"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount."
-- OMAR BRADLEY (1893-1981) US general
This post ends Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5-7. I've covered most things from the final chapter, but there were two teachings I wanted to bring up before moving on to chapter 8.
First is a reminder of how important is it for us to ask, seek and knock. I'll just copy the verses here since they say it all better than I could.
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
It seems Jesus wants us to remember how good and gracious God is. He is not some stingy Being who will give us snakes and rocks when we need fish and bread to eat. If you feel your diligent asking, seeking and knocking is not working, I encourage you not to give up! Trust in God's goodness in meeting your needs.
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
My Quest study Bible has this to say about this passage:
"The narrow road and narrow gate symbolize the challenge presented by the way of the kingdom. It's a road of suffering and self-denial, not the path taken by the majority."
If you go back and review all the teachings from chapters 5 through 7 then think of all the people you know who are truly living this way maybe you'll get the idea. How many of us go the extra mile, don't harbor hatred or lust in our thoughts, love our enemies, seek first the kingdom of God and store up heavenly treasure rather than hoard earthly possessions?
Remember Jesus says those who hear these sayings and put them into practice are the wise ones who will stand when the storms come.
Next time...chapter 8!
10 comments:
There is no killing of any lovely conversation than those who keep saying ( they say and i have heard).
Why do people stop looking and keep looking till they got the answer or ( Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ). It maybe means something else but i can relate to seeking knowledge from this verse.
As for your question :-
( How many of us go the extra mile, don't harbor hatred or lust in our thoughts, love our enemies, seek first the kingdom of God and store up heavenly treasure rather than hoard earthly possessions?).
Don't you think,Susanne, that by being able to do all this , then we stop being human and move into something more angelic?? .
Yes i am all for forgiving and loving and i am trying as hard as i can to be this but to that extra mile !!! i don't know, i wish.
When stuff like this said i always remember the Buddhist monks. They seem to be an out of the world creatures. So peacful. And able yo go that extra mile. But i think it needs lots of practice and understaning and knowledge.
i still believe that KNOWNLEDGE is always the key to everything including love, respect, understanding and peacefulness.
The hard part about the asking is remembering to not give up. After a while of not getting what we're asking for, it begins to feel as though we're *never* going to get it. It's difficult to take that moment and think that our timing is not God's timing.
My enthusiasm for taking the narrow way is sometimes high, sometimes not so much! I think this negative phase I am in is actually making me go back to all the things I don't want to be - self-centred, thinking of the things I want out of life and making my happiness dependent on them, overly attached to my life... all the things Jesus and many other wise people always said weren't good for us. :D
Thanks for the reminder!
Wafa', ha, ha...yes, angelic indeed! My preacher often tells us doing all this isn't just hard, it's impossible! It totally is impossible for us to do without God's help. So your description of it seems right on! :) Loved that!
Amber, yes, I have a tendency to give up too easily. You are right in reminding us that God's timing is not our own. But this patience and perseverance thing is hard for an old American used to speed and convenience!
Sarah, I struggle with the same things during my "negative times." It's hard to aspire to a higher way when you are struggling with such issues, but maybe that's the time when seeking the "high road" really pays off more, when you really see a blessing or break through. I don't know. I think I give up too many times before I get to that point. :-/
Thank you all for your lovely comments.
I saw Jesus in my dream!I saw Jesus in my dream!
I saw Jesus in my dream!
Saw he was sitting on a rock with a lamb and someone asks who is that and another voice says, why he is the son of God!
I woke up smiling. What do you think it means??
Oh, sorry ... about the post. I love it! Thanks for this :)
I think it means I told you "Sweet dreams" on your post last night and you did!
:-D
Loved that! So sweet!
I'm curious though why do you think it was Jesus since we don't have pictures of him? Can you see this link? I only want you to see the picture of Jesus and the lamb -- it's a small picture at the top left of the banner. I love it. It shows Jesus as the Good Shepherd taking care of a little lamb. :)
Ah, it might help if I include the link!
http://www.thelambschapel.org/
And sitting on a rock is very symbolic..or could be.
Do you know Jesus is the cornerstone in the Bible? The foundation if you will? The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
And also that whole thing about hearing Jesus' teachings and practicing them being like a wise man who builds his house on the rock.
Also David says in Psalm that God picks us up out the miry clay and sets our feet on the rock.
You know dreams where you don't hear anything yet you hear? You don't know yet you know? Like my first dream about Jesus I told you about? In that case it took me almost 20 years to know it was Jesus. Here I just knew it. But he didn't look like the pictures we see. He was thin and not very tall and had very dark hair and beard.
Yes, you wished me sweet dreams. Or like you once said to me about my first dream ...
My husband just thinks I'm obsessed with Jesus :)
I loved reading about your dream! I'm so glad you shared that. Phooey on your hubby for thinking you are obsessed! ;-)
Hope you are having a great week, my sweet obsessing-about-Jesus friend! I like teasing people whom I love. :-D
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