In whom do we trust?

Continued from Sept. 2

Do we even take time to wonder why Jesus said in Matthew 5:1-48 saying in verses 43-48: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"? Did Jesus leave out ANYONE in his description of how to react toward and how to treat those who persecute us? No, I didn't think so.

The Bible tells of Jesus, who lived the sinless life God always intended for humanity and whose life shows the world what God is like; who extends mercy to those who oppose him, and willingly offered himself as the final and ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world; yes, for ALL. So, how can we, as Christians who are commanded to love our neighbors regardless of their political persuasions or behavior (and whether we like it or not this does means everyone) the same as we do ourselves EVER go "on the offensive"? Oh, by the way, this commandment to love others as ourselves is held to be on par with our loving God and equated by Jesus as one of two commandments that there are none greater than. (See Mark 12:30-31.)

Scriptures teach when there is obedience to God and we love as commanded, there is peace because when we find we will be delivered from oppression and fear (see 1st John 4:15-18) and there will be no harm to those who walk righteously. But, you say, people of God are killed every day. Yes, this is true. And Jesus tells us "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." It would do us well to read Luke 12: 4-12 where Jesus said that and pray we be found obedient.

The world is shaking itself apart; sin is on the increase, people are dying by the minute without Christ and what is Christianity doing? No, never mind. Wrong question. The question is what are WE as individual Christians doing? Who do WE love? Who do WE trust in? One has to wonder what kind of dream team of lawyers sprang Peter, Paul and Silas out of prison when they were thrown in jail for preaching the unadulterated Gospel message. Oh, wait -- wrong century.

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Editor's note: Charlie Newman is pastor of Avoca Christian Church. To contact him, e-mail [email protected], or write in care of The Times at [email protected] or P.O. Box 25, Pea Ridge, AR 72751.