Luke 22:36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”

I’m pretty confident I’ve never written on this verse before! What strikes me is that different circumstances call for different activities and even attitudes. That’s one of the big dangers in legalism. There are of course absolute truths, unchanging principles that we must never take lightly, but rigidity in lesser things benefits no one. We are to trust God in all things, but that doesn’t mean we are to go off half-cocked, ignoring the things God has already provided. “Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) doesn’t mean running around with our eyes shut to the world around us. Much has been made in some quarters about what Jesus said here about swords. At the very least, it knocks a hole in some of the arguments of gun control advocates. However, that’s just one factor here. “A purse” certainly indicates finances, and “a bag” indicates other material supplies. Paul rightly spoke against loving money, (1 Timothy 6:10) as did Jesus, (Luke 16:13) but we aren’t to despise it, either. Like everything else, it is to be used appropriately. The famous passage from Ecclesiastes comes to mind, with its declaration that there is a time for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) The risk here is in using this to excuse behavior that is not pleasing or honoring to God. We are to listen to God faithfully, and as accurately as He enables us to do so. Every other voice, and particularly our own habits and predilections, is to be muted and subservient to Him.

This is very timely for me, with the various changes involved in my retiring from school teaching. I’m not retiring from the pastorate yet, though that will come eventually. What I will never retire from is serving God. The form, the schedule that will take is not yet clear, but I am to stay open to whatever the Lord brings my way. I’ve got to remember that only God is unchanging, and that’s good. Some changes I dread, some I look forward to, and some are totally unexpected, but if my heart is fixed on my Lord, none of that will shake me.

Father, thank You for this timely Word. Thank You for the Hong Kong team that will be here today, and for the event in Takeo this afternoon. Help me not be uptight about any of it, but rather flow with Your Spirit on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!