Christian Living

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We ought to have a holy fear of allowing God's people to be divided and split asunder by traditions, opinions or any such thing in light of our Savior's prayer, John 17:11. We never seem to be uneasy at ignoring it year after year. The old saying, Divide and conquer, works exceedingly well for the devil, and he is adept at its use. Creeds, dogmas, inherited religion and regular church attendance are not going to get it, if that's all there is, my dear Christian brothers and sisters. Every jot and tittle of the old law was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross, and it was replaced by His grace and truth. That's why our Savior died. It's the heart that has to be changed, not outward behaviors. The whole judgment scene in Matt. 25 is limited to the treatment of those in need (the least of these). The First Commandment is to love God, the second to love one another. These are pre-eminent. The first puts the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit first in our lives, constantly aware that we are living in the Presence. The second means taking care of the least of these among us without qualifying circumstances, for that will be reckoned as our care for Christ Himself. It is the essence of love for one another. If these are acknowledged and practiced, the other facets of Christianity will fall into place quite naturally. Sometimes our religious "busyness" has the wrong emphasis, is in the wrong arena and echoes hollowly on listeners' ears. The two Great Commandments must be operative in our lives before following Christ has any meaning.

Please, I beg you, read the following Scriptures with your heart wide open and listening to the words of the Son of God:

"You have heard it said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say unto you, 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for those that despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven for He makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward have you? Do not the publicans do the same?'" Matt. 5:43-46

"Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you render, it will be rendered to you also.." Matt. 7:l,2

"These people draw nigh to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me teaching for doctrine the commandments (traditions)of men." Matt. 15: 8,9

Let our hearts be bound together endevouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, not split asunder by the opinions, traditions and dogmas of mere men. Let's do what we can to be part of the answer to the dear Savior's prayer that we might all be one.

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