Lenten Devotions - Day 10
“You know the commandment which says, ‘Be faithful in marriage.’ But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts. If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to end up in hell.” Matthew 5:27-28
We would much rather compare ourselves to the standards of the society around us than the standards of Christ Jesus. It is much easier to compare our failings with the worst examples we can find around us. Jesus just does not allow for that kind of evaluation.
We like to grade sin. We have our scales for things like genocide, murder, abortion, homosexuality, adultery, pre-marital sex, pornography, slavery, racism, intolerance, theft, greed, and degrading others. There is some validity to the scale in that there is greater harm from some actions than from others. Perhaps we should say there is more direct or visible harm from some than others. Maybe that is the real problem with our grading scale.
Sin is sin is sin. There is just no getting around it in light of Jesus’ words. There are no big sins and little sins in Jesus’ equation. To live in adultery and to stimulate adulterous thoughts in ourselves or others is simply wrong. To rob a bank and to wish for ownership of another’s property are equally wrong. To take food away from the hungry and to gorge ourselves beyond the meeting of our needs are both wrong. Sin is sin is sin. It is failing to measure up to God’s will, design, and plan for our lives.
We want to legislate morality. We want to define acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Mostly, we want to legislate rules and restrictions for others. For ourselves, we want to find loopholes, exceptions, and excuses. What a wonderful world it would be if everyone else loved their neighbors, gave to those who requested, met everyone else’s needs, and returned good for evil—so long as I were free to enjoy the freedom of living according to my self-interested desires! Jesus’ words call us to a higher plane of living.
We are not called to play the limbo with God’s instructions for life—struggling to see how low we can get and still scrape by. Rather, we are called not only to a higher plane of experience but to the highest standard possible. We are to live by the standard that Jesus not only preached in the Sermon on the Mount but also lived all the way to the cross.
In Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare puts it this way: “’How far that little candle throws its beams.’ ‘When the moon shone, we did not see the candle.’ ‘So doth the greater glory dim the less.’” In the greater glory of Jesus’ teaching and example, the lesser standards of virtue are dimmed to extinction. It is after the greater example we are called to strive. Where am I failing to seek the standard of Christ Jesus?/span>
Focus on one area of life where you have settled for a lesser standard. Determine to live according to the standard of God’s perfect will.
“Lord, you know I am far from who I should be. Give me the courage to seek after your perfect will and purpose.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
We would much rather compare ourselves to the standards of the society around us than the standards of Christ Jesus. It is much easier to compare our failings with the worst examples we can find around us. Jesus just does not allow for that kind of evaluation.
We like to grade sin. We have our scales for things like genocide, murder, abortion, homosexuality, adultery, pre-marital sex, pornography, slavery, racism, intolerance, theft, greed, and degrading others. There is some validity to the scale in that there is greater harm from some actions than from others. Perhaps we should say there is more direct or visible harm from some than others. Maybe that is the real problem with our grading scale.
Sin is sin is sin. There is just no getting around it in light of Jesus’ words. There are no big sins and little sins in Jesus’ equation. To live in adultery and to stimulate adulterous thoughts in ourselves or others is simply wrong. To rob a bank and to wish for ownership of another’s property are equally wrong. To take food away from the hungry and to gorge ourselves beyond the meeting of our needs are both wrong. Sin is sin is sin. It is failing to measure up to God’s will, design, and plan for our lives.
We want to legislate morality. We want to define acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Mostly, we want to legislate rules and restrictions for others. For ourselves, we want to find loopholes, exceptions, and excuses. What a wonderful world it would be if everyone else loved their neighbors, gave to those who requested, met everyone else’s needs, and returned good for evil—so long as I were free to enjoy the freedom of living according to my self-interested desires! Jesus’ words call us to a higher plane of living.
We are not called to play the limbo with God’s instructions for life—struggling to see how low we can get and still scrape by. Rather, we are called not only to a higher plane of experience but to the highest standard possible. We are to live by the standard that Jesus not only preached in the Sermon on the Mount but also lived all the way to the cross.
In Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare puts it this way: “’How far that little candle throws its beams.’ ‘When the moon shone, we did not see the candle.’ ‘So doth the greater glory dim the less.’” In the greater glory of Jesus’ teaching and example, the lesser standards of virtue are dimmed to extinction. It is after the greater example we are called to strive. Where am I failing to seek the standard of Christ Jesus?/span>
Focus on one area of life where you have settled for a lesser standard. Determine to live according to the standard of God’s perfect will.
“Lord, you know I am far from who I should be. Give me the courage to seek after your perfect will and purpose.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment