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Friday January 10 - Be sacrificial
“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away...”
Matthew 5:29
The sermon does not get any easier to the ear. Whatever causes you to sin, cut it out of your life – irrespective of whether it’s your eye or your hand; Matthew 18:8 extends this further to include your foot! If this is to be taken literally, we would all be blind and limbless! Jesus uses such dramatic language to underline the seriousness of the consequences of sin. He makes it clear that we need to take drastic action to avoid giving in to temptation. What does this mean in practical terms? Perhaps it means giving up friends, refusing that first drink, destroying that photo / letter or eradicating every trace of unhealthy memorabilia of your past, restricting access to the internet, stopping frequenting certain places...
God takes sin seriously – so much so that he sacrificed his Son to destroy sin’s mastery over us. Therefore we need to take sin seriously ourselves, if necessary being prepared to make painful sacrifices to break its power. Throughout the week we have considered Jesus’ call to righteousness, to reconciliation, to decisive action, to purity, and today to sacrifice. It will be costly – Jesus warns us, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). So let’s not become soft on sin. May Jesus’ ‘shocking’ hyperbole wake us up from our spiritual malaise!
Holy Spirit, please make clear anything I need to forsake in order to align myself more fully with your word, for your glory. Amen.
Saturday January 11 - Be faithful
“But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual
immorality, makes her the victim of adultery...” Matthew 5:32
Pharisees had normalised divorce, giving men the right to remarry over petty matters. A discarded wife was often left destitute and tragically considered as ‘soiled’. In the culture of the day, the husband alone had the right to claim divorce; marriage had become devalued, fidelity was ignored and women demeaned. What’s more, religious leaders were guilty of creating laws to suit themselves, holding people to the letter of the law while totally losing sight of its central pillar – namely, in Jesus’ words, to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Laws need to be applied through the filter of love for God and love for our neighbour. Love remains the fulfilment of the law (Romans 13:10). Concerning adultery, the severity of punishment reflects the sanctity and importance of marriage. It is impossible to address such complex issues in a daily reflection, but I will say two things. God’s grace is greater than our sin. Divorce is not the unforgivable sin; when we truly repent, God’s grace brings life-giving forgiveness and healing into play. The second thing is that, despite what society says, God’s definition and intention for marriage is unchangeable.
Father, we come to you in need of grace and wisdom, both for ourselves and for those around us. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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PRAYER FOR TODAY