Father of the Inklings

Righteousness is one of the more curious character qualities of the committed Christian disciple. Jesus tells us to let our light shine before men, but to pray, fast, and do good in secret. If it is visible obedience by Christians that changes the world, why are we also commanded to be invisibly righteous?

 

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

It is fearfully easy to read the Do Not Commands and assume, "Oh, I would never do that." Because the context of examples used by Jesus sometimes seems so ludicrously absurd, we too easily overlook our own glaring presence in the midst of the Gospel pages.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

Created by his hand and in his image, all humanity are God's children. Yet we are put upon this earth to become something more, to become true sons and daughters of chosen obedience. Given life and, in time, independence, our destiny is gained by yielding back that independence into the hand of our Creator, and thus, by that relinquishment, discovering eternal childship.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

Countless sermons and devotions have been based on Jesus' exchange with the man we know as the "rich young ruler." The first three gospels recount the story using largely identical words and phrases. Indeed, this passage is one of those upon which scholars base their conviction that Matthew and Luke founded their writings upon Mark's gospel.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

From the elusive Command, Lose your life, we now encounter one of the most down to earth of all the Commands: Be a servant. No mystery exists here. We all know what it means to serve, to put someone else's need ahead of our own...the good deed, the kindness shown, the helping hand, the burden shared, the load lifted, the feet washed, the cup for the thirsty wayfarer. Opportunities for service are presented us every moment of every day.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

Most of Jesus' Commands are reasonably straightforward, easy enough to understand, uncomplicated, unambiguous. Easy to obey--no. Easy to understand--yes. It is not usually a question of being confused about what is required. Rather it is a question of how serious we are about wanting to obey.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

The great moral teacher interpretation of the life and impact of Jesus Christ is surely one of the most naive perspectives ever proposed for such an important historical figure. C.S. Lewis has memorably argued that anyone making the claims Jesus did must either be a lunatic, a madman, or what he claimed to be. It is not merely Jesus' claim to be one with God that is astonishing and revolutionary, however, so too is much of the rest of his teaching. Far from being a traditional "moralist," a great deal of what Jesus said turned conventional wisdom upside-down.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

The enormity of this Command is of such scope and magnitude that it is impossible to overstate. If Love is the first Command, this surely represents one of the most important dimensions of Love itself. Indeed, unity with our fellow man is one of Love's significant visible expressions. If we would "Be righteous," this is where it begins. 

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

It has been mentioned before that Jesus occasionally uses overstatement and exaggeration to get his point across. This is obviously again the case here. No one seriously believes this Command is to be obeyed literally. None of Jesus' own disciples, to our knowledge, obeyed this Command as it stands, nor did Jesus expect them to. 

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.

The Commands of Jesus seem to come in two broad categories: Those that are straightforward and relatively simple to obey...and those that are impossible to obey.  

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.