, like a man going to a far country. The task of Christians was thus to work and bear fruit for Him before He returns, while false Christians in contrast will not work to fulfill God’s will and this fruitlessness will thus be judged by the soon coming King. Jesus did not want the disciples to misunderstand His intentions, nor did He want them to be discouraged by scorners who might ridicule them for believing in a Messiah who subsequently did not become King.

We ourselves should take steps to avoid other Christians misunderstanding our intentions. In speech, we should aim for “sound speech, that cannot be condemned…” (Titus 2:8a), that we may be Christian examples to others. When our pastor performs infant baptism, he stresses to all present that infant baptism does not save, to avoid any misunderstanding that we Bible-Presbyterians believe in baptismal regeneration. On a more personal note, if you go on an outing alone with a Christian of the opposite gender, the other party might assume you are interested in him or her as a life partner. To avoid such misunderstanding, ensure there are others going along on the outing as well or don’t go at all. Many years ago, I remember one Christian girl assuming that a good friend of hers would choose her eventually; she was crushed when the guy finally chose someone else. The fellowship between these two friends as well as of others around them was greatly affected as a result. The guy actually knew that she was interested in him, but could not bring himself to tell her he did not feel the same for her; if only he had done so, the misunderstanding and subsequent pain could have been avoided. It does take extra effort on our part to avoid misunderstanding (and obviously one cannot totally avoid any misunderstanding at all), but we should edify others instead of thinking of how difficult the effort is for ourselves. The unity of the Body of Christ is at stake! May we recognise that this Body that Christ gave Himself for, is worthy of our concern by avoiding misunderstanding within it.

Thought: Do I really love my neighbour as myself?
Prayer: May I do my best to be a useful part of the Body of Christ.