I was reading a letter the other day from a man named Paul to some friends of his in Corinth. Here’s what he says:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
Wow !!! That’s powerful stuff I thought. If we have Faith to move mountains yet have not love it counts for nothing. Even if we give all we own to the poor? I’m not so sure about the burning body bit; but this man is over the top I tell you.
Let’s see what Jesus has to say about this.
“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 neighbour as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39.
What?
Love my neighbour? You mean the man who lives a few houses down the road? How far should a man live before he ceases to be my neighbour? 3 Houses? 5? 10? More? This man down the road allows his dog to foul in front of my house, even in my front garden. And I have to love him? I bet Jesus did not have neighbours like him.
Love the guy driving that big van this morning and keeping a distance of just three inches from the back of my car? And hooting his horn time and again even though I was driving within the speed limit. Perhaps he was in a hurry to go to the toilet !
Love that obnoxious pompous boss at work who seems to delight in making everyone suffer? Love him even though he has a hairy pimple on his nose?
Love that woman in church who always looks down on people as if she has a permanent bad smell under her nose? Maybe she should stop eating beans. She looks at people from on top of her glasses so as not to wear out the lenses.
Jesus wants me to love all those people? Including all the boring ones?
I always thought God created boring people so that we may appreciate normal ones ... not to love them.
Is this what Jesus says? Love everyone? And He goes on:
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:27-31.
And there I was thinking that going to Heaven is a matter of ticking the right boxes:
Baptism? Done that. Tick.
Go to church on Sundays? Done that. Tick.
A few more ticks here and there and my passport and visa are ready for me to enter Heaven !!!
On reflection, being a Christian is much more difficult than it seems at first.
"Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in Heaven wants them to do." Matthew 7:21.
In other words – There are no parrots in Heaven.
That is not the only Word spoken to us through the scriptures Victor. We are told that if someone has something against us we go to that person, shouldn't you do that to the woman who looks down upon others? :-) It looks like, according to how you are thinking, so many should be approaching you that you would be trampled upon. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou forget that I am a coward. If I approached the man who lets his dog foul the sidewalk, or the van driver who was too close to my car, or my boss, or the woman in church or whatever; they would beat me up.
DeleteGod bless, Brenda.
You haven't got the gist of my text Victor. It is those that you have something against (which are many) that would be approaching YOU, and trampling you down. :-)
DeleteI'd better run ... fast!
DeleteGod bless.
Ha ha, keep running.
DeleteIt's not so easy being who God wants us to be. I can see why it will take a lifetime to meet those requirements. I'm glad that as we grow older, our life changes. Things that seem important years ago are now discarded for our newer understandings, at least I hope so. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right Bill. As we grow older we perceive things differently. And I still find it difficult liking the boring people. One in particular at work. He sends me to sleep he is so boring.
DeleteGod bless you my friend.
I never thought that getting into heaven would be as easy as knocking on heaven's door and being invited in for tea and being given a tour of my new home...but I can see now that I have more work to do before I pack my bags and buy that one way ticket to paradise.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminders Victor.
God's Blessings ✝
I bet when I knock on heaven's door it will open outwards and hit me in the face, leaving St Peter laughing out loud. Abbreviated to SPLOL.
DeleteGod bless you, Jan.
Perhaps, this Bible passage is specifically directed at ME!
ReplyDeleteAs I've gotten 'older' and progressively 'sicker', I've deliberately withdrawn from people -- including many of my 'friends' and 'family members'. I don't even TRY to keep in-touch with them very often; because I consider myself to be too much of a 'burden' for them -- and, because I'm also living in poverty, they have a tendency to offer me 'unsolicited advice' that I find to be either, 'uninformed', 'judgmental' or 'intrusive'. While I have always 'loved' them; I now find it very difficult to 'BE' OR 'ACT' more 'loving' towards them.
Suzanne, you may have misjudged them. I don't know if you did, but maybe. Maybe they miss you.
DeleteHi Suzanne,
DeleteI believe I understand how you feel. And I can see how sometimes people wish to withdraw from family and friends they once knew especially when their circumstances change. My only "unsolicited advice" to you is that you pray for these people. Tell God how you feel about yourself. Your situation. Tell Him how you feel about these people; just as you have told us here. You'll find God more loving and understanding than any of us. Tell Him why and how you find it difficult to be or act more loving. I am sure God will help you see them in a different light; and He will also help them see you in a different light also.
I am praying for you Suzanne.
God bless.
A powerful message.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandi.
DeleteGod bless.
Thank you for this timely reflection! Happy day to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Cathy.
DeleteGod bless you.
What Jesus asks of us is a tall order, Victor, and one we can never hope to carry out unless we rely on Him to lead us in paths for His righteousness sake.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, there are no parrots in heaven!
Blessings!
I agree Martha. It is a tall order indeed. To love everyone no matter how bad or evil they are. We certainly need His help in this.
DeleteGod bless you always.
I draw the line at tunic taking. I'm working on not disliking my neighbors, have not yet come close to loving them.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should try harder at loving our neighbours, JoeH. Let's start by praying for them.
DeleteGod bless.
Tall orders, indeed! I was, "Oh well, OK …" until you got to the part about one's enemies. THAT's going to require some help. Only this morning, our pastor spoke -- verbatim -- about checking off (tick!) the right boxes. Great minds!
ReplyDeleteYes it is a tall order, Mevely. Yet many people just see Christianity as a tick list, checking off, what is needed to enter Heaven.
DeleteGod bless, my friend.
The only way i have found to love "those" people is to pray for them. You can't not love them when you are praying for them. You might be frustrated with them or upset with their behavior, but you will love them.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Mimi. You cannot not love someone you are praying for.
DeleteGod bless.
I sometimes think that if I died tomorrow I would go straight into heaven....but other times I think there's NO WAY they'd let me in.
ReplyDeleteKathy, the Lord loves you and would want you to be with Him for eternity in Heaven. He does not exclude people from Heaven. People exclude themselves from Heaven by turning their back on God. Look always to Him for strength and encouragement at the times you feel as you describe.
DeleteGod bless you and yours always.
This is so good, Victor. Your last line is like a sermon-in-a-sentence!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Diane.
DeleteGod bless you always.