Preparedness
If we are to follow Jesus properly, then we must
change. We must begin to follow His Rules impeccably. His Words in Scripture
tell us that and, they shout out to be obeyed:
43 “You have heard that it was said, You shall love
your neighbour and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those
who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the
just and on the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward
have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you
do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your
Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43–48
Being perfect and obedient calls for a lot of
getting rid of things in our lives. What simpler could there be on this Journey
than for someone to say, “Don’t do that”? Or, again, “Do that?” Would that not
make it easier to follow? Jesus is telling us what to do and what not to do in
every word of Scripture. The line:
44 …But I say to you, love your enemies, bless
those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who
spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
says, quite simply, do this and you will be
perfect, not only that, but that you may
be sons of your Father. The reason,
I think He said this is because, when we love our enemies, we do the opposite
to what self wants and, we do what God wants. The emphasis is on us to find a
way to love our enemy, with His help, and therefore become perfect by
overcoming the self that wants to hate and have enemies.
Yes, but, it is hard to do that, I hear you cry!
But is it? Is it so hard to think, beyond what self tells us, that the person
that you consider your enemy, is of extreme value to the Father as you are?
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And
not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered.
31 Do not fear, therefore, you are of more value
than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31
Is it that hard to understand, by changing your
attitude towards that person, you will be saying “yes” to God? By obeying what
He said? By changing our attitude, we allow good things to penetrate us about
that person. While we hate and be at enmity, no good thoughts about that person
can enter us and, that wipes out any change in us. The change in attitude is
necessary for our ongoing relationship with God.
Take the line:
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward
have you?
This implies to me that, if we only love our
friends and family, how does that merit reward, what have we earned in Gods
sight? Only that we are not willing to make the effort to change. When we begin
to try to make reconciliation towards a so-called enemy, then we have to be
willing to admit that some of the fault, that led to the enmity, must be my
fault, and, that fault, must be keeping me from God. I earn nothing. I make no
progress towards God. An effort must be wrought in me if I am to change, to earn,
to impress God by my willingness to change.
When I have exhausted all trying to be reconciled,
and that person still wants to hold a grudge, then there is nothing I can do.
By trying, within my capacity, I have earned some merit in Gods Eyes. But my
ongoing thoughts and attitude towards that enemy must be of forgiveness for, we
can easily fall back into self.
Jesus calls, in the Messages of Love, for us to
prepare. The word prepare, in the dictionary means:
Prepare
verb
to make or get something or someone ready for
something that will happen in the future:
Have you prepared for your interview?
She'll prepare the food ahead of time and freeze
it.
This course prepares students for middle and senior
managerial positions.
Are the
players mentally and physically prepared to play a tough game?
The meal took two hours to prepare.
The word implies something that will happen in the
future, something that needs to be in place, already done. When we prepare, we
put all things in place so that we will be ready. If we are in a play, we must
learn our lines in readiness for the day the play is aired. If we do not
prepare, we will not know the lines that are expected of us. We will end up
being embarrassed, disgraced.
Jesus is calling us to prepare. What happens if we
don’t? What happens if we do not recognise Jesus because we have not loved our
enemy? Or even made the effort to? What if we just lived inside the grudge we
feel for that enemy, seething every time that enemy comes into our notice? What
will Jesus say to us when He Comes? Or, if He has not Come and we die before
that, what will He say?
Commenti
Posta un commento