1 Thessalonians 2:15
who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through him the world could be saved! In including God in every decision we make and loving others in the same love that He brought bodily to earth in Jesus we will fulfill all of the commandments. Jesus died in our place. We are able to love others because He first loved us. Whatever we do to the least of us we do to God it would be better if a millstone was tied around our necks and we be thrown into the sea (in the words of Jesus). Carla
Matthew 5:11-12
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil •against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ charge that He was nullifying the law. The law was both temporary (Galatians 3:19; Ephesians . 2:15; Hebrews 7:12) and eternal (5:18; Romans 3:31; 8:4). The word fulfill means “to fill out, expand, or complete.” It does not mean to bring to an end. Jesus fulfills the law in several ways: (1) He obeyed it perfectly and taught its correct meaning (verses 19, 20); (2) He will one day fulfill all of the OT types and prophecies; and (3) He provides a way of salvation that meets all the requirements of the law (Romans 3:21, 31). One jot or one tittle will by no means pass: This statement of Jesus provides us with one of the strongest affirmations in the Bible of the inerrancy of Scripture. It is absolutely trustworthy. The NKJV Study Bible
blessed (Gk. makarios) (5:3; Luke 6:20–22; Rom. 4:7, 8; James 1:12, 25) Strong’s #3107: This Greek word is derived from the root mak, which means “large” or “lengthy,” and means “fortunate” or “happy.” The Greek word was used in Greek literature, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT), and in the NT to describe the kind of happiness that comes from receiving divine favor. The word can be rendered happy. In the NT it is usually passive; God is the One who is blessing or favoring the person.
Jesus is speaking to His disciples about a radical way of life that reflects the ideals of the kingdom of heaven. He seems to imply that persecution is a result of practicing His teaching and believing in Him. His point is that disciples who fail to live a lifestyle that reflects the values of the kingdom of heaven are akin to something tasteless or devoid of light—undesirable and of no value. Faithlife Study Bible
2 Chronicles 36:16
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
Matthew 23:37
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
1 Peter 4:13–14
but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
When cruelty becomes normal, kindness looks radical.
Today, I can choose to Be kind.
And here’s the deal: it is the little things—the smile, the kind word, the helping hand—that are the difference makers. They are the building blocks for healing.
They are the building blocks for “re-humanizing”. They are the building blocks for restoring dignity.
For grounding, my mind often returns to a heartrending story about a sad and terrifying incident that occurred during the tragic war in Sarajevo.
A reporter, covering the fighting and violence in the middle of the city, watched a little girl fatally shot by a sniper. The reporter threw down whatever he held, rushing immediately to the aid of a man who knelt on the pavement cradling the child.
As the man carried the child, the reporter guided them to his car, and sped off to a hospital.
“Hurry my friend,” the man urged, “my child is still alive.”
A moment or two later he pleaded, “Hurry my friend, my child is still breathing.”
And a little later, “Please my friend, my child is still warm.”
Although the reporter drove as fast as was possible, by the time they arrived at the hospital, the little girl had died. As the two men were in the lavatory, washing the blood off their hands and their clothes, the man turned to the reporter and said, “This is a terrible task for me. I must now go tell her father that his child is dead. He will be heartbroken.”
The reporter stood speechless. He looked at the grieving man and said, “I thought she was your child.”
The man shook his head. “No. But aren't they all our children?”
Yes.
They are.
“If we have no peace,” Mother Teresa reminded us, “it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
Well, if we do belong to one other, then “they”—the “least of these” and those without voices—are indeed, our children.
Ours to care for.
Ours to listen to.
Ours to see.
I confess that when I read stories about child abuse, I clutch my heart—literally—and I want to go out and hurt someone... anyone who has done these things. And then I read stories about children who have been wounded and who have been abused, and who have found a way to survive. And to not only survive, but to thrive. And to become beacons of hope.
So, back to the story. You see, it's not just the child's life we're trying to save, but the very freedom—embracing the gift—to be a child.
And like any good homily, I pause, just to let that last line sink in. Not because we don’t know it to be true, but when our world is spinning, we easily lose track of the very things that anchor our soul.
And in that pause, I remember. I’m not just the preacher. I’m also the child.
Let us not forget that we belong to one another.
Sabbath Moments
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