Yesterday we saw Jesus saying the way we treat a hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, or imprisoned person says something about our desire to join his kingdom. What is the consequence of this story?
The story makes it clear that Jesus’ kingdom is based on generous sacrifice. Our motivation for compassion and care is not to be someone else noticing, or that we’ll get thanked, paid back or will otherwise benefit. It’s not even entirely about the other person’s benefit.
It’s simply the right thing to do, and it’s the overflow of a relationship with God in Jesus.
The deck-building neighbour I described on Monday was also married to a great neighbour. She was a nurse, and one day she came over to check on my wife, who’d fallen asleep laying on the grass resting from gardening. This was part of that nurse’s vocation, it’s not just a job to help people in need, it’s actually part of who she is, and what she is called to do.
Christians have the same kind of vocation to love our neighbours, with friendship, words, and also our actions not because there’s something in it for us, but because it is who we are as citizens of the kingdom of God.
Sometimes this isn’t as easy as checking on a friendly neighbour – not everyone finds visiting prisoners easy, it can be scary. Serving the thirsty can mean travelling places we’d rather not see. Helping those with no clothes can be awkward!
But this is how Jesus challenges us to dispay kingdomliness. He calls us to overcome our fears, prejudices, anxiety for the sake of his kingdom and its values.
Q: List the six needs Jesus wants his followers to meet:
- The hungry
- The thirsty
- The stranger
- The naked
- The sick
- The imprisoned.
Who do you naturally have the most compassion for? Who do you find most challenging to show compassion for? Why?
Remember, we meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto. Maybe we’ll see you there?
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CloseRyan Sim - June 4, 2013
Tuesday - Study It - Judgement
Jesus said this about judgement: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5 ESV) This is one of the best known, but most misunderstood and abused sayings of Jesus. Often people will quote this passage to suggest Jesus says no one should ever judge anyone else. It makes it seem like Jesus was saying to turn a blind eye to injustice, brokenness, hurt in our world. One take on why people quote this passage, is that when we see other people hurting, we often love ourselves too much to tell the truth…we want no pain for ourselves so we let others hurt, and use this as an excuse. Jesus is not saying there should be no courts of law, no one should help another person out of a bad situation they don’t recognize. How do we know? He judged. Right in this passage, he spoke about hypocrites. He expected his followers to judge, discern, too. In the Sermon on the Mount, he told them to be more righteous than Pharisees. Later, he speaks about false prophets. He wants his followers to see the difference - to judge. You can also see, right here in this passage, he commands his followers to engage in judgement: to be aware when there is a speck in someone’s eye. So what's the difference, between good judgement and bad judgement? Good judgement is to see truth, then speak the truth in love. A healthy critique based on standards we can both recognize and try to follow is okay. As Paul said in Romans 14:4: Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4 ESV) The problem is when people go looking to judge others by standards they don’t keep. This turns to harsh self-righteousness, as if we are becoming the master of others. We all do it – if someone criticizes us – we will immediately look for a way to criticize them. We'll see more tomorrow, but first, Question: What is difference between critique and judgement?
Related Topics: Judgement | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio
From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"
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