Moving Forward

These past few weeks, we've been taking a look at the Sermon on the Mount (I'm not sure it's required to be capitalized - sounds like a question for Athena). The basic issue is to address how we view this passage of the Bible. Many people tend to view this as a collection of good ideas, a best case scenario for the Christian life. Jesus seems to take a different view of what he says. He opens the sermon with a call to obedience and closes with a warning that to hear his words and not put them into practice is to be like a foolish builder. I don't want to be foolish, but at the same time I don't always want to obey. Too often we find ourselves stuck in the middle - not wanting to go backward but not necessarily eager to move forward either. How do we deal with this dilemma?

The answer, as is always the case, can be found in Jesus. The words he speaks to his disciples and to us, the words between the call and the warning, are meant to bring us to life. Too often we miss this crucial point. Jesus told us he came to bring an abundant life, not a life of drudgery and bondage. Our salvation isn't earned through a list of do's and don'ts. Our salvation is found in Jesus. How do we achieve something that we can't earn? We commit ourselves to a citizenship in the kingdom of God.

The sermon on the mount is intended to show us what it means to be a citizen of God's kingdom. The Beatitudes lay out the characteristics of a citizen - how we are intended to view ourselves and how we are intended to conduct ourselves in relation to others. If we conduct ourselves as Jesus has called us to, we will be light in a dark world and salt to a world in desperate need of it. Light must shine and salt must be salty. There really isn't a choice in the matter. If it's not salty, then it's not salt. If it doesn't shine, then it isn't light. After this "introduction" by Jesus, he continues to stretch us by reducing the law to its essence. He took rules that were being kept and pointed to our hearts, highlighting the conditions that lead to sin instead of merely dealing with the external effects of our heart's condition. He stretches us even further by challlenging us to give up our rights. We are entitled to certain things, but Jesus calls us to lay down the things that are dear to us. Only by laying them down can we find freedom.

A citizen of God's kingdom should reflect his character. If we are not becoming more like Jesus, we need to honestly ask the question "Why?". His grace covers our missteps, but does not excuse us from obedience to the call. Jesus calls and waits for an answer. The only thing that remains if whether or not we will obey. Did Jesus mean what he said in Matthew 5, or was it good advice for good people?