I would like you to ponder two questions. How sufficient are we in being dependent? Are we successful in that area, or are we lacking? IF I was to ask you if you need a savior, what would your response be? I hope yes! Just think how and what we would be if we did not have a Savior! Do you know what would happen? We quite literally would ride the border of death and destruction just to satisfy our desires, for both needs and wants. There would be no consequences, no need for others, no dependency on law and order, and no salvation giving eternal life! We would quite literally destroy ourselves because we would become what the world would call self-dependent! It is this dependency I wanted to talk about today about how our goal as Christians should always be characterized as being Sufficiently Dependent on God!
Alexander Maclaren wrote about the importance of recognizing our dependence on God for all we have: “Up to the very edge we are driven before He puts out His hand to help us. It is best for us that we should be brought to desperation, to say, “My foot slips” and then, just as our toes feel the ice, help comes and His mercy holds us up. At the last moment—never before it, never until we have discovered how much we need it, and never too late—comes the Helper.
If we want to get our needs supplied, our weakness strengthened, and wisdom to dispel our perplexity, we must be where all the provision is stored. If a man chooses to sit outside the provision shop, he may starve on its threshold. If a woman will not go into the bank, her pockets will remain empty though there may be bursting vaults to which she has a right. If we will not ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place by simple faith, God’s amplest provision will be nothing to us, and we will be empty in the midst of affluence.”
In today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, we find a genuine circumstance of dependency portraited from a lawyer’s question to Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This absolutely sounds like a very legitimate question that requires a valid response. Jesus simply replies, “What is written in the Law?” the lawyer replies, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Then Jesus tells the lawyer you are correct! Case closed right? Well not exactly! The lawyer didn’t quite understand the concept or words “Love your neighbor as yourself!”
So, right off, we find perplexing question that Jesus explained in the way he does best, a Parable.
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.”
In this story I would like you put yourself in the position of the wounded man in the ditch and imagine yourself beaten and left for dead!
For most Christians, being the good Samaritan would be easy to describe in this story of their life. But if you were the man or woman in the ditch, what do you see? What are your expectations? What are you hoping for? I can almost guarantee your praying for help! Regardless of who comes along, you need help!
So whats the problem with understanding the question? Why do you think this lawyer asking Jesus a question, “Who is your neighbor?” This man had to understand what, before we even tried to do! His faith relied on his own understanding, not what God’s instruction was. In looking at how is our neighbor, lets look at the root of Jesus’ parable, in becoming dependent.
First off, dependence is NOT a dirty word! In reality, your short changing God!
When someone depends on us, as we depend on God, we get to use the traits that mirror God the Father in helping, creating, healing, and providing. When we are dependent on someone else, we reflect on Jesus Love, humility, need, and willingness.
Not only do we not have intimacy with the Lord by accident or from a neutral stance; we refuse intimacy with him. We have been presented with the option—with the imperative—and we’ve chosen not to abide in him. When we reject the idea of being dependent, some of it is good old fashion pride! If only we could identify who I want to be, my neighbor, that would work. Then there is the thought of not wanting to be a burden to someone else. Its a natural tendency to not want to place our obligations onto others, especially if they are our fault, yet Jesus tells us to bear one another’s burdens. Then there is the perspective of not knowing how to ask for help! Even today, I have spoken to people that claim this as their defense! And certainly, there are other examples!
Who is our neighbor, in what Jesus is indicating is unexpected and not self-evident. The neighbor is someone NOT LIKE OURSELF! Your neighbor is someone DIFFERENT than you! As we examine the example of the man in the ditch, we find that the neighbor has a claim upon us, and we are dependent upon our neighbor! A simple example is if we dined at a restaurant, are we not dependent on the waiter to do their job to take your order and deliver our meal? Is not the waiter dependent on the cook to properly cook the order in a timely fashion? Then is, the cook not dependent on the grocery company to supply the restaurant with the food needed to make the meals, and so on! We must remember that we each depend on each other somehow!
Larry Turner wrote an article called, “DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE” which I find a suitable statement for such a topic since we just recently celebrated our nation’s birthday.
Today I make this day my Dependence Day by making this declaration; Declaration of Dependence.
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for an individual to dissolve the sinful bond which has connected them to a sinful ruler; they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal in sin, that through grace, they have been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Abundant Life, Liberty in Christ, and the Pursuit of Peace beyond understanding. --- that to secure these rights, our Savior died and rose again-- so that we would no longer walk the path of destruction.
We can no longer tolerate a cruel task maker who has been declared the Prince of this World. He has gone about like a roaring lion causing havoc in our lives, robbing us of our life, liberty, and peace.
So it is on this day that we declare our total Dependence on God, The Father; God, The Son; and God, The Holy Spirit. And let it be known that no longer are we held in bondage but are now a free people.”
Honestly, to be totally free of any burdens is like saying I do not need oxygen to breathe! As I stated earlier, Christ himself gives us a command to bear each other’s burdens. Being a burden is what it means to be in a family! Being a family means having claims upon one another, supporting one another, and helping one another, rather than avoiding them, especially ones you do not like.
Why did Jesus make this such a statement of concern do you think? In Christ’s days, there was much turmoil between Jews and Greeks, not to mention Romans. There was division in opinions, philosophy, and religious beliefs, and each party would almost be fully willing to die in what they believed in, even if it was wrong! Jesus is clearly telling us, that our dependency is sufficiently supplied through God, not man! And when we FOCUS on God, we fulfill God’s plan for all mankind! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path!” That’s dependency!
Another aspect of being dependent surfaces from those we would probably not be seen with on a regular basis. In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25, Jesus exclaims that those who love the least of these, meaning the less fortunate, those who are diseased, jailed, ill, starving, and much more, have also loved Me! If you only love those who love you, what reward will you have?
And let me give you another food for thought! If our burdens become more that we can handle, our dependency should be Chsit. Did Jesus not say, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” We CAN and SHOULD cry out to God, our comforter, our shield, our everlasting hope.
To be sufficiently dependent on Christ is one thing, but being dependent by itself is entirely different! Gospel singer, Mark Bishop, sings a song with these lyrics, “I can rejoice! I can rejoice! When I’m feeling down I still can lift my voice. When the skies begin to rain, I won’t complain, I have a choice, For I have Jesus in my heart, I can rejoice!”
The Genuine fact that God infallibly supplies all our needs in so many ways should actually keep us at rest. Just as Christ sufficiently depended on God the father to supply Him all of His needs, so we are to do the same! We are to depend on God for our ‘Daily Bread.’ Being sufficiently dependent does not admonish pain and suffering, or does it show signs of weakness, but rather something better! It’s the arsenal we have at our disposal to accomplish the tasks of life. It’s a gateway to God which He desires each of us to travel often with no hesitation. Reflect on that friends, when we are in need, have a dependence on God. Godly people of Christ, with Christ and in Christ. No need to be embarrassed or ashamed, HE IS OUR GOD. Amen.