I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
We are called to a righteousness that comes from within. The scribes and Pharisees put on a decent show. People probably look at them and think they are holy people. But the things that go on in their hearts are not holy and not beautiful. Jesus wants us all to be more one piece, defined by integrity. We can't simply avoid killing while dreaming of killing. We can't not kill and then let the evil the stems from the desire to kill overflow into other actions which seem less than that great sin, but which stem from the same source.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Righteousness is indeed about more than passing feelings. It is about how motivation influences action. We can't simply suppress or ignore a broken relationship. We have to actually seek to repair it. Actually repairing it is out of our hands, but simply seeking to do so transforms us. We gain freedom from the motivations which caused the relationship to break down in the first place. We begin to act out of a genuine desire for the life and well-being of our brother. When we find our thoughts shaping our actions in ways that do not please God we take these thoughts captive to Christ (see Second Corinthians 10:5). We act and pray as Jesus would have us pray for the reasons Jesus would have us do so. When we first begin this practice we may feel as phony as Pharisees. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus and ask his Spirit to fill us he really will begin to put his own love into our hearts. The one who prayed for those who crucified him prays for us. And he prays in us for everyone in the world. No one, no matter who guilty, is ineligible for his lavish love.
The LORD does not delight in the death of sinners. He hates to see us suffer. He wants us all to come to him for life.
Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?
says the Lord GOD.
Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way
that he may live?
Life and flourishing can only happen when our inner life and outer life are unified by the transforming power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
No comments:
Post a Comment