MORE!

Why?  Why in heaven’s name why?  Yesterday’s blog ended with those words.  Well, Jesus tells us why in the next three verses:

 1.  Because we are to represent God to people. Matthew 5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God treats everybody the same – He so agape loved the whole world that He sent His son.  He shows His agape love and His mercy towards both the just and the unjust. He cares about both the just and the unjust.  He desires good for both the just and the unjust. So should we.

 2.  We are to be about doing more.   [46] For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

This, right here, is what has taken me to a new level with the Lord. it’s a memorial stone for me.  What do you do more than others?  Anybody can love those who love them. Anybody can be nice to their brethren (those they feel like they are close to and want to be close to).  Even the tax collectors, those the Jews would consider the real scum of the earth, do that.  Anybody can withhold bad.  Nowhere in Scripture does God view withholding bad as a really supernatural thing. Jesus is calling us to do more.  He’s calling us to do things that the world can’t do.  He’s talking about kingdom living. The blessed life is about doing more.

We live with all of these temptations.  And, too often, we settle for avoidance of sin.  Kingdom living is more.  It’s about doing good for others.  It’s about showing God to others.  We don’t do that by just not being bad or by just biting our tongue or not lashing out.  We do it by blessing, by giving, by sacrificing for the betterment of someone else.

Consider Jesus, sitting there on one of those hills on the shore of the Galilee and knowing the hearts of so many in his audience – selfish hearts – petty hearts, trying to determine just how they can make the law fit their lives.  And there’s Jesus, knowing He is soon to give all – to be cursed, to be hated, to be spitefully used and persecuted – to the very point of death. Jesus lived this sermon and He expects us to live it also.

This is God stuff. You see, if we listen to this sermon with our natural minds, it’s impossible.  The legalism in you might try, but you would hear it as just more rules and try to define them.  You’d end up missing the point and be no more God-minded or other minded than you were before.If you are prone towards leaning on grace, you may not even try.  You’d just tell yourself the blood of Jesus Christ covers all sin and you too would be no different.

But, something happens when we listen with our spirits, doesn’t it?  As hard and as impossible in our own strength these things are – there’s something in us that wants it, that bears witness to it.  There is something in us that says, “ this is really what kingdom living is”.  And,  you want it.  Remember the two people I wrote about in Monday's blog?  That’s what it was like for them.  When they said what they thought God would have them do – they were very aware of how it grinded against their flesh – but at the same time, there was this look on both of their faces that said – yeah – it would feel really good to do what God is asking – to do more than anyone would expect. And like I said – they discovered a piece of kingdom living – the blessed life. The life that satisfies the soul; the life that honors God.  Living in the kingdom realm is doing things you can do only because of God and want to do only because of God.  So the last verse of Matthew 5 isn’t intimidating at all.

Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Perfection for us, as it is defined here speaks of what Christian maturity looks like.  There were then, and there still are, a lot of opinions of what a spiritual Christian looks like.  This sermon straightens it all out.  This perfection, this maturity, that God is looking for in us is having the supreme goal in our life of becoming more and more like God. Considering that is worth any sacrifice God calls us to make.  Jesus gave all. Certainly we can give more!