Well of course, hello and welcome back my amazing friend, brother and sister. As always, it is an absolute pleasure to have you here with me today. There is just a uniqueness and beauty in coming together to share and talk about God. God is love, and love is 100% relational. Love wouldn't exist if there was no one to love... right? Because God is a relational being, needless to say that He invites us to also be relational and congregate and share good moments with others. God particularly likes when people come together to study about Him, talk about Him and to worship. He likes it so much that we find this verse in the Bible:
"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”- Matthew 18:20
Isn't that amazing? I like to think of this in this way: today you are here with me studying... that makes two of us... so... God is here with us 😁 Maybe that's cheating the system but you get the point, no? God's beauty is not for us to hide or keep to ourselves, but to share with others. Anyways, let's get back on track here. My favorite chapters in the entire Bible can be found in the book of Matthew and they are chapters 5-7. In this chapters we find the Sermon of the Mount preached by no other than Jesus himself. Today, we're just going to talk about just a little portion of that Sermon... ready?
In Matthew 5:38-42 we read:
“You have heard that it was said,‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away"
The other day I was driving home from work when, all of a sudden, a guy cuts in front of me and pulls the middle finger to me while (what I assume) cursing me out. I honestly had no idea what had happened to make that guy mad at me but after fractions of a second... I felt the thirst for revenge. My initial thought what to cut some cars so I could get ahead and then do the same to him. While these thoughts flooded my mind, I also had another thought... what if I just let the situation go and do what Jesus would do? Revolutionary thought, right? What if I just moved on? All these in seconds... I eventually decided to let it go. Nothing good was going to come out of me retaliating... now the question is, wouldn't the world be a better place if we would all abide by the verses read above? If we would all learn to stay quiet, process the information rationally and not react out of emotions?
The reason these verses cut so deep is because everything in it goes against every fiber and bone in our nature. As sinful beings, as beings prone to retaliation and beings that actually enjoy revenge (cannot deny it... revenge can feel pretty good), not giving 'an eye for an eye' is actually a hard task. We are not 'good people' when God is not in our hearts. One way or another, without God we're just at the mercy of our selfish desires and evil nature. Despite this, here comes Jesus and shows us the way; shows us what can be possible with Him in our hearts and mind. Jesus here is teaching us to be meek, to be submissive, to learn to let go and detach ourselves from matters that gain nothing to our spiritual and often times even personal lives.
Go the extra mile, stay quiet when everything else points to the fact that you should scream, avoid confrontation, and, along the way, help those in need and pass forward the same knowledge you've gained. What a beautiful way to live. Yes, I wanted to scream back and get revenge on the guy that pulled a finger to me in the highway... but when I decided to instead let go of the situation, I felt relieved, awesome, and at peace with God. God's ways are always better, not always the easiest to incorporate in our lives, but always better. Here I leave you with some extra biblical advice:
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." - 1 Peter 3:8-9
"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." - James 1:19-20
What do you think? You have been called to be a mirror of Jesus' character on this planet so that others see there's something different in you and through your example and life reflection, they become attracted to Jesus. Are you reflecting Jesus in your life and actions? If not, is not late. Ask God to transform your character, study His word, and begin the never-ending journey of growing and learning with God next to you.
Go the extra mile, dare to be different.
コメント