the words of Jesus

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My Neighbor

I work part time as a driving instructor.  I am well versed on the rules of the road.  I know exactly how other drivers are supposed to drive.  In light of the general way people drive; this is a dilemma for someone trying to not be judgmental.  Driving has become the proving grounds of my sinful nature.  In-other-words while driving, I prove myself a sinner.  I frequently blurt out expletives like jerk and idiot.

Monday I was driving to my house after a driving lesson.  As all Americans seem to be, I was in a hurry.  I came to an intersection where I was turning right.  I stopped correctly behind the crosswalk before moving forward to make my right turn on red.  However, the gentleman in the left turn lane stopped all the way across the crosswalk, blocking my view of the cross traffic.  I was grateful that he slowed me down and made me wait for the light; not really.  After my usual pronouncement of his lack of intelligence and moral character, I was struck by the thought, he’s my neighbor.  I found myself changing from annoyance to compassion.  I thank the Holy Spirit for the thought.

The rest of the journey home was occupied by thinking about “my neighbor”.  Jesus made some clear statements about our neighbors such as: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19).  Yep, I was falling painfully short of loving my neighbor.  That afternoon, I started reading through the scriptures about my neighbor.  In Luke 10: 29-37 Jesus responds to the question, “And who is my neighbor?” with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  The Samaritans were hated by the Jewish people of Jesus’ time.  By using the Samaritan as the good guy of the story, Jesus nailed the prejudice of the time.  Today, perhaps the story would be of the Good Muslim or in the Middle East, the Good Christian.

My conclusion, after my study, is that everybody I come into contact with is my neighbor.  All the man in the left turn lane needed from me was patience and compassion.  Everyone I meet needs at least that.  A smile and an encouraging word would be nice, but they certainly don’t need my judgement.  Every day I obviously fall short of perfection, but I have the Holy Spirit to reminding me of the words Jesus spoke.  With his help I plan to be a better neighbor.  If we should run into each other someday, just know I’d be delighted to be treated like your neighbor.  I’ll try to respond with the same recognition.  God bless you neighbors.

Author’s note:

This has been a challenging week of trying to love my neighbor.  I have been reminded of how desperately I need the salvation Jesus bought for me on the cross.  Lord thank you for your mercy and grace, Amen.

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Love and the Ten Commandments

If you truly love someone you will treat them well.  You will honor them, and you will certainly not murder them.  You will not cheat on them, steal from them, lie about them, or covet what they have.  At least, if you love them, you will surely try.

To pull this off you’ll have to be patient, kind, not envious, and not work to look more important than the person you love.  I can’t imagine that you’d be rude to them or easily angered by them.  When they‘ve wronged you, you’d forgive and forget.  You’d protect them, trust them, and hope the best for them.

You may have guessed that what I’ve done here is to connect the Ten Commandments and Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.  The Ten Commandments are not just rules to contain us, they are truly about love.  The first four commandments are about loving God.  The other six are about loving each other.  You cannot adhere to the Ten Commandments without love.  As a matter of fact, if you don’t love God or your fellow humans, why would you even try to adhere to the Ten Commandments?

Jesus summed it up this way: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  “This is the first and greatest commandment.”  “And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)  There you have it.  Love is at the root of what God commands.  Love as well as you can, and ask God to increase the love in your heart.

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Who Is This Jesus?

One of my favorite passages of scripture is Colossians 1: 15-17.  In this passage Paul gives us an insight into who Jesus really is.  He writes:

He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

The last statement, “in him all things hold together,” always intrigues me.  When considering atoms, the invisible building blocks of the whole universe, the question has always been what holds an atom together?  Perhaps the answer is Jesus.  And, of course, I have had to ask myself, what would happen if he let go?  Well, the reality is that Jesus holds all things together, whatever that actually means, and this points to the ultimate power of our savior.  The one who humbled himself and came to earth in human form is the all-powerful Creator God.

Sharing about this scripture shines light on how ridiculous were the struggles I shared about in last week’s post.  Jesus is God in the fullest sense.  He has been given complete authority over all things.  He is the supreme ruler over all of creation.  What he did for us shows his amazing character, and warrants him eternal praise and thanksgiving.

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Jesus is God

Reading the Gospels became really difficult for me several years ago.  Jesus’ words seemed harsh and prideful even arrogant.  What? You may ask yourself.  Well, please bear with me.  You know that confession is good for the soul.  Yes, I found myself avoiding the Gospels for they were troublesome to me.  Finally, for I am slow to get around to dealing with spiritual problems, I asked the Holy Spirit for help.  The answer to my dilemma was, as it usually is, simple.

I was reading the words of Jesus with the mindset that he is just a man.  I was judging him based on the idea that these are the words of a man.  Man capable of sin if you will.  Wow, this sounds horrible doesn’t it, yet that is where I was.  First, the Holly Spirit reminded me that Jesus is wholly God.  He is also wholly man, but he is without sin.  If Jesus had sinned, salvation would not have been possible.  Through these clarifying reminders, the Spirit led me to a place of repentance.

I now read the Gospels with enthusiasm and delight.  My mindset is that of walking beside my God as he speaks.  I was walking in pride with my judgments, and it blinded me.  Praise be to God for his great mercy and deliverance.

There are still words and situations in the Gospels that I don’t understand.  But who fully understands God?  I understand that God’s ways are not my ways, and his thoughts are not my thoughts (see Isaiah 55:8&9).  So, when I don’t understand, that’s when trust comes in.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).  Psalm 25:10 says, all the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.  I believe the Lord is loving and faithful, so therefore I am now comforted by the words of Jesus.