Luke 7:29-35

Luke 7:29-35 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.) “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

My Christian friend, where is your oasis today? Where is the fountain of strength in you? Where is your foundation? Are you still trying to reach God, to move his hand, or are you in the midst of his rest, his salvation? Or, are you living your life the way you desire? Jesus said, this generation does not want to repent of their sins, of the way they are living, for it is evident they will not dance when others dance and they will not mourn when others mourn. Otherwise, they want to run their lives in the way they desire.

The Bible says we have been bought with a high price, even Jesus Christ and his blood. The Bible also says we Christians are not our own, we are his. This is hard for Christians to fully comprehend because we tend to compartmentalize our lives. We have Jesus in some parts of our lives, but not all. When we desire to be spiritual, we go to church, pray, or read the Bible. But then we fill the other parts of our lives with self. However, this is not the life we should be living. If we are not dancing when Jesus says dance, if we are not mourning when Jesus says mourn, we are driving the car. God can do little with us or for us then. If our lives are filled with self, and if we are taking Jesus with us rather than the other way around, we are in the wrong seat in the car. If we are in control or even if we want to help the driver drive by keeping our hands on the wheel with his, we are not Christians who know that we have been bought by a high price and that Jesus is now THE AUTHORITY in our lives.

Can you, I, relinquish our lives to Jesus? Can we move to the passenger side of the car and let Jesus drive the car? Can we really trust that Jesus knows where we are going and does not need our help? This is faith--when we REALLY BELIEVE JESUS KNOWS WHERE WE ARE GOING AND WILL TAKE US THERE. I believe some Christians, especially people who are chronically ill, reach that kind of faith. I believe some people who are in constant struggle with life with an unbearable marriage or some other insurmountable problem reach that point. I believe some of poorest people on Earth, such as Christians in Africa, reach that point. But for most of us, we are often still driving the car or attempting to help drive it. We don't have faith in the driver. Our nights are filled with anxiety, our days are filled with fear, for we are trying to drive the car.

Without true faith in God's sufficiency, we find no comfort inside us because the words of the Spirit are drowned out by our own words or the words of others. We don't hear the resident Holy Spirit say, "I am in control of your life. I know where we are going. We are not lost on this road, for I AM WITH YOU." The apostles believed that. They all faced persecution, and some of them were put to death. Paul believed that. The martyrs believed that. How else could they face death? Can we believe Jesus is in control of our lives? Is there no oasis for us? Is the hot desert our dwelling place without a respite for our souls? So many of us need to hear the voice of God inside us. So many of us need to hear the comforting voice of the Father, "Child I am with you." All other voices, no matter how loving, lack that comfort. Only HIS VOICE is the oasis. HIS VOICE brings us off the desert, cools us by the living waters. Therefore, wisdom is to know God is the authority in your life: dance when he says dance, mourn when he says mourn, for HIS DAY IS ALWAYS YOUR DAY, HIS HOUR IS ALWAYS YOUR HOUR.