Summing up the Faith

There are many lesser rules and human traditions which divide the Christian Church but one great and wonderful rule which unites us all. It was outlined by Jesus in Matthew 22:34-46. The Bible contains many excellent summaries of right religion. Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Do what is just and right (Isaiah 56:1). Seek God and live (Amos 5:4). Live by faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4). They are articles of faith. Jesus chose a couple of other Old Testament statements to summarize the faith. One was from Deuteronomy (6:5) about loving God and the other was from Leviticus (19:18) about loving our neighbor. These commandments were not even specifically from the Ten Commandments, though they are there in principle. They unite all of Christianity under one statement of belief.

How Love God

Do we “give our heart to the Lord”? Instead of pop sayings, let’s see what Jesus said (Matthew 22:37). We love the Lord with our entire heart, soul and mind. This is the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:5), the central creed of both Judaism and Christianity. What that actually means is that we love God with all that we are and have. Is love "all we need"? Jesus said that differently too. Some forms of Christianity emphasize the heart and avoid the mind. Some varieties of Christianity are emotionless with very little heart. Some kinds of Christianity emphasize outward show but neglect the inner soul. Jesus summarized the entire Old Testament law as hanging from love. He also delineated that love as not just being empty emotionalism, but a love that includes everything in our lives: heart, soul and mind.

How Love Neighbor

The command to love our neighbor as ourselves strikes at the root of human failure (Matthew 22:39). The seed of society’s evils is love for self and reckless disregard for others. It is also very shortsighted, because ultimately love of others returns long lasting recurring benefits to us and is therefore an act of self love. We were designed to naturally love ourselves. We want food, shelter, protection, health and happiness. As we appropriately bless others, crime and other evils should decrease. All this is impossible unless we first love God with all of our being. If there is no God and if we don't love him, we may as well act just like the animals, where survival of the fittest counts. Instead of acting like vicious animals, devouring and destroying, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The Messiah Riddle

Jesus asked some religious leaders whose son the Messiah was. His answer is called the Messiah Riddle (Matthew 22:41-46). The expression "son of David" was familiar. Jesus descended from King David. The religious leaders answered that the Messiah was the son David. Jesus knew their lack of belief and that they thought of the Messiah as a mere man. He asked them why David referred to his son or descendant as "my Lord." That passage reads, "The Lord (God) said to my Lord (my son)" (Psalm 110:1). Why would a father call his son, my Lord? Because that son, the Messiah is divine. But, Jesus did not always answer a riddle. Instead he asked, Since David called the Messiah my Lord, how can the Messiah be his son? No one could answer him. Jesus challenged people to think.

Universal Principle

Raising Children To
Love Their Neighbors

Every major religion has a version of the golden rule (Matthew 22:34-46). Perhaps it is so important that God inspired it in other world religions even if they have not yet come to know their Savior Jesus. Judaism, Islam, Jainism, Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism are some of them. It is as if this principle is so basic and fundamental that God did not want to leave any creed or religion with an excuse for not knowing it (Romans 1:19-21). Even atheists who claim that they don’t believe in God admit its fundamental importance. Some people may object that God has nothing to do with religions other than Christianity. But let’s think about it. If God also believes and follows the principle of loving his neighbor, why would he not want to spread such an important universal principle universally?

What Kind of Love

Think: The Life of
the Mind and
the Love of God

What kind of love does God expect from us? Is it the emotional love of a romance novel? Is it the sentimental love of popular songs? The word love in the ancient Hebrew scripture that Jesus quoted (Deuteronomy 6:5) and in the New Testament Greek of Matthew 22:34-46 were both similar to the same word in English. The word love needs a context to define it further. The context of the Great Commandments defines that love as something involving all of a person’s life: heart, soul and mind. It is an emotional love, but also an intelligent and practical love. It was a love defined in terms of a practical covenant relationship. If we look at the context of the Old Testament text, loving God by doing things for him was part of the evidence of that love.

Loving God with our Minds

Love Your God with
All Your Mind:
The Role of Reason in
the Life of the Soul

“Oh I love God and Sunday School but I hate theology,” said the individual, not even aware that Sunday School is theology. Any study of God is theology. “We don’t need doctrine; we just need love,” taught another, unaware that what they just said was a doctrine or teaching and that love is the principle doctrine. The anti-intellectual bias in some corners of the Church actually contradicts the Bible, because in Matthew 22:34-46 Jesus taught us to love God with our minds. Many of the errors to be found in the Church insult God by blaming it on his inspiration, when in reality people may just be too mentally lazy to study matters deeper than a shallow point of view. To be ashamed of our minds is to be ashamed of God. Jesus encouraged loving God with our intellect.

Loving God with our Hearts

Desiring God's Will:
Aligning Our Hearts with
the Heart of God

How do we love God with our hearts (Matthew 22:34-46)? If we lust after that which is not ours to have, then how can we love God in our hearts? So that makes us all guilty right? Yes, but do we go to God in prayer asking for forgiveness for evil thoughts in our hearts? Do we then fill our hearts with what is good? What about our attitudes of heart? Are we thankful to God with our whole heart for his forgiveness and other of his abundant blessings? Are we also thankful for his will when that will includes suffering? Do we fill our hearts with the things of God? Do we fill our hearts with praise and singing? Do we ask for help from the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts with his love (Romans 5:5)?

Loving God with our Souls

The Soul's Quest for God

How do we love God with our souls (Matthew 22:34-46)? The word soul in English is an ambiguous word used to translate words in the original languages meaning a variety of things like life, creature or spirit. In this passage the Greek word is psyche which can also be translated as breath or spirit. In Psalm 42 the descendants of Korah composed a song of love to God, describing the soul thirsting for God like a deer panting for water. This passionate spiritual desire is something that we often ignore with our daily distractions. If we love God with our souls, then we will not want to miss assembling weekly with others who also love God. It behooves us to take time to love God with our souls in prayer, Bible reading and meditating on the things of heaven.

Most Important Legal Principle

Dissident Discipleship:
A Spirituality of Self-Surrender,
Love of God,
and Love of Neighbor

What is the most important legal principle in our lands? In the United States constitution perhaps the words, “We the people” summarize the most important statutory rule. British law which guarantees equality for all contradicts itself by guaranteeing prerogatives of the royal family above others. The Chinese constitution clarifies a citizen’s fundamental rights and duties. The European Constitution guarantees human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and a free market. When asked what was the most important part of the law (Matthew 22:34-46) Jesus enumerated two: the most important is love of God and the second most important is love of neighbor. British law makes our royal neighbor’s prerogatives more than our own. God’s law makes all people equal in our responsibility to love one another as ourselves. Nobody may be loved more or less than ourselves. God makes us equals.

Answering Rigid Opponents

Breaking the Bondage
of Legalism

Opposition to Jesus came from a number of quarters. It came from the political supporters of Herod, the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief Priests, elders and teachers of the law. After numerous confrontations Jesus answered his rigid opponents by reciting the most important law (Matthew 22:34-46). Which one of the over 600 laws in the Hebrew Bible was the greatest? Jesus broke the rules frequently, because as the author of those rules, he never intended that they be obeyed in the letter, but by the principle behind them. Just like many rookie cops, those in opposition to Jesus kept a rigid letter-of-the-law approach and were blind to the fact that a rule does not apply in every situation, that there are many exceptions. How do we determine when a rule does not apply? By understanding the greatest rule of all, love.

The Lord Said to My Lord

Messiah,
the Healer of the Sick:
A Study of Jesus As
the Son of David in
the Gospel of Matthew

One of the great riddles of Jesus’ sayings is that found in Matthew 22:34-46. He was again being confronted by those who loved the law more than God, and sacrifice more than mercy (Hosea 6:6). People who love the letter of the law cannot love God and their neighbors because the letter kills (2 Corinthians 3:6). So, to such people Jesus asked, What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he? They replied, The son of David. Then Jesus put forth a riddle, Why did David call the Messiah “my Lord”? If he is a son, why did David write, The Lord [God] said to my Lord [the Messiah]? How can the Messiah be his son if he calls him my Lord? They could not answer the obvious: the Messiah is the Son of God.

Dogmatism & Ignorance

The Struggle
Against Dogmatism

When Jesus asked his opponents whose son the Messiah was (Matthew 22:34-46) they answered with orthodox dogmatism, correct but ignorant of Christ. When churches spoon feed us with ready made answers that leave out thinking, they do us disservice. They do not allow us to love God with our minds. What thinking formed the teachings of the Church? Good theology schools teach the various views of doctrines along with strengths and weaknesses of each view. One professor taught that doctrine was a 2,000 year long discussion and that discussion is not over yet. Too often we approach church doctrine as if there is no more discussion. We dare not use our minds. Jesus’ challenge to his opponents was to use their minds. If the Messiah is the son of David, how could David refer to him as Lord?

Honda & Jesus

Honda: The Boy Who
Dreamed of Cars

Soichiro Honda the founder of Honda Motor Company wanted to build piston rings. He went to engineering school to help him. Once he found the answer he needed, he quit. His teachers wanted him to continue and graduate. He told them that he knew all he needed for his business and did not want to waste time on useless studies. Honda Motor Company eventually became a resounding success. Education is good, but when an education takes one away from the central focus it becomes useless. His whole focus then was to build piston rings, not become a general engineer. Even experts in the Bible can miss the most important things (Matthew 22:34-46). When church institutions lose their focus on Jesus’ teachings, but get lost in the law, vain traditions of men or popular false gospels, they too become useless.

Jesus as a Threat

The Jesus
I Never Knew

What was the purpose of the Pharisees tempting Jesus (as the original language shows) with a trick question (Matthew 22:34)? Would Psychologists say that such vehement opposition comes from inner turmoil caused by a perceived threat? Was it perhaps similar to the motives that caused atrocities such as the Spanish Inquisition in which the Church was complicit? When the Church teaches dogmatically what Jesus taught his Apostles it carries Jesus’ authority. When the Church teaches dogmatically things that neither Jesus nor the Apostles taught, is it operating much like the Pharisees and Sadducees? How can the dogmas of a magisterium or doctrinal committee be declared infallible and inerrant teachings unless they agree with what was taught by Jesus? If he was physically present on earth today, would many church authorities accept him or also perceive Jesus as a threat?

What Liberal Commie Pinko said that?

Teacher: What is the most important command of all?

Evangelical Evie: Don't go dancing or play cards.

Catholic Cathy: The communion bread is Jesus. He said, This is my body.

Pentecostal Penelope: Tongues is the thang to show others that you’ve been filled.

Orthodox Orville: You gotta do the ancient thing. Modern stuff is unorthodox.

Fundamentalist Firfie: You gotta obey all the rules made by the elders.

Methodist Metcalf: Don't touch a drop of that demon alcohol or you're bound for hell.

Baptist Babette: You gotta be immersed. If you ain't dunked, you ain't really baptized.

Anglican Angus: Apostolic succession is the key. You've got to have the lineage.

Teacher: What if I told you that love was the real deal?

Class: Love???????????? What liberal Commie pinko said that?

Teacher: Jesus. (Matthew 22:34-46)

Class: oh...

Outspoken Jesus

How outspoken ought we to be? We all struggle with this issue. Should we speak our mind or hold our tongues? Some societies are very outspoken but tactless; others are tactful but filled with pretense and fake civility. Is civility always an act of love, or is it occasionally very unloving to suppress the truth under a veil of phony politeness? If someone flattered you with insincere words designed to trap you, how would you answer them? Beginning in Matthew 22:15, the Pharisees tried to sweet-talk Jesus by calling him an honest and impartial man. What would you have said? Would you have given a courteous reply or an outspoken one? Jesus was forthright in his answer. He did not mince words, nor get entangled in polite pretense. His reply was, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trick me?”

A False Dichotomy

A false dilemma is a predicament that implies that there are only two choices. It is also called a false dichotomy, suggesting that we may only choose from two answers. The two choices may not be mutually exclusive. They may both be right or wrong at times. Politics may pretend there is no alternative or that truth is only on one side. Not every choice between two alternatives is a false one. Both choices may be right, both wrong, or one right and the other wrong. In Matthew 22:17 the Pharisees’ disciples tried to trick Jesus by putting forth a false dichotomy – pay taxes to Caesar or not. The lesson for us is that the truth in a false dilemma sometimes lies in a third option: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.

Duties of Citizenship

What is our duty to country? Is it right to mix Christianity and national idolatry! Would God want us to make an idol of country? What is the balance? Why does love for country so often seem to automatically extend to bigotry, jingoism, and xenophobia? What ought to be a Christian approach to national duty? In Matthew 22:21 Jesus was asked if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. His answer came in the context of idolatrous Roman Emperor Worship. To the Jews Caesar’s image on a coin was very offensive. Yet, paying Caesar his paltry tax was a rather insignificant claim in comparison to God’s claim. God required their entire lives. That is the difference. So, when it comes to duty to country, Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.

Paying Unjust Taxes

Jesus and Empire

Jewish society at the time of Jesus had no separation of church and state. So when Jesus was asked in Matthew 22:19 whether or not it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, the underlying assumption was the injustice of excessive tax burdens — not an unfamiliar theme to us either. Under Roman rule the burden was socially destructive. The poor often lost their lands in order to pay tribute and taxes on top of tithes and offerings (Horsley, Richard A. Jesus and Empire. Augsburg Fortress 2003). In effect they were forced to serve another god, Caesar. The question to Jesus was a politically motivated trap. If he said yes, he would be branded a traitor to God. If he said no, he would be in trouble with the Roman authorities. His answer showed remarkable grace and incredible wisdom.

Whose Image

Jesus and Empire

Human government is nothing to brag about. Injustice, burdensome laws and oppressive administrations have only lessened slightly under democracies. Under the Roman sandal, life was bleak for the Jews. Israel’s history was filled with saviors who liberated them from such hated foreign oppression. A popular view in Jesus’ time saw him as another such savior to free the Jewish people from Rome (Horsley, Richard A. Jesus and Empire. 2003 Augsburg Fortress. 44.). In Matthew 22:17 Jesus was asked whether or not it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, a politically and religiously loaded question. Jesus’ answer showed remarkable grace towards a human government that did not deserve it. How did Caesar get the coins that contained his inscription if not by brutal oppression and unreasonable taxes and tributes? What was Jesus’ answer? Give to Caesar what belongs to him.

Give Back to Caesar

Render to Caesar

Government is a bad word to many people. In Appalachia it once evoked pictures of those who stopped the poor from earning a side income selling moonshine. On Wall Street it evokes a picture of tax burdens on businesses. In Jesus’ day, government evoked a picture of an oppressive regime, with burdensome taxes and Emperor Worship. In Matthew 22:21 Jesus was not asked whether it was okay to worship Caesar, but whether it was right to pay taxes. Jesus, the Son of God picked up a coin, which usually contained the inscription “son of a god” on it, and said that it is right to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. What then do we owe the government of our day? Whether the government is right or wrong, we still owe to the government what belongs to the government.

Give Back to God

Health Security for All:
Dreams of Universal
Health Care in America

America is the land with the world’s largest socialized freeway system and until recently the world’s best funded socialized space exploration agency. It is the world’s only wealthy capitalist country that does not have a universal health care system. Very many are not covered and the rest live under a cloud of doubt as to whether their insurance company will cover every need or find some exclusion in fine print. Americans spend twice as much on healthcare per capita than any other country. About half of bankruptcy filings in the USA are due to medical expenses. We render unto Caesar, who is a corrupt false god (Matthew 22:15-22). Should we not even more render unto God by helping the poor as he demands? Should not those who accumulate while others suffer be held accountable for their social responsibility?

What is God's

What does God
want from Me

If we are to render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar (Matthew 22:21) do we also render to God the things that are his? What then do we owe to God? Even the coin that Caesar had  placed his image and inscription upon and probably said something like “son of the gods” ultimately belonged to God. Like Caesar, we too do not really own anything. We rent things temporarily from God. What does God ask in return? He asks for honor and offerings. When human Caesars abuse us, God will rescue us. We must render to Caesar what belongs to him, even if he stole it from us in the first place. God only asks that we love him and our neighbor. What a different world it would be if we paid him what we owe.

Whose Inscription

Jesus: a
Revolutionary
Biography

The tribute coin of Matthew 22:20 was probably one labeled with abbreviations meaning “Tiberius Caesar, Divine Augustus Son of Augustus.” It could have also been an earlier coin with the inscription “Caesar Augustus son of divinity, Father of his Country.” Either coin makes claims which were blasphemous to the Jews. Such actions by the Romans gave rise to tax revolts such as those led by Jewish Zealots. Jesus was a different revolutionary. His agenda was certainly political, the kingdom of heaven, but the kingdom of heaven would conquer the kingdoms of this world by different means. So when Jesus said to render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar he was not capitulating to this world’s governments, but subverting them by submission to the point of death. That revolution continues today in the hearts of all who believe.

The Imperial Tax

Acts of Conscience:
Christian Nonviolence and
Modern American Democracy

Paying tribute to the Roman Emperor was not voluntary, but necessary for survival under occupation. It violated the conscience of believers because the coins contained blasphemous inscriptions, a reminder of the gods imposed upon them by the Romans. Some revolutionaries refused to pay Roman taxes and died as a result of their rebellion. So when Jesus was asked in Matthew 22:17 whether or not it was right to pay taxes, he was being asked a larger question of conscience that believers face today. How far do we cooperate with the oppressive rulers of this world? How much ought we cooperate with corporate overlords who demand corrupt practices on the job? Is paying tribute to Caesar metaphorical for the extent that we who are called to love the world, are to be in the world, but not of the world?

Tainted Taxes

Corporate Resiliency:
Managing the Growing Risk of
Fraud and Corruption

It is impossible to live and work in this world without being tainted. We work for companies that may sometimes engage in corrupt practices. Law enforcement often makes compromises because they don’t have resources to stop all crimes. Political leaders are often forced to deal with brutal foreign dictators for the sake of peace between nations. If we drive a car, we are inadvertently supporting regimes which oppress their people. So, when Jesus was asked if it was right to pay taxes in tribute to Caesar, he did not give an answer which satisfied every-one's political conscience, but the practical reality of life under a brutal Roman dictator (Matthew 22:15-22). We live in this world and do not yet have opportunity to change all of its corrupt ways. We pick our battles and the battle begins within ourselves.

Our Caesars

Oligarchy

Who are our Caesars today in a modern democratic world? Most of our economies are mixed, part government controlled and part privatized. Almost entirely capitalist countries only exist in the third world where there is enormous disparity between the rich and poor. In a mixed economy, we actually serve two Caesars, government and the oligarchy (the wealthy and powerful). One demands taxes. The other demands tribute. In America, just as in ancient Rome, our Caesars are also our gods. We worship our form of government and we worship our market. Is it right to pay tribute to our Caesars (Matthew 22:17)? We might ask today whose face is on the album cover, or on the bottle of pills, or on the pension check? Our Caesars ask too much tribute and give too little in return, but pay we must.

Right & Moral Ambiguity

Christian Ethics
and Contemporary
Moral Problems

Compromise is a dirty word to some people, yet anyone who is married is familiar with compromise. Some compromises are troublesome, such as making a choice between two evils. Which is worse, working for a corrupt corporation or not providing for our families, paying taxes which pay for evils or going to jail? Some people boycott particular companies for their sins. A boycott is like punishing one sinner and not the rest. All companies sin somewhere and the hidden sins may be worse than the known ones. So we work for companies that sin and pay taxes to governments that sin in a world that sins. Even if all Christians joined monasteries or communes to escape, our sins would follow us. In a world of moral ambiguity we pay tribute to corrupt Caesars in order to survive (Matthew 22:17).

Integrity & Flattery

How to Win Friends
and Influence People

Flattery is nice but it can also be a trap. Experienced pastors are well aware of the trap in a new assignment when they are flattered and a previous pastor criticized. Sooner or later, those who say such words may end up hating the new pastor too. Hollywood schmoozing may seem positive and encouraging on the surface, but it is flattery with a purpose, to get people somewhere. Just watch a Hollywood roast to find out how people really feel. And so in Matthew 22:15-22 a trap was set for Jesus with flattery: You are a man of integrity and teach God’s way truthfully without being swayed to shade the truth by popular opinion. Just as Jesus was not fooled by flattery, so too when we are flattered, we ought to go on high alert for a possible trap.

They Were Amazed

Watch Your Mouth:
The Impact
of Our Words

Let’s compare Stephen the Martyr’s response to questioning in Acts 7 with Jesus’ response in Matthew 22:22. Jesus knew that it was not yet his time to suffer the cross and so his answer was crafted with that in mind. He sidestepped the moral dilemma presented to him with a practical and inoffensive answer. On the other hand, Stephen went on the attack. His words were targeted and sharp, especially after verse 51. Particularly notice verse 56 in Acts 7. Stephen saw Jesus standing. Jesus who is usually described as sitting seems to have stood up in response. Stephen may have been even blunter than he needed to be, but there is a time for forthright accusation against religious injustice. If we choose to speak out, we must also know the potential consequences and the impact of our words.

Render unto God

Render Unto God:
Economic Vulnerability,
Family Violence,
and Pastoral Theology

The saying render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's comes from Matthew 22:15-22. We may assume this supports the separation of church and state, but that is wrong. It was written in a time when that was not even a concept and the Jewish and Roman religions were both part of the state. So rendering to God what belonged to God in that context then referred to the allegiance to the God of the Jewish people, not God entirely separated from a human government as we might picture it today. An unstated hidden message might be that Caesar in reality owns nothing. He is a false god. In faith we believe that what we must pay Caesar is a temporary burden. What do we render to God? Everything?

Invited and Chosen

The parable of the wedding banquet reveals that many are invited but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). This parable reveals heaven as a selection process in two stages: 1) the invitation and 2) being chosen. It also reveals two steps to being chosen: 1) accept the invitation and 2) wear the right clothing. It is no use just going to a weekly celebration of salvation. Faithful church attendance alone is not enough. We must put on Christ or clothe ourselves with him (Romans 13:14). When we are baptized we put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). Salvation is possible in Jesus Christ and those who ultimately refuse him refuse salvation. I say “ultimately” because some may have never even heard the truth about him and may only have an opportunity to even know who he really is later on.

Into the Darkness

Common views of hell see it as a place of fire and sulfur or eternal darkness. One view is of eternal suffering in fire. Another is of a lake of fire where people are thrown and burned up to become ashes under the feet of the righteous. Other Bible verses seem to describe people separated from God forever, cast into outer darkness, crying and grating their teeth (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Jude 13). Does God cause their agony or is it the result of their own sins and the absence of God’s blessings? Does black darkness contradict bright fire, or are both metaphors picturing a horrible destination? Some have even tried to harmonize fire and darkness as “black fire.” Was that even the intent of the original writings? Bottom line: Don’t choose hell.

They Refused to Come

The Parables
of Jesus:
Made Simple

Many people don’t enjoy royal weddings. They seem like shallow affairs of families who got their power by the plunder of the weak and helpless. Sycophants paying fawning attention to a selfish, wealthy elite can be a complete turn off. Many of us may have difficulties with the picture of the kingdom of God being like a royal wedding in Matthew 22:2. We may even understand why some people shrugged their shoulders making light of the invitation. When Jesus spoke this parable, royalty had an even worse reputation than it does today. Royals terribly abused the citizens they were supposed to be serving. Yet, unlike most royalty in all human history, this was no invitation from a self-serving king to a list of snobs, but an open invitation from a self-sacrificing king who would die to save his people.

Tell Them to Come

The parable of the royal wedding in Matthew 22:1-14 is shocking. We have watered down the fear of God. Certainly, fear means deep reverence and respect. However, it also means to be afraid. We are too unafraid of God these days. The king in the parable is to be feared. He was not erratic and irrational. Knowing what he wanted was pretty easy to figure out. The invitation was issued politely, but a wise person knows that the king’s wish is a command. And everyone knows that when you go before a king, you wear proper clothing. It’s really quite simple. God invites. We respond. The only right clothing is that of putting on Jesus’ righteousness. We sure don’t have any such clothing. Also, hell is a choice that we make. It is a consequence of rejecting God’s invitation.

The King was Enraged

So You Don't Want
to Go to Church Anymore

Some people rarely or never go to church. What’s wrong with that you may ask? Is the habit of avoiding church, with obvious exceptions for the sick and elderly, a bad one? Is it not an invitation to a heavenly celebration? In the parable of the wedding feast the king became very angry with those who refused his invitation (Matthew 22:7). How long will we go on refusing God’s invitation? We have many excuses to avoid church attendance: people or musical style we don’t like, preaching, rituals, being with fellow hypocrites, or getting out of bed. Has not God invited us or is church just a club? The greatest wedding of all history is being celebrated. It is our choice to attend or not and it is God’s choice to act upon our decision. Will we accept God’s invitation?