Unrestricted

“And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”

- Luke 18:1

Run to Jesus! Run to Jesus! In temptation, run to Jesus! In joy, run to Jesus! In your worries and your steady, run to Jesus! Run to Him in my prayers and never lose heart!

That was the message for me as I sought to be prayed over at a recent pastor’s conference I attended. I was responding to the work that God has been doing in my life, and in doing so wrestling a lot with temptations and worries, while also recognizing the many reasons for joy and steadiness. This kind of practice and lesson for me requires unrestricted access to Jesus, something that as far as I am aware, no other religion offers. Luke 18 is full of unrestricted moments, and I use that word because Jesus directly counters many things that try to keep people from going to Him.

The Persistent Widow:

Jesus first illustrates this unrestricted access through prayer by using a parable. He shares a story about a widow who is experiencing great injustice by an adversary, perhaps even the murderer of her husband. Regardless, the judge is also wicked and constantly ignores her pleas for justice. Perhaps even when the adversary has given up and no longer worries about justice, the widow keeps going to the judge. Eventually, this wicked judge folds to the widow and enacts justice.

If even a wicked judge could eventually cave and do what is right, how much more do you think the righteous and holy God who is Justice and Forgiveness will meet the righteous and persistent prayers of someone? We are to be persistent in our prayers, regularly, boldly, righteously, coming before our Father in heaven, unrestricted.

The Tax Collector:

Then Jesus sought to illustrate the stark difference between self-righteousness and humility. In enters the temple a Pharisee and a Tax Collector, one is a beacon of religiosity and uplifted by their culture, and the other is despised and a known extortioner. They come to pray in the same temple, but their motives differ greatly. The Pharisee loudly and proudly prays thanksgiving for his righteousness, and in doing so looks down upon others. Meanwhile, the Tax Collector quietly and tearfully cries a prayer begging for mercy. Jesus shares that it’s the Tax Collector who leaves the temple justified before God, and freely forgiven. He came humbly through the unrestricted access. In sharing this story, Jesus is sharing that our sins do not keep us from going to the Father, or from crying out for mercy, for God looks for our humility.

The Children:

Following these two parables is a real-life story. Parents likely brought their babies and children to Jesus often, hoping that His touch would either heal or simply bless them. Perhaps the attention that these young children got from Jesus made the teenage disciples jealous. So the disciples then tried to restrict the families from drawing near to Jesus. You can probably hear the image of these teens causing these toddlers to cry, only for Jesus to interrupt the commotion, and bring peace, by calling the children to Him. Jesus blesses the little ones and even mentions that faith should be like these little ones who joyfully receive His presence. Jesus is unrestricted to receive.

The Rich Ruler:

This is where the tables turn a bit, and there does appear to be a restriction…

A wealthy man approaches Jesus and asks what He has to do to inherit eternal life, in our words today, how does he get saved? Jesus lists off some of the more socially oriented 10 Commandments and says do these. The rich man says he already has from his youth, since when he was a little one. This may be true, except Jesus poses another challenge to this man, to sell all his possessions, distribute the wealth to the poor, and follow Him.

At this point, you may think Jesus just restricted the man. Yet He didn’t. Jesus invited the man to a new way of life, what’s restricting the man from following Jesus is His wealth. The man is far more attached to his wealth than his faith. Jesus’ invitation is unrestricted, what is a restriction is our other attachments that oppose us from accepting and following Christ.

The Blind Beggar:

In enters one last story of a blind man. As crowds amassed around Jesus, his little travel party turned into parades, from town to town, and on the road to Jericho, there lay a blind man. Being restricted by his blindness, he didn’t know what the parade of people was about, so he asked and learned that it was Jesus of Nazareth. No doubt, by this point this man has heard the stories, and maybe even the viral teachings of Jesus that were being spread through the area. Faith and hope ignite within the man, and he has no option but to cry out for mercy, echoing the prayer of the Tax Collector from earlier. However, the people around him try to hush him and silence him. But his faith can’t be tamed so he cries out louder, like the persistent widow.

Jesus overhears this man and calls him to be led near. Jesus invites the man closer, making a way through the crowds, unrestricting the man, and come and receive mercy on tap.

Final Blessing:

Run to Jesus and never lose heart. Let us not be restricted by wickedness, self-righteousness, jealousy, wealth, or doubters. Run to Him in pursuit of justice, humility, blessing, salvation, and healing. Run to Jesus with all the faith you have! Pray continually, ask continually, and center yourself on dreams of sitting with Jesus. Like the Blind Beggar who had previously only heard stories, yet now has unrestricted access to Jesus, being able to follow Him with vision and faith. Run to Jesus!

Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!