Parable of the Three Loaves of Bread

“Then He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, -Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.-Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything. I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:5-9, NIV).

The parable of the three loaves is given only in Luke’s gospel, but the important teaching on prayer—ask, seek, knock—(better translated “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking”) that follows this parable is given also in Matthew 7:7. Luke sets this parable immediately after Jesus was praying “in a certain place” and the disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). There followed, in Luke’s account, what we have come to know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” We might well call it “the disciple’s prayer,” because it is how Jesus taught them (and us) to pray. Then Jesus gave the parable of the man who, when an unexpected guest came at midnight, had no bread to feed him. He asked his friend, already in bed for the night, if he might borrow three loaves. At first the friend is reluctant to answer the request. But because of persistence in asking, and also because he is his friend, the man arises and gives his neighbor the bread he needs. Within this parable is the implication that things often happen unexpectedly with which we need immediate help. Like the man turned to his neighbor for help, so we can turn immediately to God. He is available at all times.

What is the major lesson in this parable for us? Taken in context in Luke, the Lord had just given them a pattern for prayer. He follows it by an everyday example of persistence in asking. The man who needed bread to feed his unexpected guest was bold, unashamed to ask, and continued to ask until he had received what he needed. I think another thing to notice is that the man who needed bread intended to share it with someone who was tired and hungry—in need of sustenance. Rev. J. R. Dummelow in his A Commentary on the Holy Bible (NY: Macmillan, 1958, p. 752) stated: “If a churlish man can be forced by importunity to give against his will, how much more can persevering prayer bring down from the bountiful Father in heaven all good things.” The major difference in our Heavenly Father and His provision through prayers of His children and the man who gave the bread is that our Father’s supply is never depleted and He knows what we have need of before we ask (Matthew 6:8; Luke 12:30). Nevertheless, trust and dependence on God are necessary on our part. Our continual asking, seeking and knocking are indicative of our faith that God will answer. Recall how Jacob wrestled with the angel of God? Jacob said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me” (Genesis 32:26). The lesson in the parable of the three loaves is reiterated for us in Luke 18:1: “that they should always pray and not give up.” The lesson is: Pray persistently until an answer comes. It might be “yes” (as with the three loaves being provided); it may be “no” (if your request is not best for you and is not God’s will for you); or it may be “wait awhile” (during which time your faith grows).

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, September 6, 2010

The Widow’s Two Mites – A Lesson on Giving

“Then He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty has put in all the livelihood that she had.’“ Luke 21:1-4

Jesus was in His last earthly days with His disciples prior to His death. He had so much to teach them. Here is an important lesson on giving. And it may be one of the most misunderstood of any of the lessons on stewardship found in the Bible.

First is the principle of giving. It was not new to the disciples nor to devout Jews. Tithing as well as giving were aspects of spiritual service. These had been taught from of old. Putting money into the Temple treasury was an important tenet of the law. One-tenth, or the tithe, had been offered ever since Abraham gave a tenth of his war booty to the priest-king of Jerusalem, Melchizedek, as recorded in Genesis 14:18-20. Jacob offered to give God a tenth of all his possessions if he could get safely back to his country. The priests and Levites were supported through the tithe. Malachi 3:8 urges that all the tithes be brought into the storehouse of God. Not to do so would be robbing God. To willingly bring the tithe would bring God’s blessings on the giver. Jesus said “all this you should have done, but not leave the other undone” —meaning love and justice (Luke 11:42).

Jesus saw the poor widow place two mites in the temple treasury. We often remark about “the widow’s mites,” yet do not stop to think what a true sacrifice she made. Jesus stated that she “put in all she had.” Who of us is willing to put into the Lord’s treasury “all that we have?” I certainly have not known many people in my life willing to go to this length in giving to the causes our church promotes. Rather, we sometimes complain at “too many special causes” over and beyond the tithe. And sometimes, perhaps we even think that in these economic times the tithe is too much to expect. I am reminded of a story my pastor told of a deacon who diligently gave a tithe.

Then one day he got a promotion, a sizeable increase in salary, and inherited some money. He thought he had too much to tithe. The pastor wisely said, “Let’s pray about this.” And as they knelt to pray, the pastor prayed that the deacon’s financial status go back as it was before his promotion and inheritance so that he could tithe again. After the prayer, the deacon was convicted of his greed, repented and gave an offering over and beyond the tithe. I must ask myself in the light of Jesus’ teaching about giving, how do I stand in faithful stewardship? Jesus gave His all for me. What will I give to Him?

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Mary, Handmaiden of the Lord

"For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”—Luke 1:37-38 [Read Luke 1: 26-56]

During this month of March, leading up to Easter on the first Sunday in April, I hope to think about persons in the life of Jesus Christ who were close to Him and made a difference in God’s plan for Emmanuel—God with us. Where better to begin than with Mary, humble handmaiden of the Lord? When the angel Gabriel told her she, a virgin, would conceive and bear the Messiah, her response was “be it unto me according to thy word.” Unbelievable as the announcement from the angel was, Mary consented to be “the handmaiden of the Lord.”

Mary as a devout Jew would have known the prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah. They are too numerous to list in this brief devotional, but one of the most beloved was given by Isaiah: “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isa. 7:14 – NKJV). Young Mary of Nazareth became this chosen virgin. But note that she had a choice, too. She could have said No to the heavenly announcement, but she willingly agreed to be the one who would bear the Son of God.

The angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Within God’s plan for her, others gave earthly aid to the divine plan. Joseph, to whom Mary was betrothed, accepted his role as Mary’s protector and husband and step-father to the divine Son of God. Already betrothed to her, He married Mary, “not wanting to make her a public example” (Mt. 1:19). When the angel appeared to him in a dream with the news of Mary’s conception, he accepted the news and acted according to the angel’s direction. Read this part of Mary and Joseph’s story in Matthew 1:18-25. Mary went to her cousin Elizabeth’s house, this one who in her old age had conceived and would bear John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Christ. Elizabeth (and the baby in her womb) immediately recognized that Mary was to be the mother of the Lord. (Luke 1:42-45).

Young girl, willing to be the chosen vessel in the line of God’s plan to restore His people! Was it any wonder that she broke forth into song, giving us the “Magnificat of Mary” recorded in Luke 1:46-55? “He has done great things for me!”

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, March 1, 2010

Shine as a Light in Darkness

Today I share two true incidents from my teenage years, one when I was 18 and one when I was 15, that were highlights in forming who I was, what I "grew" into with the Lord's help, and what I am still becoming. Nothing in our lives happens by coincidence, but God uses encounters such as these to make His will and way known to us.

May we all be "on the watch" for signposts and people along our journey that help us to a better relationship with God or whom we can help to have the same.

Selah!

“Arise, shine: for thy light has come; and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” --Isa. 60:1 (KJV)

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.” -Luke 11:33 (KJV)

Light? How much does it have to do with peace and harmony?
How can I be light in darkness? How can the Light of the World shine through me?

I remember two distinct instances from my teenage years that had to do with following the Light of the World and His teachings, and seeking to be light myself, as He commanded me.

I was president of Truett McConnell College’s YWA (Young Woman’s Auxiliary). As this officer, I was given a free week at Camp Pinnacle in the summer of 1948 to help me prepare to lead my college YWA during the next year. Miss Sarah Stephens, beloved Georgia Woman’s Missionary Union state leader, was in charge of the camp, using her charisma, godliness and expertise as a speaker and leader to guide the young women at the camp.

We had a good week of intensive Bible and missions methods study, devotional time, challenging messages. It was the last night before we left camp. We were gathered at Lake Pinnacle at dusk for a candlelight service. Miss Stephens challenged us in her inimitable way to be light for Jesus wherever we were, whatever our calling in life. We each had a candle, and lighting it from a large candle symbolizing the light of Christ in our lives, we set our “wooden boat” candle afloat on Lake Pinnacle. It was a heart-touching and deep spiritual experience to see my candle float out with the others on that dark lake and make a bobbling though persistent light, cutting the darkness apart and allowing me to know that commitment to God and His will for me would, indeed, make a difference in the world. The YWA watchword, “Arise, shine, for thy light is come,” has, since then, been one of my life verses. Where there is darkness, the light of peace is extinguished. Where there is Light from Christ, peace takes a stronghold and makes a difference in believing hearts, and is spread abroad upon the dark sea of life.

Go back with me three years before the Camp Pinnacle experience when I was fifteen. My beloved high school teacher, Mrs. Grapelle Mock, had taken me to interview our local Choestoe/Union County poet, Byron Herbert Reece, whose first published book of poetry, The Ballad of the Bones and Other Poems, had just been published by E. P. Dutton of New York. Reece was my neighbor, and I had known him all my life, but suddenly his book had made him the subject of articles in The Atlanta Constitution and The Progressive Farmer, paper and magazine that came to my farm home. I was shy as I tried to fulfill my assignment to interview Reece for an article I was to write in the county newspaper’s School Page. I asked him questions about how he decided to become a writer, what motivated him, and what he hoped to accomplish through his book of poems. Then I told him that I liked to write—and my dear teacher, Mrs. Mock, assured Poet Reece that she had noted my talent in that direction. I shall never forget that Reece quoted the verse from Luke 11:33 and urged me not to “hide my light under a bushel.” He went on to tell me that he had been shy and introspective about his poetry, not thinking it was worth bringing to the public. Then Jesse Stuart of Kentucky saw “Lest the Lonesome Bird” published in The Prairie Schooner and helped Reece to get poems to Stuart’s own publisher, Dutton, who accepted the manuscript for Reece’s first book.

That interview with Reece set a direction for my life. What talents and abilities I have are gifts from God. What light I have to give to the world is also a gift from God. I am not to hide it under a bushel in a dark corner but, with God’s leadership, I am to share my own light with the world.

“Arise, shine, for thy light is come” (Isa. 60:1). “[Put not your light] under a bushel but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 15-16)

Selah!

Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, January 7, 2010