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.

“Melty” Salt

Matthew 5:13

Jesus calls his followers salt— salt of the earth. All my life I have heard that phrase “salt of the earth” to describe good people, usually in the past tense. (The past tense indicates what is probably the best time to laud folks and name buildings after them.)  What does salt do? It preserves. It heals (albeit stingingly). It gives taste. It melts.

Needing to melt snow and ice would be exceedingly rare in the Middle East where Jesus spoke these words, but I do not think this function of salt escaped Jesus’ knowledge (since He created it). We should be “melters,” allowing God to use us in others' lives to warm cold hearts toward Him.

Wherever we are, we should seek to warm a heart, to bring spiritual or physical healing, to help protect and preserve, and, maybe, to just add fun (taste) or meaning to life.

Update:
I was supposed to go to Emory this week to get a report from the tests of two weeks ago. I got a call on Monday that said I did not need to come on Tuesday because, one, the doctor was out of town, and two, my numbers were good enough not to warrant the six hour drive for the ten minute appointment. (The caller didn’t say that last part. That’s my commentary.)

Now this was good news. It means the cancer is still at bay. Not gone. At bay. Good news.

The greatest concern of my doctors is that the maintenance chemo medicine, Revlimid, does not lower my immune system too much, and it has been a balancing act since I have started. Those numbers, I guess you could say, are “normal low” for folks on Revlimid. Still, it is the most effective post-transplant treatment, so I hope to stay on it. Pray we can make it work.

"Blessed Are The Persecuted" or "How Bold Are We, Really?"

Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

There will always be God haters, and people that hate the one true God will hate those who follow Him most closely. Those believers who walk with Christ in their hearts are already experiencing at least a bit of the Kingdom of God in their lives, and they are taking it to those they are around. Believers that care for others make a difference, and show the compassionate side of Christ that most outsiders never see or consider. (See “Teaching-Preaching-Healing” from 6/29).

“Theirs is the Kingdom.” The model prayer reminds us that the Kingdom is the Father’s. This tells us that it will one day belong to those who follow. Awesome promise.

Persecution or rejection comes to those who are living an unapologetic life for Christ. If there is not enough evidence showing, our lives get little attention. Perhaps it could be stated this way:
"Blessed are you when you get persecuted because you just won’t shut up about the Truth."
"Blessed are you when you are reviled (etc.) because you act and speak so much like Jesus that you make the anti-God ones a feel uncomfortable (or, possibly, convicted)."

This passage seems to imply the greater the persecution, the greater the reward. If so, that may mean believers in parts of the world hostile to the Way may well live in the “Beverly Hills” of heaven while us westerners may live in the Condo section – but they will be very nice condos. 

The faith and boldness of believers in other parts of the world challenges me. I read yesterday of two Congolese pastors who go into the forest to share the gospel with rebel soldiers. Very dangerous, but they are certain God has called them to go. (I'll have more to say about this in my message tomorrow.) There is something about sharing your faith when it could cause you to get shot or your throat slit that is far beyond what I could imagine.

How bold are we, really?

Update
Numbers are still okay, so we may be on to something with the dosage of the maintenance chemo. My visit to both doctors, (Emory and Augusta) were mostly giving blood. I'll know my test results from Emory in about ten days. I see my local oncologist on Friday for my monthly visit. Overall, I feel good. That is a result of your prayers! Thank you. 

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are Those Who Make Peace, For They Shall Become Sons of God.

When we are making peace, we look like Jesus. Does this mean peace at any cost? Peace in spite of injustice? I don’t think so.  But we are to bring peace to others.

For years, we served orphans in Romania. Part of that is an effort to bring God's peace to lives that have been disrupted by abandonment, neglect, abuse, and violence. They need peace—external and internal peace. That peace begins with love from others, but finds permanent roots in a relationship with Christ. Believers are to be agents of peace, but realizing that God is the author of that peace.

Update
I go back to Emory tomorrow for some more blood-letting. It was ten or eleven vials three months ago. Praise the Lord for the technology that allows them to stick you once for all rather than once per vial! This is my six-month-post-transplant follow-up visit. I'll also see the doctor or one of the Nurse Practitioners, for conversations about how I am doing. The test results won't be back for a couple of weeks, but you can pray that the results are good.

Your prayers are the best thing you can do for me.