A Life Worthy

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:5-6).

You know how the prayers you speak in public are different from the ones you say in private?

Yeah…that’s a problem.  It’s not supposed to be that way.  

When we’re in public, too often we pray to impress.  We use our best theological words–sometimes incorrectly–and an impressively earnest tone of voice.  We don’t want God–or anybody else–to forget who we’re talking to, so we use His name in every sentence:

“Oh Lord, we just come to you Jesus to tell you God that we just, we just love you Lord Jesus, and we just thank you, Lord God, for your sanctimoniosity, Lord…”

We also say, “Just” a lot, though I’ve never figured out why.

The point is, you probably don’t pray that way when you’re alone with Jesus.  Then, you let it all spill out, raw and honest, not worried about how you sound because you know He understands.

That’s the prayer he’s looking for.

No, Beloved, I’m not saying that your public prayers should be rambling and random

just that they should be

real.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Be careful not to do your “acts of righteousness” before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven (Matthew 6:1).

Don’t be a poser.

I know, sometimes that’s easier said than done.  We live in a society that judges you by your social media posts.  It can be difficult to pass up the opportunity to let your friends know how giving and loving and tender-hearted and generous and basically amazing you are.  We want 1000 likes and comments of, “Wow! You’re so awesome! I wanna be like you!” Who doesn’t need a pat on the back from time to time?

But, when it comes down to it–and it always does come down to it– which would you prefer–an “attaboy” from your peers, or one from, you know, the Lord of the Universe?

Thought so.

So, again,

Don’t be a poser.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (Matthew 5:46-47)

It’s nice to be nice to the nice.

–Maj. Frank Burns, M.A.S.H. 4077

Beloved, let’s face it–some people are easy to love, and some are not.  We are called by the Lord of the Universe to love them all.

Period

It’s not the way I would have designed it, which is yet another in the ever-increasing pile of reasons to be glad I’m not God.

But consider, Beloved, that if God chose only to love those who were lovable, you and I (mostly I) would be ever so deeply doomed.

We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

I would pray that God would give you many opportunities to love unlovable people today, but then you might come for me and hurt me.  Then I would have to love you when you are being unlovable, and it would all get messy.  How ‘bout this: I pray that God grants you the grace to show His love to everyone he brings your way today.  Does that work for you?

It works for him.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:43-45).

Jesus said this.

Sometimes, I wish he hadn’t.

It’s just so stinking hard, you know?

Trust me–I just tried, a moment ago.  I prayed for someone who has caused me great, undeserved grief.  The prayer barely escaped my clenched brain and, frankly, was not as heartfelt and authentic as one might hope.

Jesus is just so much better than I am. Jesus prayed for those who mocked and beat and crucified him, even as they were doing it.  

I can’t love like that.

Honestly, I don’t even want to.

Yet

But I want to want to, and I trust that someday, by His grace, this shrivelled old heart will flow with his love and his compassion and his forgiveness and…him.

The Potter, as it happens, is not yet finished with this particular lump.

Thank God.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

You have heard it said, Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:38-39).

The concept of Eye for an Eye has been misappropriated.  The way I understand it, the idea was one of limiting punishment, not intensifying it. The rule fit the punishment to the crime, and kept the offended party from going on a revenge rampage. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that people were actually taking eyes and teeth and limbs; God was simply establishing an upper limit on retribution.

Somewhere along the line, the idea devolved into, “You hurt me–I hurt you!”

With much growling and grunting and flaring of nostrils and gnashing of teeth.

As you may have noticed, that’s not what Jesus is about.

The world teaches us from an early age to stand up for our rights, and not to let anyone walk all over us. And here is Jesus, telling us the opposite.

What do we do with this?

I want to be really careful about speaking for Jesus, but I think there are a couple of points to keep in mind here.  First, this is a general principle, not meant to cover every encounter. I don’t think Jesus is counseling the battered wife or the abused child to keep absorbing punishment.  Nor do I think Jesus wants us to stand by passively while another is hurt or abused. The need to stand up to evil is deep within us, and I think that desire is from God.

The principle here is that we do not belong to ourselves.  When we get consumed with our rights and our hurts and what we deserve we forget that we have been bought with a price. We are not our own.  Jesus, as he spoke these words, was preparing to face greater personal pain and loss and humiliation than you and I can imagine.  But he wasn’t going to call for vengeance. He was going to trust the Father–who loved him and cared for him and was totally capable of protecting him–to use this nightmare for his own glory. Which was what Jesus lived for.

It’s not about you, Beloved.

It’s not even about me.

It’s about Him.  

Happy Monday.