Christ Church Daily Devotion May 27 2024

Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:21-24 that it's not enough to simply follow the commandment not to murder. We should also avoid anger and insults towards others. If we are about to worship God but remember someone has something against us, we should first be reconciled with that person. Jesus goes beyond the law and teaches us to love one another. God is too vast for us to fully define, but we can strive to live in the image of God and love and serve Him. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for May 27th, 2024. Today we will be reading from Matthew, chapter 5, verses 21 through 24. You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, Raka, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, you fool, will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there, remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them, then come and offer your gift. This passage comes early in the Sermon on the Mount, a collection of some of Jesus' greatest teachings. Jesus' audience of that time would have been very familiar with the Ten Commandments. Here, he takes one of those and does something radical. Jesus says that just not killing someone is not enough. We are not even to think badly of others or call them names. And if we are beginning to worship God, and we recall that someone has something against us, we are to leave our worship and go and be reconciled with that person. This is the first of several similar teachings in which Jesus says that following the Hebrew Scriptures, the law, is not enough. We are to go beyond those requirements as we live our lives with one another. Are you as guilty as I am of trying to draw a box around God? God is too awesome and vast for us to ever fully define God. And perhaps too vast for us to even partially define. The commandments are helpful in giving us the bare minimum of what God expects and desires for us. But we are not to stop there. We are to truly love one another, seeking to live into this vast image of God in which we were created. Your personal worship option today? Gracious God, you are infinite and eternal. While we are mortal creatures, help us to love and worship and serve you even in the human limitations of our knowledge of you. Thank you for revealing your nature in Jesus Christ and in those who live out your teachings. Amen.