The Way of Christ

The-Cross-of-Christ-Worship-BackgroundLiving in the Spirit
August 16, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.’ — Matthew 15:17-20

The health and hygiene laws of the Hebrew Bible were probably as relevant then as our health and hygiene laws are today. My guess is even by Jesus’ time on earth some of the relevance had changed. We now reduce our salt intake, watch our cholesterol, and get regular exercise. I’ll bet if a first century Christian were able to time travel to today they would think it was funny that we have to work at getting appropriate exercise. It was not a problem for them as most of them walked everywhere they went.

I fear though that the things that do defile us have not changed much over time, the sins of our hearts. Oh, we certainly have more sophisticated methods of practice perhaps, but Jesus’ list is still valid. We see it particularly in subtle messages in advertisements and politics right now.  It is really, really hard not to punch back with the same vitriol. We become as defiled as the defiler.

The way of Christ is really pretty simple and thus does not require a degree in propaganda to follow. The hard part, the hardest part is making the intentional decision to live the way of Christ even when it may lead to a cross. The important thing, the most important thing we must hold on to is the promise that the way of Christ will definitely lead to the Kingdom of God.

Prayer: Christ, you are the way surround us with your love as we struggle to walk your path. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.