I have been thinking a lot about this God and Jesus thing lately. There are some things about him I never used to think too much about, that have been really impacting me lately. Here are a few things that tie into this next section. God is a Gentleman. He stands at the door and knocks. He would not impose himself or his will on us. He waits. He wants us to choose him. God is Quiet. He is a God of whispers. We need to be far more quiet to actually here him speak. He will not yell his promises or will into our ears. God gives Gifts. He does not only want us to follow him, he wants to lavish blessing on us. He is not into making us do hard stuff merely to prove adoration and commitment to him. He wants to give us blessings and rewards for a pure heart and work well done.
Matthew 6.in part
1-6: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
Quiet.
We all want to be respected. Having the adoration of our fellow man means we are honorable and trustworthy, right? Doing good things for others, as long as we direct credit to the Lord is a calling, isn’t it? Praying in community is healthy, and the mature faith evinces a mature prayer, doesn’t it? This warning must have been directed to the religious elite of yesterday, and not to those of us within the modern church as we know it. Then why are these words so convicting? I find myself in these warnings. How much of my walk with the Lord is on display, and how much of it is shielded from other’s awareness? Not much. It seems clear to me the call here is to spend for more time and energy in a walk and work that is not known and seen by all.
Gift.
We shouldn’t be worried about blessings and rewards from the Lord right? Everything we do on this earth should be an outpouring of the spirit alive and working within us. Doesn’t it seem like Jesus is putting a carrot before the horse here by asking us to do good and seek him in private so we will get something from him later? If our motives were right, wouldn’t we do the right things regardless of the potential benefit? It seems Jesus is willing to concede the benefits to following him, so long as we accept them on his terms. Giving up eternal rewards for men’s praise seems crazy when I think about it. The rewards Jesus is speaking of here are very loose. They will not be tangible respect from others that we are used to. Are we willing to accept a reward that is other?
16-21: “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Quiet.
Why is it that we seem to need a huge decision before us, or a church sponsored call to fast before we find ourselves using this spiritual tool? Are we missing an opportunity to know the Lord and his will in a new way by forsaking this call? We have moved so far away the religious laws of the elite that we just abstain from their practices entirely. The call here is clear. Fast. For God, and the rewards he wants to give, not for the respect man will pay you for embarking on a counter cultural ritual.
Gift.
The result of abstaining from food is a blessing from the God who rewards us in secret. I have no idea what those rewards might be, but if they give us a better understanding of who God is and what he calls us to, isn’t it worth the sacrifice. Come to think of it, I can’t really think of anything the Lord calls us to sacrifice that doesn’t first provide some form of pain or difficulty, to only be found with some tremendous blessing in the end. The same goes for stuff. We are called to not “store up” these things here on earth. The things our heart and soul desire to collect should be things that cannot be affected by the erosive ways of this earth.
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