Back to the heart of murder.

...I am not writing a book about Jesus because he is a great man who changed history. I am not tempted to write about Julius Caesar or the Chinese emperor who built the Great Wall. I am drawn to Jesus, irresistibly, because he positioned himself as the dividing point of life--my life.

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

Read

Matthew 5:20-26. Always keep in mind when reading this section what Jesus said about the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. They depended on their own righteousness, but only through Christ’s work can we be made righteous.

Think

This section is the first in a series of restatements of the law. It is interesting to me that there are only 6 here, identified by the two statements, “You have heard that it was said” and “But I say to you”. By restating the law in this way, Jesus gets to the heart of the issue. Murder is external, hate is internal. Adultery is external, lust is internal. The heart of the issue is that none of us can behave all the time. And God didn’t expect us to. That’s why there were sacrifices, the original picture of grace. Grace bridges the gap between the unattainable heart of the Law and our inability to live up to the standard of perfection.

So, what about hate? It’s pretty easy to go around not killing people. It’s not so easy to avoid despising some people. If we are going to develop within ourselves the character of God, we are going to need to work on seeing people the way He sees them. And Jesus indicates that the way we feel about someone comes out in how we talk about them. Whoever says to (or about) his brother “You good for nothing” or “You fool” is guilty, and falls short of the standard of perfection. But Jesus presents a better way.

Verses 23-26 give us a standard operating procedure when dealing with this issue.

First, we approach our worship thoughtfully, searching our lives for areas that don’t line up with the character of the One we have come to worship.

Second, when we remember that we have wronged someone, we take action. We don’t wait for that person to approach us, we immediately drop what we’re doing, even in the middle of worship. 

Third, we make it right, we make peace with our opponent, and that leads to a more peaceful life. 

Have you ever felt enslaved or imprisoned by hard feelings? We describe it in several different ways these days, prejudice, drama, but they’re all the same broken relationships. It is my prayer that we will be the kind of people who live at peace with all people as much as it depends on us.

Pray

Ask God to bring to your mind someone you’ve wronged or have hard feelings against. Then ask Him to give you the wisdom of how to restore that relationship.

Do

This takes a bit of wisdom, so if you need to talk to someone first, please do. Evaluate your relationships. Which ones are broken because of your actions? What can you do to restore them so that you are at least living in peace?

Secondly, look around you. Who do you despise? Why do you despise them? This one takes courage, so grab a friend to help. Approach someone you despise this week and start a conversation. They might think you’re weird, but it’s ok. It’s worth it.