7 3 03

11:30a

Matthew 18:10-20

This specific passage discusses a parable of the lost sheep and what happens when someone sins against you. In verses 10 through 14, Jesus tells us that each and every Christian is important to Him. He gives the example of a shepherd with a hundred sheep. If one of those sheep wanders off, the shepherd will leave the rest to find the one. Like that, God is so concerned for each and every one of us that there isn�t a time when He will forsake the one for the rest.

Some people might take this to mean that one Christian is more important than all the others� but Jesus isn�t saying that. The point of this parable is to say that every human is important to God. He wants all of them to choose His path. But, of those who have chosen to follow God, if one of them wanders away from His path, He will search for that one person. The cool thing about God, though, is that unlike anything else in this world, He can be in two places at once. He can be in a million places at once.

Anyway, we�re not supposed to look down on someone who wanders away from God�s path � someone who doesn�t believe the way we do � because God loves that person. We are not fit to judge the Christianity, or lack there of, of anyone else. We can only focus on our own relationship with God and keep it close.

Verses 15 through 20 discuss what to do if your brother sins against you. You know, I�ve been misquoting this scripture for a while. I�ve gotten the gist right, but I didn�t exactly get the phrasing. Verses 19 and 20 say that if two agree on anything we ask for, it is done by God because if there are two or three who come together in God�s name � or Jesus� name � Jesus is with them.

That�s pretty powerful, and something that, I would guess, many Christian�s don�t think about. When two people who believe in God come together in prayer or to meet in Jesus name, Jesus is there. That�s powerful.

Anyway� the point of this passage is to say that if someone has done you wrong, you are supposed to confront them � gently � and see if that doesn�t solve the problem. If it doesn�t, then you�re supposed to take one or two people who know the situation and again � gently � confront the offending person. If they still don�t listen to ya, you�re supposed to take it to the church and have the officiators of the church mediate. If the offending person won�t listen even then, you�re supposed to treat the person as you would a �pagan or a tax collector�.

Throughout the time I was growing up in the Church, that meant one was supposed to ignore the offending person or outright despise them. Actually, I think the despising part came more from my father who seems to have a real hate-hate relationship with the IRS. *smiles sweetly*

Anyway, I believe, in my adult brain, that treating someone as a �pagan or a tax collector� really means that you�re supposed to respect them, but there isn�t any intimacy there; that there can be a loose friendship, but you don�t need to welcome them into your bosom and become the best of friends. Primarily, I want to focus on saying that to me, this passage does NOT mean that it�s okay to hate someone.

Why? Because Jesus tells us that there are two great commandments. The first is to love God. The second is to love everybody else. So, don�t hate, love. You just don�t have to love everyone the same. Tax collectors aren�t my favorite people, but they�re not evil. Well, okay, the IRS might be evil, but the people who work for the IRS are just misled. *nodnods*