Dead and Gone

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist the evil man [who injures you]; but if anyone strikes you on the right jaw or cheek, turn to him the other one too. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your undershirt (tunic), let him have your coat also. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two [miles].Give to him who keeps on begging from you, and do not turn away from him who would borrow at interest] from you. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy; But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that? You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:38-48




So I’ve had several conversations this week that made me think of these verses.

How hard is this to put into practice?

It is so easy for me to TELL you how you should respond when you are the one who has been hurt by someone but when it is me? How do I respond? Sadly, I do not always respond with love towards those who have been unloving to me.

The truth is that I want to, but then there is that whole sin thing that I struggle with.

The harsh reality is that it sucks to do the right thing, to turn the other cheek, to love as He loved and give till it hurts. Let me clarify. In the moment, it sucks, it hurts, it is painful, but only because you are mortifying your flesh. It is so opposite everything your flesh and the world tells you to do that it sometimes produces in you a physical reaction, or at least it does in me.

The question posed at the end of that passage is this: What more than others are you doing?

Isn’t that the point? That we who call ourselves Christian should resemble Him in our actions? Shouldn’t we love the unlovable and forgive the unforgivable? Aren’t we are called to live lives that show we’ve been changed?

However, its because we ARE Christians that our lives SHOULD reflect that our focus is not on the trappings of this earth but on the heavens, where our real home is. That doesn’t mean it will be easy, or that in the doing we secure our “spot” in heaven.

Charles Spurgeon said it like this:

“Precepts are not given to us as a way to obtain life, but as the way in which to exhibit life. The commands of Christ are not upon the legal tenor of "this do and live," but upon the gospel system of "live and do this.”

For me, it is all about swallowing that bitter pill called pride. How many times are we to forgive? Is it literally only seventy times seventy? Do we have the right to avenge any wrongs done to us, really? Isn’t Scripture pretty clear, that vengeance belongs to God alone? We have a shining example of how to respond to those who would mistreat us, those who would gossip about us, and those who would spitefully use us.

I know, you aren’t Jesus, I'm not either.

Trust me I struggle with this more than I want to admit, but it is something I needed to blog about. I think as believers we need to be honest about our struggles. There are times it gets overwhelming, and seems too hard (despite the promise of I Corinthians 10:13) and you just want to withdraw into yourself and check out of “all this”. Because THIS is not what you signed up for.

You feel abandoned by God and man and you ask yourself, “Why I am doing this again?”

I’ll tell you why:

Because Christ did this for YOU. He did this for ME. He came and ate with sinners. He was perfect, he had no reason to sully his garments, and yet He strode through this mess we made and became oh-so-muddy as He sought out each one of His own. As they beat Him and jammed that crown of thorns on His head He said it is finished, He was thinking of US.

We don’t have to live in the mess any more.

His act lifted us out of the muck and mire and gave us a hope that our lives have purpose and meaning. That some day we would see God face to face and instead of killing us He would call us sons and daughters.

It is for THIS reason that I continue to DO what Christ commands me to do,however imperfectly,  and in the doing I become His arms, his feet, and I share His heart with those who may or may not know that they need it. Some day though, as they look back over their lives, I believe those acts done for Christ as a sacrifice of my self will stand out to that person. To the one who meant to harm me, the one who said an unkind word or who with held comfort from me when I was at my weakest, a memory will float in and they will know there is a God, not because of me, but in spite of me.

There is a rapper who wrote a song a while back that I really enjoyed. In it he talked about all of the senseless fighting that stemmed from pride. This hook from the song for me, says it all:

"I turn my head to the east, I don’t see nobody by my side


I turn my head to the west, still nobody in sight


So I turn my head to the north, swallow that pill that they call pride


The old me is dead and gone, the new me will be alright"

The implication to me is that you’re only accountable to ONE, and He’s told you how to respond to hurts and abuses. Remember the old you? Dead and Gone. The new you? You’ll be all right.

;)