“ . . . everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher . . . he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.” – Luke 6:40 & 48
What would someone who is “like his teacher” look like? What is the deep foundation, “on the rock” that Jesus is talking about in this passage? There is no way that I would have enough space in a devotional like this to answer those questions. That is unless I move from the world of prose into the world of poetry. Some concepts are just too big and too complex for the confines of regular prose. This is one of them, and so I am going to need to turn to a musical poet for inspiration.
One of my all-time favorite Christian musicians… ok, maybe just one of my favorite Christians period, was a guy named Rich Mullins. Rich was a lyrical genius and a poet, who wrote some of the greatest Christian music of the 80s and 90s, and some of the greatest lyrics of all time. One of my favorites is a song that he wrote for his best friend’s son, Aidan. Before Aidan was born, David Stasser, asked Rich “to write a song for [his son] that will take him through life.” I want to share these words with you today (and I’d encourage you to listen to the song as well) because I think that Rich’s poetic advice might be some of the best you can give to anyone who is wanting to become like the Teacher. In fact, I can’t think of any better advice for those of us who want to build our lives on a firm foundation. My prayer today is that you will learn to let mercy lead.
Aidan the day
Aidan the day will come
You’ll run the race
That takes us way beyond
All our trials and all our failures
And all the good we dream of
But you can’t see yet where it is you’re heading
But one day you’ll see the face of love
Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I’ll meet you in that place
Let mercy lead
Pastor Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor
Youtube Video with lyrics link: click here
Spotify link: click here