“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
LEVITICUS 20, 21
God continues to give the Israelites instructions on living...the purpose always is in obedience to God, who loves them in grace and not because of anything they have done...
7“ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
22“ ‘Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. 24But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.
MATTHEW 28:1-20
Jesus' body has been taken down from the cross and he is placed in a tomb paid for by a new disciple...Joseph of Arimathea. After the Sabbath, Mary goes to the tomb and a violent earhtquake strikes. The tomb is opened, the guards pass out and Mary confronts an angel...
5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
JOURNAL
The purpose of it all is revealed...Jesus is risen, conquering death and giving the command to go in love making disciples of all, teaching to obey everything Jesus taught them and finally that he is with them always.
Awesome! Wait...what did he tell them to do? Jesus was just crucified and his command is go and do as I did??? This is a death sentence and a command that will be the cause of horrible suffering, torture and strife. Everyone of the remaining 11 will die horrible deaths...not only them but countless others after them. Good News? Really??
Here is the rub in my faith. Here is where I struggle every day, every hour, every minute. Jesus' commission is to go and struggle and if need be...get tortured and killed. How is this lived out in a culture whose chief objective is comfort and "happiness".
I don't know the answer...yesterday I came across the following...10 Horrifying Tortures of Early Christians. In reading these I am horrified by the brutality, but I am amazed at the actions and demeanor of these disciples. The calmness, peace and love demonstrated through days of relentless torture is beyond my understanding...I then look at my own life and think...PATHETIC!
Awesome! Wait...what did he tell them to do? Jesus was just crucified and his command is go and do as I did??? This is a death sentence and a command that will be the cause of horrible suffering, torture and strife. Everyone of the remaining 11 will die horrible deaths...not only them but countless others after them. Good News? Really??
Here is the rub in my faith. Here is where I struggle every day, every hour, every minute. Jesus' commission is to go and struggle and if need be...get tortured and killed. How is this lived out in a culture whose chief objective is comfort and "happiness".
I don't know the answer...yesterday I came across the following...10 Horrifying Tortures of Early Christians. In reading these I am horrified by the brutality, but I am amazed at the actions and demeanor of these disciples. The calmness, peace and love demonstrated through days of relentless torture is beyond my understanding...I then look at my own life and think...PATHETIC!
There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were put to death by stoning;e they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
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