Is hate systemic? If
so, must it then be found in each of us?
Oh no, we recoil, not in me, surely not in me. I do not hate any man or woman. But then, how do I treat any man or woman? Do I offer more than I expect. Do I offer anything without expectation. In times of great personal stress, do I put
away my own feelings, and tend to the feelings of others? Or as is considered normal, do I look to my
own house before looking anywhere outside.
Do I focus on the needs of myself, and my family, before I ever consider
the needs of another. And in so doing,
my lack of concern, whether based in apathy, or dislike, begins to show in how
I treat another. Not long ago, a man
died in our country. Not because there
was need. But because there was a lack
of concern for him as a person. Reckless
apathy. Blind apathy. And though these events took place in public,
no one else stepped in to intercede.
Think about that for a moment.
Other well-trained police officers who all knew this was wrong in real
time did not intervene, and change the outcome for our brother. But then, the public gathered there, chose to
film this, instead of putting themselves in harm’s way to change the outcome as
well. Film over risk. Words over deeds. Then descends the endless parade of high-profile
attorneys, and media consultants, who claim they only seek justice for George –
when underneath, they seek a percentage of massive law suits against the wrong
doers. And the family who has suffered
unspeakable loss, is now in the care of those who prolong that loss, feed off
of it, put it in the public’s eye, and take their cut of what follows. So those who suffer most, suffer longest.
Enter the news media.
CNN moves from a daily coverage of the worst pandemic in modern history,
to a non-stop barrage of the injustice of what happened to George. They claim only to want justice and change,
but that is an empty claim when measured against ratings. And when those in our society who crave
attention, and themselves care little for George or his family, see what they
might be able to do, they insert themselves in peaceful demonstrations and
create violence where none should exist.
Looting starts, and the desire for change is now corrupted by those who
care little for anything more than themselves under a masquerade of “no
justice, no peace”. And the media covers
every detail of the violence as if that is all that matters. They show it live. They interview everyone. They bring in opinion personalities, to talk
about it. And in the end, they do
nothing but stoke it. For violence
brings even greater ratings than injustice.
And no network is immune. And a
family who looks for the comfort of change, becomes mired in the outbreak of
violence, as if they ever wanted any association with violence. Still the call for change continues.
But here is where a hard truth begins to emerge; what must
change is not the behavior of others, but how I love others. What must change is not the Minnesota police
department, that is but a drop in the bucket.
All the police officers in this country are but a drop in the bucket. What needs to change are the hearts of the people
of this country, and of every country.
Hearts that would hold out one race over another; one sex, or
orientation over another; one religion or creed over another. It is not “white” supremacy that needs to be
abolished in our thinking – it is “supremacy” – period. There are none of us superior or inferior to
any other human on the planet. Money
does not tip the scale. Intelligence
does not tip it. Even an intimate
relationship with Jesus Christ does not make us better than anyone else, in
fact it teaches us to be the servants of everyone else; them first, us
last. This truth is hard, because in
ways we don’t like to talk about, we all like to feel superior. And inevitably that superiority makes us
separate from the others we then look down upon. Even Christians are far from servants,
instead holding themselves out to be different, but with hearts that have never
met Jesus, and never submitted to His changing Love. But our problem is not just a racial divide,
it is an internal war for the soul of who we are to be.
The end of that war within us can only begin with
repentance. Jesus spoke to this very
idea. And do not justify yourself
because the deeds of another seem worse to you.
Do not think that the greater sins of that policeman in Minnesota wash
your heart and hands clean, from the apathy you maintain, from the superiority
you continue to feel, or from the treatment you show to any man or woman. The self you hold highest in your own
estimation, who stares back at you from the mirrors in your home, is what needs
most in this nation and time of need to change completely. The goal of this transformation is not to
make you clean in my eyes, or the eyes of any man, even you. But to cleanse you, and change you, according
to the good will of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, enabled by the Holy
Spirit. Your suffering will not be
relieved by lawyers, or news media, or even the sympathy of protestors. Your own suffering can only be relieved by
the Jesus who knows your pain, and can make it less, and take it away. Jesus can keep you from making your own suffering
worse. Only Jesus can do that. Luke opens his thirteenth chapter with these
very ideas.
Picking up in verse 1 it begins … “There were present at that season
some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their
sacrifices.” Talk about
governmental over-reach. Talk about the
degradation to which superiority complexes and absolute power can take us
to. Governor Pilate, a Roman, thought it
of no consequence, to slaughter Jewish people, and mix their own blood in with
traditional Jewish sacrifices performed at the Temple. And there were no demonstrations, or riots,
held in protest. There was only silent
anger in response. Because the power of
Rome was absolute, and to protest would find your own blood mixed in there
next. There was also no respect for the
God of the Jews, who considered human sacrifice an abomination above all
others. Yet their traditions and their
God was to be mocked by Pilate openly in defiance of they as a people. Jews thought themselves better than Romans
because of their God. But Romans were
sure they were better than dirty Jews.
And a hatred is born that carries forward all the way in to modern
times. Until in Germany that hatred is
amplified and propelled even further into the modern age.
Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “And Jesus answering said unto them,
Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all
the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? [verse 3] I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish. [verse 4] Or those eighteen, upon whom
the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above
all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? [verse 5] I
tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” The thinking in the time of Christ, was that
only the worst of sinners found themselves the victims of such heinous crimes,
or horrible accidents. The thinking was
that these crimes and accidents and tragedies were all punishments from an
angry God. But by that logic, it is
Pilate that should have been punished.
He wasn’t. Or the Romans at large
who were decidedly pagan and had little interest in the God of the Jews. They were not punished by God, instead they
were the conquerors of the entire then known world. And they stayed that way for centuries. So if God was the one doling out the
punishments for our sins, they would have been first in line. They were not.
But Jesus does more than bust the myth that our God is up in
heaven angry with our misdeeds, and handing out our punishments. He takes it further. Jesus says to all listening; unless you
repent, you will all suffer a horrific death that none can escape. Now some will argue, that not everybody listening
was going to wind up being slaughtered by Pilate and having their blood mixed
in with sacrifices. Or for that matter
being crushed by a tower that collapsed in the city of Jerusalem. But horrific death does not have only two
forms of expression. George proves that,
watch the video, if you can stomach it.
That was horrific. All death is
in fact horrific. And the second death
which will be the only real death that God will hand out, will happen with
fire, at the end of all things, when nothing touched by evil will remain in the
world to come. That death above all
others is horrific. And without
repentance will come as inevitably as the punishments we inflict on ourselves
from our own sin comes today.
But that is the point, there is no one group of sinners
worse than another. In sin, as in life,
we are all equals. The porn-addicted masturbaters,
are the same as the adulterers, are the same as the pedophiles, are the same as
animal abusers, are the same as the homosexuals in the eyes of God – all
perverting the gift of intimate sexual expression, into a me first – everyone
else last, point of view. And for those
within the modern church, there are a ton more sexual sins than just the focus
on homosexuality as if it were the only one.
But that is the point, not one over another, but all equal with each
other. And all in need of the healing,
restoration, and change only submission to Jesus can ever bring about. It is not left for us to judge each other, or
anyone else. It is left for us to find
healing through a constant focus on Jesus Christ. It is up to Jesus what to do with my sinning
brother or sister, not up to me. It is
my job only to love them, and lift them up in prayer, as I hope they lift me up
in prayer as well. And it may be that it
takes heaven itself to purge me of my sin, if so, I trust Jesus in that as
well. But it is only in looking to Jesus
that my salvation will ever come. For
there are a great deal more sins, and self-love expressed, than just within the
topical boundaries of sex. George proves
that as well. We murder when we care so
little for others.
Luke continues in verse 6 saying … “He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he
came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. [verse 7] Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these
three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down;
why cumbereth it the ground? [verse 8] And he
answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig
about it, and dung it: [verse 9] And if it bear
fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” We are the fig tree. Jesus is the gardener. Society is the owner of this vineyard. Society comes looking for what it is
owed. When it does not get it. It become impatient and wants to cut the loss,
and get rid of us. But Jesus says, no,
lets wait and let Me tend to the tree.
Let Me fertilize it, and trim it, prune it, and tend to it, for just
another year. If after that, it still
bears no fruit, then you can cut it down.
Jesus hopes to save that fig tree.
The Father God delays His second coming, just so that there may be time
to yet save that fig tree (which is you and I).
But time is not without end. And
fruit matters. If we refuse to allow
Jesus to change who we are from the inside out, we are then only varying
degrees of the police officer who refuses to hear the pleas of a dying man.
But the point of this parable was not for us to foresee our
own doom, it was for us to accept the way of salvation from that doom. Jesus looks to rid us of our sin in the here
and now. Not just forgive it, but take
it away. Change the motives within us
that drive us to it. Change our
desires. Change who we are. And ultimately change how we love others, and
put aside ourselves. It is that where
salvation is ultimately based. The
question remains, will you accept it? Or
will you keep pushing it away? There are
so many of us, even Christians, who believe we are already “good enough”. We believe our association with Jesus makes
us “good enough”. But then we find
ourselves with our own knee on the figurative neck of another and we are deaf
to their pleas, blind to their need, and willing to stay put until all their
cries are silenced forever. I would be
willing to bet, that police officer thought himself as well to be “good
enough”. But the loss of George proves
that to be in error. George now rests in
the Lord. But it is not too late for the
policeman, as it is not too late for you, or for me. What will we do with the invitation of our
Lord? Will we ignore it as we so often
have done or will we let Jesus overcome us, until the world can barely
recognize who we are, and see only the imprint of Jesus in our hearts that so
desperately need change. I will never be
“good enough” until my Lord can safely say welcome home. I want my heart to look just like His
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