IT TAKES MORE THAN LIP SERVICE
Matthew 10: 12 Jesus speaking to His Apostles:
Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him before you leave. As you enter his house salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you. And if anyone does not welcome or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town, shake the dust from your feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgment it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town. Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
Beware of men: they will hand you over to the Sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say: what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your father will be speaking in you.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
America has reached an apex over the last week. Our beliefs and our behaviors have been challenged as a people unlike ever before.
I have mentioned before in my writings, that you may be the only Jesus that many will ever meet.
The passage, above, that I have attached to this writing was not necessarily written for yesterday. It was written for today. It was not written as much solely for America as it was written for the whole world of today. The challenges of today are no different than the above message was written for the world of 2,000 years ago. The religious leaders of those days were frightened of Jesus’ one message.
The primary message of Jesus, to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER means to love the people next to us, the people around us, the family we share with, the people that mean the most to us. Love the neighbor as yourself. The text from Matthew is about the challenge of the message to all of us. The message of Jesus when He spoke to His apostles dealt with how difficult the message was to be absorbed by others.
Make no mistake, Jesus set in motion a new standard that was accepted by so many that it threatened so many of those whose power was based on a whole different standard than loving and caring for one another.
Many segments of the world are still afraid of losing power to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Many segments of the world have learned over the years that those unlike them are people to be afraid of. LOVE ONE ANOTHER threatened their own security.
In our country our democracy is based on our forefathers and their declaration of Independence and their Constitution.
“All Men are created equal”.
“With Liberty and Justice for ALL”.
The years have shown that “All men are created equal” and “Liberty and Justice for All” seems to be more of Lip Service than reality. The events of this last year have proven that the sacrifices of many to LOVE ONE ANOTHER, over many years, have been challenged again. Our country has proven that a majority of America believes in the message of Jesus. Everywhere one turns the first responders, the doctors and nurses and care givers and food providers have risked their lives for one another.
But there have also been those for whom “Shake the dust from your feet” is applicable to those afraid of LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
It takes more than LIP SERVICE to be the hands of JESUS. Whether we approach Jesus as the son of GOD, or as a very wise man spreading a message of hope from a Cross.
Jesus encapsulated a personal message from the Cross. “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do”. Much of what has occurred this last year has brought the Jesus challenge to the forefront and a great many of the people embrace it. 2,000 years ago Jesus said it would not be easy. Jesus lived the challenge of His ministry 2,000 years ago, and today that challenge remains waiting for you to be the hands of Jesus, the mouthpiece of LOVE ONE ANOTHER and a home that Jesus shares time with.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER takes more than LIP SERVICE. Hundreds of thousand’s of people can attest that LOVER ONE ANOTHER does not belong to one church, or one nation or one race or one anything. Get to know that Jesus, not as a historical figure, but as your friend.
AMEN