People are Not Easy to Love no. 27

“How blessed are those who make peace! for they will be called sons of God” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:9). Jesus asks us to make peace when our nature calls for war. I know that gets confusing when the Old Testament is filled with battles and folks believing that is the nature of God BUT, thankfully, Christianity does not stop with the Old Testament understanding of God. Luckily, God came to earth and gave us a perfect example of who He is in Jesus. People are not easy to love because they prefer a partial understanding of God rather than the fully revealed God in Jesus.

Later in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals the truth that, “No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money” (Mattityahu (Mat) 6:24). And I can’t serve two masters. I serve Him or I serve something else. And I can make all sorts of excuses for how I make that choice in my life BUT He knows my heart. Jesus also explains that the Law is completed by two things, “He told him, ‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the greatest and most important mitzvah . And a second is similar to it, You are to love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot’” (Mattityahu (Mat) 22:37-40). Those are God’s laws. Love your God and love your neighbor.

One master asks me to love to the point of sacrificing myself like the example of Jesus. The other master asks me to hate to the point of sacrificing another. And we can see the choice that Jesus made. When faced with His own death and in possession of the most power to ever walk the face of the earth, He chose His sacrifice through death. That is bravery.

And sometimes in service of government we can get all confused and twist things around. We can see all these patriotic films and displays and fool ourselves into believing that this whole giving my life for my country-thing is something brave and noble. BUT, Jesus did not come to earth with an army as our example, He came as a servant that revealed the Father. Again, Jesus explains that, “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mattityahu (Mat) 11:27-30). So, if we want to know God the Father the only example is through Jesus His Son.

So, it doesn’t matter that the Torah had an incomplete understanding of the Father. It does not matter that the Old Testament gives us a glimpse of God when Jesus gives us the full example of what it is to follow Him. A life of prayer, a life of sacrifice, and a life of mercy are His examples to follow. And we can choose to live out His example or we can take any incomplete understanding of God we want to build our own god in our own image. We get to choose.

So, with Sky Cloths ready to wave next week and folks singing the Magic Prayer in worship of the government. We get to choose who our master truly is. We can love God and our neighbor as He commands. We can follow His example as He commands. I choose to be a Christian first even if it means being a bad Roman.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People are Not Easy to Love no. 26

“How blessed are those who make peace! for they will be called sons of God” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:9 CJB). The most important thing we can do is love each other. And one way of showing love is by creating peace within our homes and our communities. People are not easy to love because they desire conflict over peace.

There is a lot of “drama” in this society of ours. “Drama” permeates the media whether fact or fiction. “Drama” permeates our communities whether Christian or pagan. I am certain we can think of several people in our lives that contribute much “drama” to circumstances and situations. BUT that isn’t how Jesus called us to live. Jesus did not walk around saying inflammatory things just to get people riled up and drive relationships into chaos. He spoke the truth and brought peace to those who were suffering. He brought comfort, joy, fulfillment, mercy, and righteousness. The only folks that experienced drama from His presence were those at odds with the truth He brought.

So, what does that say about those of us who are adding “drama” to situations and relationships? I think we need to find His peace. I hear many folks flippantly say that they, “just tell them like it is” and it isn’t their fault “if people get offended”. And I think it probably is their fault. If I truly want what is best for my neighbor, then I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my mission of spreading His word. And oftentimes we stand behind The Bible as an excuse to be a jerk. And that is missing the forest for the trees. That is missing the point of Jesus for just putting out a biblical message.

There are a lot of things in The Bible. If you don’t believe me, then read it. BUT just because something is in The Bible does not mean it is how Jesus wanted us to live our lives. Oftentimes we overlook His perfect example as a goal and a guide because we are just people. BUT He was a person too. He might have been God as well BUT He was also a person. So, the expectation is that we should live according to His example and not the example of David or Saul or Moses or Solomon or even Paul. Those are not the perfect example. Those other folks in The Bible are flawed and broken folks that are way too often more easy to find similar than Jesus.

Folks that want “drama” need not only our prayers BUT also our better example. There is no way for me to tell you to avoid “drama” and get right down into the mud with you. Sometimes you are going to need to avoid those people until you can get yourself out of the danger of falling back into “drama”. Be wise and avoid those temptations. When we see the “drama” in any of our communities, we must be the voice of peace as Jesus intends. Folks who want “drama” filled lives are not easy to love.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH