Faithful ...

Friday, May 13, 2016. Christian faith leads us to a behaviour which is different from the typical power struggle which we find day by day in our environment. It is different from the greed, which we tend to follow. It is very exciting to observe how Jesus himself argues when it comes to these things! …

Jesus Straight …

Jesus does not avoid conflict. On the contrary, he is straight and tells how things are without false consideration. Listen to the following passage about money and about divorce. It is also about our hearts and about what counts for us:

11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.5 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Divorce and Remarriage 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The News of the Kingdom …

Since John the news of the kingdom are preached. We all hear about the gospel of Jesus, about new life, about the Holy Spirit. But Jesus clarifies that the law still tells about God and his character. The law does not perish, but it is satisfied in him, in Jesus. He keeps the law, and in him we are invited to enter.

To me, this sentence about the kingdom caught my attention. What does it mean that everyone forces his way into it? I see a prophetic meaning here, looking into the 2000 years of Christian history, with the churches and their interpretation and their particular way to teach the gospel … how often did they get away from the original mercy, from the deep faith and love and truth which is described in the Old and New Testament. I am deeply grateful that the church managed to put these biblical books together early in its history, based on the account of the apostles.

Also, we are called to identify what is our priority, what is our focus, what is important in our life. We cannot serve two masters, ultimately we can only serve one master. But that means we have to give up some things - put them into the second row or the third row, or further down. This word about our master is one which keeps to be a continuing challenge to all of us, what ever profession we are in, worldly or spiritual. You can pretend to be very spiritual, but follow the wrong master - as our story tells us. What a sincere warning! (RWEP) ... more texts