August 26. Luke 13. Lavoy Harrell
Repent or Perish
Luke 13 was one that impacted me a lot when I studied the Bible. It really showed me the consequences of my decisions.
Accountability of the heart is a common theme in this chapter. The chapter starts with people approaching to Jesus to get his reaction on how different people died and their curiosity of it being a direct result of their sin. They shared with Jesus the way these people specifically died, such as the Galilean whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices at the altar and the eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam feel on them.
Jesus responds by saying that these people’s death was not a result of their sin, and he takes it further by calling the people inquiring to repent of their own sins, otherwise they will perish. Repent or perish. That was the choice Jesus gave them.
It’s easy for me to compare and rank myself to others and not see the impact on my own sins. Jesus will always call us back to repentance. He knew their hearts and intentions for asking, and he knows our hearts as well. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul says that true Godly sorrow towards our sins will lead to repentance, and that leads to salvation.
I’m sure the people did not expect Jesus to answer the way he did, but it was the same reaction for me when someone opened the Bible and showed me my sins and my need for repentance.
Jesus continues and shares about a fig tree that didn’t bear any fruit. This year we had a garden with vegetables, and it was the rewarding when tomatoes and cucumbers grew from the vine. I watered it every day, looked up information on the internet and asked friends with “green thumbs” about how to garden. The cucumbers and tomatoes grew quickly, but the lettuce and spinach didn’t. We harvested some lettuce, but the remainder “flowered,” which caused it to be bitter, so I just pulled it up.
Jesus saw this tree that wasn’t bearing fruit and instead of cutting it down, he was patient and cultivated it to see if it would bear fruit. God is patient with us and gives us every opportunity to grow. Jesus again brings it all back to us and that we are accountable to bear good fruit.
The reminder of this chapter is that God is a loving God, and He wants a relationship with us. In this chapter we see the call is to:
Look at our own sins in our hearts and repent of them.
Show love and grace to others and not be legalistic in our hearts.
God is patient and does not want anyone to perish. He wants us to make every effort, like any relationship, to accept His love and experience life with Him in a way where it changes us and others around us.