This week’s reading: Matthew 18:1-35
Hi Friends,
This week, let’s talk about a couple of different points that all come together under the truth that our loving Father, loves everyone, and desires for us to love one another too. This is so basic for God that it is the last commandment Jesus passes on to us before He gives up His life for us, so we can love God and one another. We will be reading all of chapter 18 in the Gospel of Matthew this week, that’s verse 1 through 35. First, we will deal with the disciples questioning who is greatest in the kingdom and the surprising answer Jesus gives them. Then we visit the Parable of the Lost Sheep to see how God never gives up on the lost. Then we touch on Church discipline because we must learn to be of one mind and kindred spirit. And finally we wrestle with the importance of forgiveness, because if we harbor any ill feelings towards others, then how can we love them? Listen here to these important words of Jesus:
“And he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” Mt 18: 3-6 NIV
Little children. I have said before, and will continue to say, one of the most loving, and relieving names we believers can be called is a child of God. (Jn 1:12) Children can be so innocent. They believe any story adults tell them. When the disciples argue about who is the greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus points to the pure trust children live by and says it is the requirement to enter Heaven. Thinking with a worldly mind, who except those with child-like Faith, would believe that the God of all Creation came into this world as one of us, and began His earthly life as the Babe in the manger? Who would believe that He remained sinless all of His 33 years on this planet, then surrendered Himself to the Father, and sacrificed Himself to pay for the sin of the world? Who would believe, having cancelled this debt, He would rise again from the dead, killing death itself while passing final judgment on Satan and his demons? Who would believe this, but a child? And so, as Jesus proclaims, if you want to be the greatest in Heaven, then you must be changed into this child who chooses to simply believe what God has said and done. This requires one thing from each of us: humility. Humbling ourselves means we admit that we cannot save ourselves. Humbling ourselves means we admit we do not know it all. Humbling ourselves frees us from having to save ourselves and know it all. Do we see this? It is the ultimate Freedom. Humbling ourselves to become like a little child that simply believes the Father has already done it all for us. Faith in God’s Grace. Not because children deserve anything…they are still messing up…a…lot. But because of God’s Grace. Other words for grace are: generosity, kindness, goodwill, honor, favor and respect. It is because of God’s generosity that He forgives those who humble themselves. It is because of His kindness and goodwill towards mankind that He honors and favors us. And do you see that last word? Respect? God respects every human too. This might mean allowing us to choose to NOT be called His child. God is a Gentle Father. He would never force anyone against their own will to humble themselves and surrender their lives to Him. We must choose for ourselves or that’s not humility. That’s coercion. If we do not WANT to be with Him, He respects that decision. I don’t think there will be anything more tragic in the End of Times than those who never humbled themselves, but still think their own efforts will save them. Hear this sobering quote from CS Lewis, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’” My Friends, if you have never surrendered, choosing to place all your Faith in what God the Father has given us, what God the Son has done for us and what God the Holy Spirit desires to grant us, then won’t you stop right now, bow your head and become like a little child?My Friends, just believe Him.
Every human is precious. In the days of the Bible, and possibly now too, children were not given much worth. Many times they were dismissed. Many times they were just a source of problems. Many times they were discarded because they were thought of as an inconvenience…does this current culture still think the same about our precious babies? To God, however, every human is precious. I am sure it surprised the disciples when Jesus called a little child to stand next to Him. I am sure they were confused when Jesus claimed that we all have to be changed into a child if we have any hope of entering Heaven. I am sure they did not understand the worth God places on every single human being, no matter their age. I say it again, every human is precious to God. We must stop assigning our own idea of worth to each human and simply learn to love them, wherever they may be. Whether these are children of God who have already believed and begun to follow Christ, as well as those who are still lost. Just to emphasize His point, Jesus gives His disciples the Parable of the Lost Sheep. (We can also read this parable in Luke 15:4-7) How precious are all humans? God is willing to leave the 99 behind to pursue that one wandering sheep. Of course, He never leaves the 99 on their own. Jesus says the shepherd leaves the 99 on the hills, most likely attended by the other shepherds who partner with this shepherd. Then he seeks to rescue the lost one, never giving up on finding him, up until the end. This, of course, is a picture of Jesus who came to seek the lost. (see Lk 19:10) And least we label only others as lost, do not forget we were ALL lost at one time. Those of us who have already surrendered our lives to Jesus are safe and sound in the Holy Spirit forevermore, like the 99 on the hills. But what about those who remain lost sheep? They are equally precious to God, and so Jesus desires to seek, find and save them too. And He desires to use you and me, who have already been saved, to bring the lost into the fold. This is one of the reasons Sanctification is so vital for every believer. When we begin to grow in Christ, we will live like Jesus and want to seek, find and help save the lost too. As we grow in Christ, we begin to live a life that reflects the heart of God, and His heart says, every human is precious. My Friends, just imitate Him.
Love is all about unity. Jesus then talks about how to deal with someone in the Church that is sinning against his brothers and sisters. There is an order to everything God has done, and this is no exception. If anyone has hurt you: 1- go to them, one on one, and talk it through. We must do so humbly, of course, and open to the truth that maybe we did something to provoke the issue. This is never about who is right or who is wrong, but more about reconciling any differences. The goal is to be of one heart and mind with one another. If something happens that interferes with this, then we must be mature enough to deal with it. We go to the other person, not to our sympathetic friends, not to the Pastor and certainly not to anyone outside of the church. We talk things through with the offender, one on one, desiring to restore the relationship. If that person refuses to listen to you, then 2- bring two or three others who desire to make peace. This again is not your friends who will only throw more fire on an already burning bush. They should be objective, wanting to get at the truth of the matter, not just to side with anyone in particular. This requires us and the witnesses we bring to be humble and listen with an open heart. Again, the goal is unity. If the offender still refuses to listen then, 3- bring in the Pastor, the elders and all off the church members. Now it should be an issue for the whole congregation because, if one part of the Body is injured, the whole Body needs to seek its healing. Again, healing, reconciliation, unity is the goal. Sadly, if the offender still refuses, then 4- excommunication is the only choice. This too though is with the hope of bringing them to their senses and humbling them to surrender, repent and become one again with the church. Some would call this “shunning,” which is so highly misunderstood. In Biblical days, people’s lives were intimately associated with their congregation. They did everything together, so to be shunned, to be kicked out of that community, was devastating for them. Perhaps we do not see it this way now and so do not understand the point to putting someone out of the Church. Again the aim is to help the person analyze themselves and change their heart, mind and behavior. If they do this, then they are more than welcomed back. If they do not, were they ever a true believing member of that church in the first place? My point is Jesus is always looking to join us together, as one, under Himself. Again think Body here. Which one of us if we are diagnosed with a removable tumor, that does not belong in our body and is causing us all sorts of pain and problems, would not remove it? And so too we must seek a healthy and united Church. Anyone who is not following Jesus and God’s Word, anyone who refuses to humble himself and become like little child, anyone who is causing problems instead of seeking to be part of the solution, must not be allowed to continue to fellowship. This is God’s Order for the Church. My Friends, just follow Him.
Forgiveness is key to the Christian life. If you and I were not forgiven by God, we wouldn’t even be a member of His Forever Family! Because we are commanded to love God and one another, we must forgive. And how many times? Listen to Jesus; “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Mt 18:22 NKJV) We must forgive others the same amount of times God forgives us, without limit. In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, I believe the disparity between what the ungrateful servant owes the king (ten thousand talents which would be millions of dollars) and what his victim owes him (a hundred denarii which would be only a few dollars) is on purpose. It is meant to show us the difference between our enormous offenses toward God verses the small offenses of others towards us. Forgiveness cancels debt, all of it- past, present and future. Forgiveness never say it is ok, but it does say, because I love you, I will not hold any of it against you. I will not allow the offense to come between us. I refuse to let it divide us. Again, unity is the point. If we love like God loves, then oneness is the ultimate intention. But intentions alone bless no one. We must act on those intentions. I say this because, if you have ever said to yourself, “I forgive that person who did that horrible thing to me,” but you refuse to act differently towards them, did you forgive them? True forgiveness is not lip service. We do not only say, you are forgiven, but we set the person free from having to repay any debt. See this? My Friends, this is exactly what Jesus has done for each of His children. We no longer have to do things in order to get right with God. As a matter of fact, it is BECAUSE we are right with God that we do the good works we should be doing. Not to get something, but because He has already given us everything. This Freedom of being Forgiven, as with all the other gifts God so generously gives us, is meant to be given away to others. It is what is different about the children of God. Because we have been forgiven much, we can, and will, forgive others too. This is an act of love. Not because the other person deserves it, but because we have no right to hold on to a grudge. And if we do, it never helps us, but it only hurts us. As the saying goes, not forgiving others is like you eating poison hoping the other person dies. We think we are harming the offender, but we are really only harming ourselves. The animosity steals our joy. The negative thoughts about that person kills our ability to love. The Pride, because that is what refusing to forgive others comes down to, is destroying our witness. Steal, kill and destroy. This is the enemy’s agenda all day, every day. (see Jn 10:10) But Jesus has come…does this make any difference in us or not? It should. And it should cause us to forgive others as we have been forgiven. My Friends, just forgive them.
The greatest of these is love. Everything should come down to this most vital virtue. It is because God loves everyone that children are so precious to Him when others may dismiss or disregard them. It is because God loves everyone that He would leave the 99 behind and search for that one lost soul. It is because God loves everyone, that making sure the Church stays unified and unhindered so it can continue to grow, is a major concern for Jesus. And it is because God loves everyone that we must forgive one another as we have been forgiven, so that we can have relationships that imitate the Love of God. Love doesn’t mean we forgive and stay in an abusive relationship. That’s not love. That’s codependency. That’s enabling. That’s unhealthy and not what Jesus is talking about here…or anywhere else in the Bible. We are to forgive so we can love them in whichever way God leads us to do so. This might mean shunning them. But again, the goal is to help them see where they have gone wrong, so that they can humble themselves, and become like a little child. God is looking for His children, pursuing us with His forgiving heart filled with Grace. Little children are adorable, but we cannot have a full relationship with them. They are still very needy. They are still very immature. They are still very selfish. God’s Grace allows for this. He would rather have an immature child than to have a lost human. Yet if you and I really want the Abundant Life Jesus died to give us, then the more mature we become, the more we can interact with God and learn to love Him and one another as much as our level of maturity will allow. Remember, we were created to love and be loved. The only way to a truly fulfilling life is to carry out this purpose. And the more I work with God to grow me up, the more that is exactly what my life centers on, and the more amazing my life gets. Will you choose to just believe, just imitate, just follow and just forgive? This is what humble little children do. Yes, it is a learning and growing process, and I am so thrilled and honored to be a part of it…won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
