Luke 12:57-59
“You don’t have to be a genius to
understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use
if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your
accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you’d
probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the
kind of decision I’m asking you to make.”
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
The
late poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, is credited with the
phrase…”When you know better, you do better.” If only that were true
for most of us! I hope you understand that today’s scripture passage is
not really about settling a dispute before you get to court…at least
not in the way that you think. If you go back and read the preceding
verses of Luke 12, you will see that Jesus is telling a crowd that had
gathered that there was a change on the horizon. He was warning the
disciples and others who were listening about the false teachings of
those who didn’t want to recognize Him as the Messiah – or change their
sinful ways.
So when Jesus talks of “settling up with your
accuser” on the way to court, He is really telling us to get our act
together now…or prepare for some serious judgment and punishment at some
point! In other words, our actions have consequences…and failure to
listen to Jesus and follow His teachings can get us in a heap of
trouble!
What does this mean in everyday language for you and
me? It means that before we say something unkind or questionable about
another person, we need to prayerfully consider whether Jesus approves.
Before we decide to lash out at someone – or discriminate against
anyone in any way…we should remind ourselves of Jesus’ words in Luke
10:27 to love others as God loves us – and we love ourselves.
Every
day when we awake, we should ask God to guide our steps. We should
invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and guard our words and
actions. We should use the wisdom and “common sense” that Jesus
continually gives us to avoid pitfalls and recognize the persuasions of
imposters, con artists, frauds, and quacks who want to lead us down the
wrong path. We should practice “active discipleship,” meaning we should
steep ourselves in God’s Word and check at every turn to make sure that
what we say and do lines up with His directives. We should never waste
an opportunity to represent Jesus to another person – if only to offer
him/her our warmest smile.
It’s pretty simple, really. How we
live today matters. At some point, we will all have to answer to God
for the things we said and did…how we treated others…whether we
represented Jesus’ teachings and honored His sacrifice…and whether or
not we truly even knew Him as our Savior. I don’t know about you, but
when I stand before God and receive my “review,” I want to know that I
did everything possible to honor and glorify my LORD…that I did my
dead-level best to live every day according to His will.
When God
says to you, “Let’s talk about how it went…” will your reply be one
that reflects solid faithfulness – or more of a lousy excuse? This is
the kind of decision that Christ is calling us to make today. How will
you respond?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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