If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.Ah such a beautiful ideal. Transpose this to my everyday life:- JC
If someone manipulates you for their own gain, let yourself be manipulated. Don't retaliate, no, don't even resist, even when you are completely aware of how you are being used, just follow theleashlead.
When someone asked to take a look at your logbook which you have meticulously completed with all the attention to details, you will gladly surrender it to them; Knowing that all your hard work will almost certainly be plagiarised within minutes, & completely aware that if discovered both you & that someone will be in deep trouble.
That my friends, is the way of Christ. The way to freedom. Hah, no wonder the world scorn at Christ. To be like Christ, is to be trampled by anyone who wants to take advantage over you, without even putting up a fight. Just as the charismatics love jumping around, claiming they are invincible with God on their side (& all that kind of nonsense), "Christians" around the world are fooling themselves & don't see what it really means to take up the cross & deny thyself -
To be a complete loser.
...Dare I strive to be that kind of person?
2 comments:
Have you heard any sermons around this passage?
I haven't, and probably for the same reason I fret to write posts about it. It makes a hypocrite out of everyone.
One week at my church a missionary couple from Papua New Guinea was talking about their experiences over there. The issue came up about if a native asked to have the guys pair of shoes, should they give it to him? After all, Jesus says quite explicitly that they should. They argued that if they gave him the shoes, the village would catch on, and soon everything the couple owned would be asked from the villagers, and then the couple couldn't really help the villagers anymore. Pragmatically it makes sense.
The thing is, Jesus talked about giving away everything you owned and following him. The reason people can't bring it to themselves to give away anything asks from them is because they have ALOT of stuff, myself included. Jesus spoke from a position of poverty, as did his early followers. They didn't have much to give, so it wasn't like they were giving away the bank, just continuing what they did at the start of their Christianity; give away all of their earthly possessions.
Noone now gives away their earthly possessions to become a Christian, so this passage makes little sense to anyone. How can you adopt this attitude without impoverishing yourself? And if you aren't willing to give away all, this ideal will never be in your reach. In my reach.
Is that why Christ said,
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."?
I often wonder about that passage too.
When the whole world showers admiration towards the late Mother Teresa, I can't help but wonder if she is what Christ expected out of us. That none of us are truly after God like she was. That instead of being the greatest among us, she is the only true follower in our generation.
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