…Get off the couch and back to work.

This is the final post in this series that highlight from Jesus’ direct words what he expects of us. I will repeat again what I said as we started this series.

 
I know that for those who believe that being a Christian just means taking an altar call and then laying back and letting the Lord’s grace flow over you these might have been some difficult posts. I hope you are at least struck by the number of times Jesus talked about these issues. Christianity is meant to be lived day-by-day. It is not just a one time altar call.

 We conclude this series with the last quotes from the Apostle Luke. To round out this exercise I will do future posts on Matthew and John on the topic. To end here I want to again emphasize that Jesus clearly tells us that being a Christian is a call to action, not a sit back and wait endeavor. These words are a stinging criticism for those who believe that being a Christian is only about the future in heaven and has nothing to do with our present actions on this earth. As shown by the sheer quantity of these verses Jesus just spent too much time telling us how to live on earth for that logic to be even remotely feasible. Is Jesus placing conditions on the entry to Heaven? I will let you come to your own conclusions on that question.

Luke 12:22-24 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  

Luke 12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”  

Luke 12:49-53 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”  
 

Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  

Luke 14:13-14 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  

Luke 17:1  “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.

Luke 18:17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  

Luke 19:43-44
The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”