07/01/2017
Do I leave a smidgeon of discontent behind when I resolve conflict or forgive others? Am I truly a free man, unbound from sin, if the smallest speck of what brought it on in the first place remains? What does the Word say about doing God's bidding completely?
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Matthew 5:23, 26 ESV
We like the big pictures... and we use the details of situations to our advantage. in the majority of our dealings we are trying to accomplish the most by expending a minimum of effort, or purchase the largest quantity of something for the least amount of money. We say things like "let the buyer beware", and "a penny saved is a penny earned". Then, when we cross the line of fairness as we deal with others, or ruin a relationship by taking advantage, we say "that's business." We take our responsibility for adhering to the second commandment of Jesus (Matthew 22:39) and attempt to justify it away... we gauge our success by the big picture and sweep the seedy little details under the carpet. What if you stood before God in judgement and He said... "Well, that's life!" As He dismissed you to hell for some very grey offense that He didn't forgive completely as promised?
The big picture is important, but the smallest detail can undo our pleasure in it. We can make a fortune, but lose all of the satisfaction in that transaction by how we handle the smallest of our dealings that made it possible. If I were to strike a deal in which I bought a car from one man and sold it for a profit to another, but told a lie in the process... then I am undone. If I won a football game, but cheated in the process... then what have I proved? Who is the true winner? How things appear to be on the outside when big pictures are viewed can be something all together different when the details of them are examined. The pastor that preaches wonderful sermons on Sunday but secretly lusts after another man's wife. A business man who worked a billion dollar deal but left a family homeless in the process. These are the farthings, the last pennies, that Jesus was speaking of... and they are just as important as the big picture.
God doesn't want a part of us to be pure, He wants us perfectly pure. He doesn't want us to love Him for the most part, but to love him with all of our heart. The details, and the last pennies, are not trivial... they make a thing complete, and God places great emphasis on that fact. Let's look at how he expects us to love him as an example...
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV
“And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37 ESV
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'”
Mark 12:30 ESV
“And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."”
Luke 10:27 ESV
Do you get the picture? It is more than a "BIG" picture! Do you see the importance of the detail regarding "all" when you read these words as they are written time and time again? Well this is true in every aspect of our faith! I love to use sayings so I will use a few more... "no job is complete until the paperwork is done", "it ain't over until the fat lady sings", and "have you dotted all the eyes(ii) and crossed all the tees(tt)?"
Sometimes we get right to the end of a job well done and then ruin everything we have worked for in a single word or deed. The person who loves their spouse for a lifetime, but then let's them die alone. The businessman who clinched the deal by betraying a partner in order to get the final signature on the contract. The Christian brother that asks for forgiveness but doesn't give his own in its entirety. These are the pennies that Jesus speaks of, but until they are paid, the big picture is incomplete. The spouse's lost love, the businessman's shame, the faithful's sin. What pennies are left unaccounted for in our lives?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your perfect love. I thank you for leaving no stone unturned as you work to make me pure of heart and faith. I thank you for always being with me, and never abandoning me. Holy Father, I have heard your Word regarding doing your will and obeying you completely. Show me every unpaid penny in my life, and give me the strength of character to pay each one so that my faith, love, and your honor are complete. Reveal my failings Lord so that I can deal with them as you would have me do. Make my life complete in my faith, and when I stand before you in judgement, let there be no farthing, no penny, that is unaccounted for. Let even those debts that I was unable to pay on my own be covered by the blood of my redeemer, Jesus Christ, and may you find me complete in Him. Father have mercy.
Rich Forbes