Bible
Study: 1st Kings 19, 11 to 16 and Matthew 5,
27 to 32.
For some days now, we have
been reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5 which happens to be a sermon
given by Jesus Christ. He began with the beatitudes and then he went on to explain
what the Christian life is all about. Two days ago, Jesus said he has not come
to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them. As such, even though it
may seem as if Jesus is raising the standards set by Old Testament, he is
actually revealing the hidden meaning behind them.
It is not enough to say, “Thou
shall not kill.” We must realize that killing begins with anger against a person,
which then graduates into hatred, and then heightens up till one day, one is
driven to kill. So yesterday Jesus says, whoever even dares to insult a brother
is already committing sin liable to hell fire. We cannot afford to bear grudges
in our heart at all and it is not we snuff out life from a person that we have
sinned. We start to sin the moment we become angry.
Today, Jesus comes into an
aspect of life that is quite delicate in that it is responsible for the
fulfilment of the Divine mandate at creation; “Be fruitful and multiply…” When
it comes to human sexuality, adultery was considered as the ultimate sin
ranking on the same level as killing but then, Jesus explains that adultery
does not only happen when a man sleeps with a woman, adultery has already taken
place when a man looks at a woman lustfully.
Just as we cannot afford to store
anger in our heart, Jesus says we should not even dare to allow lust a room in
our heart. It all begins with the heart or mind so to say. The human mind is
the most powerful machine on this planet. It is capable of creating anything.
Hence Jesus would say, “Blessed are the pure in heart…” Matthew 5, 8. Later on,
Jesus would say, it is not what we eat that defiles us, but what we keep in our
mind. “For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery,
fornication, theft, false witness, slander.” Matthew 15, 19.
Are you having trouble
controlling your sexual appetite? Do you find yourself falling into the sin of
adultery by thoughts, words or actions? Are you struggling with fornication,
masturbation and unchastity in one form or another? Jesus has the solution for
you. He says: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it
away.” What does this mean, that the cause of sin is right within your body and
that you have the power to cure yourself!
Jesus did not say, “if the
devil causes you to sin…” The reason why we struggle so much in this aspect
without success is that we assume we do not have the power within ourselves. We
easily shift the blame to the devil or to our fellow human beings accusing them
of causing to sin. By so doing, we tell ourselves, we are powerless and we
actually remain powerless forever. We continue to fall because we lack what it
takes to stand.
Dear friends, take it from
me today that you alone can decide to overcome the sin if you stop blaming the
devil. How do you pluck out your eye? Or your hand? By deliberately controlling
the contents of your heart. Sexuality is a thing of the mind! The battle is
right there in your mind. You must start by avoiding lust. How? Each time you
look at a person, what do you see? Do you see God in the person? Do you see a
copy of God’s craftsmanship, does the person’s beauty remind you of God’s
beauty and majesty? Or do you begin to desire the person’s flesh. If you can
win the battle in your mind, it doesn’t matter how the person dresses, or where
you meet him or her, you will not fall into sin.
Lastly from this same
passage of scripture, we can see that Jesus Christ does not support divorce. In
fact, he ranks it as a sin equal to adultery itself. No matter the height of difficulties
one may encounter in marriage, they can be resolved. Divorce is not a solution,
it is a sin.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, give me the
power to keep my body pure and fitting as your temple. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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