Monday, July 18, 2016

Week 144: NO Exemptions



                             NO Exemptions!
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. Hebrews 10:38  

• Prejudice. . .
• Superiority. . .
• Hate. . .

                Back when I taught school, I would sometimes test my students with a trick question to see how much they learned—not just guessing and faking their way through.

 Jesus, the Master Teacher, knows how to get right to the POINT of what we’ve learned. He cuts through all the hypocrisy and aims straight for the heart. We can’t fake our way through this one simple, but yet; complex commandment: Love thy neighbor as thyself. (Mark 12:31)
        This commandment taps into the very foundation of Christianity.

                                        
What makes this commandment so complex?  Let’s exam its brilliancy: 

People come in all different shapes and sizes with varying degrees of intelligence. They have different likes and dislikes. Some people are full of love; some full of hate. Opposing ideologies will cross over into someone’s comfort zone. Diverse religious interpretations are as vast as the capacity to comprehend. There are different races, customs, cultures, and social standings that give innumerable perspectives on how the world is seen. And, what seems clearly simple to some, is muddied and mysterious to others.

The recognizable differences are far more than what I have just listed. YET, with all the dissimilarities, Jesus lumped us altogether on earth and said: Love thy neighbor as thyself!
                                             Brilliant!
This directive digs deep into the depths of our hearts. It reveals everything that Jesus needs to know about us. However, many fail this test every day with prejudice, hate, greed, unforgiveness, jealousy, as they walk around with a false sense of superiority. Nevertheless, they will arrogantly argue that they are Christians—followers of Christ. Hmmm!

If we don’t keep God’s commandments, perhaps He’s not our Father.
                                       (John 8:42-47)   

For one reason or another, some people are deceived into thinking that love thy neighbor doesn’t apply to them. They will come up with all kinds of explanations as to why they are excluded from this MANDATE.
                        Sorry, NO Exemptions Given!

© 2016                          See you next week on Paulette Talks Faith

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