Today, we'll be moving away from the issue of hunger and turn more towards the social problems that haunt us. We'll be studying grudges and holding evil against another for the next few weeks.
Our main message comes from Matthew 5: 21-24, directly from Jesus: "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.'
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
This passage is harsh, and takes some serious faith to follow. One could easily interpert the passage as saying 'don't go to God until you have let go of your grudges.' To be able to do that seems nearly impossible, but there really is no excuse for creating evil. When you speak wrongly of another, even if it may seem right by modern social standards, you are creating evil and blackening your heart. EVERYONE is a son or daughter of God! God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are always going to be in your heart, and everyone else's.
Now, let's go back to the passage. You may overlook it at first, but the fact is, Jesus was addressing this entire passage to people who called themselves faithful. As a faithful follower of God, you are bound to try beyond humanly means to better this world. You are bound to love everyone, and everything, because everyone is a child of God. If you truly are a faithful follower of God, then you have opened your heart to him and let him flow over you. Once you have found God, it is your duty to teach the word to others and give them the chance to know God. God is ALWAYS in EVERYONE'S heart, but most people do not realize this. It is up to the faithful to bring out this awareness.
The best, and easiest, way to spread the word of God is to love EVERYONE. Showing evil by holding grudges and screaming foul language to another, as given by the passage, is evil in itself, and shows that you are not faithful to God. Jesus gives this passage to make sure that EVERYONE loves EVERYONE. Only by showing love and compassion, even to our enemies, do we truly show God's love.
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As impossible as it may seem, to experience loving an enemy (or less stongly, someone you just have a serious issue with) is one of God's sweetest gifts.
ReplyDeletePractice with lesser conflicts are worthy of attention, and this scripture particularly helped me when I faced a very personal and profound challenge where I had to choose between hope and forgivenessm, and hate, unforgiveness, and persecution. Hate would have been an easy way out (not really) but following God, through the agony that I felt, was much more liberating! I am grateful and thank God for His presence! He really CAN show us the way to deal with all manner of difficulties in this life. :)
This is wonderful! Thanks to all of you fabulous young folks at Franktown UMC for sharing your wisdom and questions and faith. Keep writing! -- Jeff
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