Today my pastor, Pastor Malcolm, preached on Matthew 22-1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. He said he found this passage challenging but then he said something that really struck me: “it’s a difficult passage because we don’t like what it says.” We don’t like the Jesus that rejected the church leaders for those on the outskirts of society. We don’t like the Jesus that commands us to serve the poor not vilify them. We don’t like the Jesus that said, “the first shall be last and the last will be first”. We don’t like the Jesus that tells those with money to give away all they have and follow Him. We like the Jesus we put in a box and take out on Sunday for others to see our piousness, only to put Him back in the box when the service is over.
The pastor went on to say, “God is with us. God is with others. God loves those we do not.” God’s put this idea before me many times but every time I hear it, I’m challenged. There are people I think God shouldn’t love: child abusers, murderers, people who are just mean! We get into the mindset, “I may sin but I’m not as sinful as ______”
There’s a meme going around Facebook with the tagline: “more rights for others doesn’t mean less rights for you. It’s not pie.” God is not pie. God’s love isn’t limited; it’s limitless. God loves all of us, all the time. We try to put limits on God’s love when we pass judgement on others. Only God knows the heart. Only God knows if, when we pray, we praise ourselves instead of Him. Only God knows whether we’re coming forth with a small offering but it’s all we have. God knows whether we love, in honor for Him or to make us look better or feel better. We must look to our salvation and leave other’s lives to God.
God challenges us to live as Jesus lived in the gospels. He called the religious leaders on the carpet. He loved the underclass, and He came to save all, not the select few. He calls all of us to follow Him, a loving, just, redemptive God.
Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash
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