2009-11-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m led by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about the analysis of MT 7: 12 [the Golden Rule], MT 22: 34-40 [the Great Commandment], and RO 13: 1-8 [Duties toward the state and others]. In doing so, we can’t help but recognize the far-reaching ramifications of Christ’s words on judgment in His Sermon on the Mount [MT 5-7]. All of these passages lead up to the conclusion that we should choose to obey the law out of conscience, not because we are forced to do so. The fact that we show Christian love, i.e. agape or unconditional love, toward others should be sufficient motivation for us to obey laws that were set forth to benefit all. That can certainly be said of God’s laws. In the simplest terms, we could use traffic laws in place. When we speed, we put other drivers in peril. So, we should choose to remain within the speed limit. If government services are available to our community- and they are all over our country- then we should pay our taxes. Christ made this very plain when he answered the question about that put to Him by His disciples. MK 12: 17, “So Jesus said, ‘Well, then, pay to Caesar what is due to Caesar, and pay to God what belongs to Him.’” I’m convinced we can never pay all that we owe to God, but He is wise enough to know the status of our heart-attitude. He has given us so many blessings, that we must do what we can to live “in Christ” and act with an honorable attitude toward others and reverence for our God. I’m virtually certain that this means more than we know to Him.
As for civic duties, we need to do our fair share. Those who have talent for being a part of government have a moral imperative to work from within it to forward God’s agendas. Whether or not we work in government, we surely have civic duties to help our fellow man in trouble. When there is a tornado with damage, we need to offer help to those who have sustained damage and loss. My congregation has been very good about this with sending multiple teams to the south to do Hurricane Katrina relief work and to do the same when floods came to southeastern MN. Our church has a clothes closet and a food shelf for those in need. We send out missionaries where help is needed, with teams going to a Jamaican orphanage, to Venezuela, to Norway, to eastern Europe, to Israel, and to places around our own country where help is needed. The short-term missions have been important experiences in the lives of our young people during the summers. IS 52: 7, “How wonderful it is to see a messenger coming across the mountains, bringing Good News, the news of peace! He announces victory and says to Zion, ‘Your God is King!’” In keeping with God’s promise to change hearts in EZK 36: 26-27, hearts, young and old alike, are transformed by acting on Christ’s Sermon on the Mount teaching. “I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put My Spirit in you and will see to it that you follow My laws and keep all the commands I have given you.” We find MT 20: 26-28 being made so. “If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, he must be your slave-like the Son of Man, Who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life to redeem many people.”
It’s appropriate to reiterate JN 13: 34-35 once again at this point. “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are My disciples.” We must understand that every person, no matter how hostile and troubled, he may be, yearns for unconditional love. And yes, there are some people who will not accept the help of another because their problems are that severe. But there are plenty of others who will eventually welcome it. ECCL 4: 9-10, “Two are better than one. If one falls down His friend can help him up.” We who believe must develop sensitivity and patience in determining the needs of some others, needs that are sometimes quite subtle, but still important. But Christ has commanded that we be loving toward our fellow man, and, of course, toward the God Who loves us so very much. Our Lord is amazingly forgiving, and so we should be too [MT 18: 21-23a; LK 6: 37]..
If a human-crafted law isn’t working, then we should work to change it from within. None of God’s laws would fit that category. I say that because of the dissention that is now in progress within some of the more liberal denominations. Our Lord was the same yesterday, is now, and will be in the future [HE 13: 8]. The problem comes in with human interpretations of God’s law. Therein, we must go to Him on our knees and ask for His guidance, pleading PS 25: 4-5, “Teach me Your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to your truth, for You are my God Who saves me. I always trust in You.” Make this promise to Him today: PS 86: 11, “Teach me, Lord, what You want me to do, and I will obey You faithfully.” Submit to His direction. Plead with Him to teach us to serve Him with complete devotion. We must have the courage when faced with a human-crafted edict which conflicts with God’s will to have the courage of our convictions. Remember the example of Queen Esther, who approached King Ahauerus [Xerxes] against normal conventions and had the courage to risk her own life to reveal to her husband that she was Jewish and thus, would die with all Susa’s Jews under the evil Haman’s edict. God’s will was accomplished, when the king was made aware that his beloved wife would die this way and hung Haman instead, thus invalidating the edict and saving the Jews [ES 7: 3, 6, and 9-10].
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne with the confidence that You will listen to our prayer and answer us with Your wisdom, patience, and compassion. We find ourselves needing to make judgments, because we are faced with controversies, bad behavior on the part of others, and sometimes compromising situations. In the Scriptures, you have given us a foundation upon which we can make these difficult decisions. We are grateful for what we know from EPH 2: 20-22 as members of Your family, Your lovingly and fully-adopted children. “You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the Cornerstone being Christ Jesus Himself. He is the One Who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with Him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through His Spirit.” As Your children, we gladly accept the responsibility to live and act according to Your teaching. Since we cannot do this accurately without Your intervention, we plead with You today to give us Your direction and any other intervention that You deem appropriate to the situation. We need Your encouragement and help to overcome temptation, to deal with denominational squabbles, to stand up to bad behavior on the part of others, and to never be self-righteous or judgmental. In areas You should be making the decisions, we stand aside and don’t interfere. Usurping Your authority is not our right or our purpose. We thank and praise You for always being available to us and willing to lend Your wisdom in the face of the tough decisions we must make and difficult actions we must take. You are a generous and loving God. We pray all of this in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
Amen.
Next week, the Holy Spirit directs me to wrap up this analysis of MT 7: 12, MT 22: 34-40, and RO 13: 1-8. In the meanwhile, we must examine our hearts to see where we stand on controversial issues and difficult situations. When we determine that a law or decision of others isn’t in keeping with God’s law, we must go to Him on our knees and let Him tell us how we should respond to the situation. It is His guidance that solves problems and leads us to eventual eternal life. When we are on His team, we are winners in the end, although we may have to go through some pain first. Note the example of our Lord Jesus, Who endured the worst pain of all-that of the cross-so that we could be saved [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. Anything we face is something considerably less than that. When we think of the love, obedience and faithfulness to the Father that the Lord Jesus showed, the way is opened for us to follow Him. LK 9: 23-24, “And He said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must forget himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save His own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.’” Each of us was created to be able to decide to walk through the door marked “Faith” and to take the hall that is marked “Obedience to the Lord.” Each of us can decide to live according to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount teaching and know that it leads to something so extraordinary [heaven] that we can’t conceive of how wonderful it is. All of this can happen in God’s perfect time and way, granting us unparalleled blessings here earth and later in our permanent home in heaven. Consider this: PS 17: 15, “And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see You face to face.” Praise and thanks be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn