P ♰ C

by Jean Allen

“For those who have, more will be given and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” These words sure make Jesus and the spiritual life sound harsh, don’t they? To get a clearer understanding of these words, we need to revisit what I said last week about the yoke of Jesus and how being under his yoke will give us rest.

When you actively receive the blessings of the yoke of Jesus, you are a ‘have person’. Your heart is open and soft. You have received the seeds of love, affirmation, respect and dignity that you found in Jesus and in that soil of gentleness and humility the seeds flourish with lush abundance. It’s not because you are so good; it’s because you are so loved.

When you resist Jesus’s yoke and refuse to let go of your defenses, aggressions and neediness, you are a ‘have not’ person. Your inner soil is hard and the rain of love cannot penetrate. You had nothing and you’ll end up with even less. It is not God or Jesus taking away your inner abundance; it is your refusal of the yoke that takes it away. The rain of God always falls on you but that inner stubbornness creates a hard crust that nothing can penetrate.

A lot of scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’s time had that inner stubbornness. Jesus’s words of grace and hope could not penetrate their hard hearts because they refused to believe they were ‘have nots’. They thought they had it all, especially wisdom and intelligence. Last week we heard Jesus say, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” So, while being very learned about the faith can be helpful, it’s not what creates the fertile soil. It is the Father’s gracious will to reveal himself to the unlearned, the small, the gentle and the humble…

…those with beautiful gardens ready to produce more.

[image produced using Google and Nano Banana AI image generation]