Love Better Than A Tax Collector

Matthew 5:42-48

Jesus calls His followers to a very high standard for loving others. It is natural to love those who love you back. It is natural to love your family (although not guaranteed).

But Jesus calls us to “love your enemies, do good to those that hate you,” and “pray for those who spitefully use you.” It is interesting that Jesus says if we do this, then we become sons of our Father in Heaven. God loves the good and the bad, and both blessing and trouble come to both.  Then He draws an interesting picture. 

We have to love better than tax collectors. Now, almost none of us appreciate taxes or the work of tax collectors. But in Jesus’ day, a “tax collector” was what we might call the “scum of the earth,” or the dregs of humanity.” Tax collectors were Jews who had been employed by the Romans to collect their taxes. The Romans were occupiers of Israel, thus most of the Israelites saw these collectors as traitors. Some considered them “un-redeemable.” Matthew was one of those guys, so he knew what it was like to be shunned and probably spat upon.  To say someone was acting like a tax collector was pejorative indeed.

To illustrate His point, Jesus noted “even tax collectors love their families and those who love them” [Lowry paraphrase]. His listeners likely response: “Well, I must certainly do better than a tax collector!” Yep, that is right. We all must.

There will always be people that are hard to love—some near impossible! But God loves every one of us, therefore I should as well. I am reminded of a comment of a friend who lives in another country where many folks of our "enemy" nations visit.

“Another thing we have learned is that we are very mistaken when we think of the people of nations being like their governments or the leaders in their country.  We are sometimes guilty of feeling like it would be easier to wipe some peoples off the map rather than tolerate and risk having their countries exist.  Believe us when we say, many of our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ are living in those countries and putting their lives on the line every day as they follow Jesus.”
I saw this I came to on my first trips into the Eastern Bloc. [Okay kids, “Eastern Bloc” is what we used to call the Satellite states (Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, etc) of the U. S. S. R. - The Union of Soviet Socialists Republics.] To lump all the Russians in the cold war period, or all citizens in another country today as enemies is wrong, dangerous, and, if you really think about it, ludicrous. Do you agree with everything our government does? You don’t, do you. No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, you don’t act like our government in every way, especially when it comes to foreign policy.

Loving other like Jesus outlines here starts at home, then church, office, and/or school; then those we see regularly, and ultimately—just keep extrapolating* this out—the people of the world. Yep, Jesus is giving us a missions message in Matthew 5:43-48.

[*”Extrapolate:” transitive and intransitive verb to use known facts as the starting point from which to draw inferences or conclusions about something unknown.]


Update:

I am sitting here in the doctor’s office, awaiting my latest weekly blood check report. These tests are to make sure the chemo I am taking don’t do me harm. They do not check the disease. Every few months is enough for that. Today’s blood work came back okay. The good numbers (white cells, platelets, hemoglobin) continue creeping up. Good.

Continue to pray that I will tolerate this medicine and that it will do its job. Something else you can pray about is discernment about schedules and commitments. I feel well enough now to easily get myself over committed to both projects and people, and I really need the discernment of God to know what really needs to be on my list.

A Billion Points of Light

Matthew 5:14-16

What if all of us in the world who profess a Biblical faith lived it? You know, a life of compassion and evangelism, joy and faith, obedience and hope. I remember a speech given by a presidential candidate a number of years ago. He spoke of people who helped others, and referred to them as “points of light.”

Jesus told his followers, “you are the light of the world.” All of us know that for many, even on a bright, hot sun shiny day, the world can be a dark place. Jesus is speaking of His light coming through us to penetrate the personal darkness of those who do not know or follow Him.

I cannot speak for you, but I want to be “light” for others. I cannot generate that good light myself. He does it through me.

What if all of us in my church reflected his light and life? Augusta—North Augusta would be different. What if the billion-plus Christ-followers all over the world shared His light and life?

Lord, shine through me today.

Been Awhile Update

I told someone the other day that I must be back pretty close to normal, because I have too many things going at one time again. So, I am feeling good, staying busy, and seeking to prioritize what are God things and what are Tom things. (The God things are higher on the list—at least, they are supposed to be!)

Keep praying. It is the prayers of the believers that have brought me to where I am.