Matthew 5: 43-45
Review
We continue to explore John Wesley’s “Three Simple Rules” Do no harm, Do Good and Stay in love with God.
You know, just when we think we are ready to buy into the idea of not doing harm, of “Do no Harm,” to anyone or anything, we find ourselves facing an even more difficult choice, “do good.” Now, things begin to get complicated…
Once again, we remember the words of Jesus…”But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6: 27-28)
Wesley’s challenge to “Do Good” is a direct commandment from Jesus. While sounding simple, we’ve learned sounding simple doesn’t mean that living the rule is so simple.
Last week we began by asking ourselves, “What does it mean to do good? Where do I begin, what are the boundaries, the limits? Is this “simple” challenge too hard for me? What does it mean?” What does doing good look like in our divided, hostile, and wounded world?”
We discovered Wesley’s culture had many of the same problems and characteristics we face in our world today. Sometimes doesn’t it seem the more things change, the more they stay the same?
First, we acknowledged, “Doing good,” just like doing no harm, is a proactive way of living. We don’t need to wait until asked to do some good deed or provide some needed help or wait until circumstances cry out for help. We can decide to do our very best to insure our way of living is always focused toward doing good to all in every circumstance and in every way we can. We can decide to choose a way of living intended to nourishes goodness and strengthen community.
I realize this is no small task. To live this way requires careful and constant assessment of our lives and the world in which we live. This will be hard. “Doing good” requires an even more bold and radical step than not doing harm
Last week I shared with you a realization God gave to me when sitting in the back of the sanctuary during VBS; about the enthusiasm of the children; the obvious desire of many of those young boys and girls to learn about Jesus.
I told you, and I think you agreed there is no doubt what so ever that God plants within every soul the desire to know Him intimately and to share in His love and compassion and joy in fellowship with one another. Those children were like sponges, anxious to soak up this love.
I shared how I began to realize as an adult, I’ve become hardened. How I’ve formed opinions. But of course, I never have an opinion unless I’m right! I’ve become hardened because I have failed to keep my eyes and heart on Jesus all the time. 100% of the time. And because of this failure, through life’s experiences, and poor decisions, too often I have failed to live out these three simple rules.
As I watched the children, I remembered how Jesus always had a tender caring heart for children. I remembered He said we should all be like children.
.
Psalm 103: 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
Matthew 18: 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
For just a moment I was sad because I realized how far away from that childlike desire to know Jesus I have come; to know the simple pure joy of the love of Christ filling my heart and spilling over into my every action, every word, every thought.
The good new is this, if we are sincerely willing to go forward, Jesus always gives us another chance. Remember, he loves us just as we are, but He wants to move us to where we can be.
-MOVE-
Now, I don’t think this is what Jesus was talking about… but it does show the genuineness and innocence of a child…
A little boy was overheard praying:
’Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it.
I’m having a real good time like I a m. ’
After the christening of his baby brother in church,
Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied,
’That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,
and I wanted to stay with you guys.’
One particular four-year-old prayed,
’And forgive us our trash baskets
as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.’
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.
’If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
’Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
’ Ryan , you be Jesus !’
-MOVE-
OK, so, can we agree Jesus was talking about the desire to know Him, to be His best friend and have Him be our best friend… Did you ever have a crush when you were young? On a favorite school teacher… or classmate? I think that’s the kind of childlike adoration, desire Jesus is talking about. Yet as an adult, I need to be mature and responsible. I need to be in prayer and study of the Word and in fellowship with other believers.
I’ve decided I want to be like a child again in my desire to know Jesus. Everything about Him, to walk with Him as a child does with His father, to be in love with Him as a child loves his parents, His creator.
And I decided I want to follow these three simple rules. Really follow them. Picture what our world, what God’s world could look like if each of us truly followed these rules?
So, about this “doing good” thing. Now, I’m willing to do a little good, maybe even give an extra couple of hundred dollars to the church… or now and then give a contribution to the habitat for Humanity, or the local food bank… but ….where are the boundaries? I can see where this can quickly get out of control. Before I know it, if I’m not careful, I can give my whole life away… and I’m not sure I want to get into this too far.
Control. Perhaps that’s the most important word here. I can see where a lot of things can get in the way of this way of living and probably the biggest obstacle is my desire to be in control. I like to know where I am going, and I like to know what it will cost to get there.
Doing all the good I can becomes a frightening concept when I realize the needs of the world, my community, my congregation, my family. When I consider the possibility of doing all the good I can, I might feel compelled to give everything away for one or more good causes!
Would that be the right thing to do? Even if it were the right thing to do, could I really do it? I already have too many responsibilities, too many commitments, and too many other who depend on me.
What if my gift or offer, small or large is rejected? What if I try to bring about some reconciliation or compromise in a conflict and those in conflict ridicule my efforts? What if some see my efforts as weakness, my concerns overlooked? What if my gift of kindness and goodness is accepted, and then misused?
-MOVE-
The reality is my efforts to do good may be rejected, ridiculed, and misused. But my desire to do good is not to please man, not to be limited by the thoughts or actions of others. No, my desire to do good is in response to God’s invitation to follow Jesus and out of my true love for Jesus and that IS IN MY CONTROL! I can decide to do good to all, even those who disagree with me and turn against what I believe is good and right.
And here is the most important thing to remember about “doing good” because of our love for God. The reward for our doing good is not canceled or diminished by the response to my acts of goodness. I have the reward of knowing I did what was right and pleasing to God. I am still identified, known, and loved as a child of God. What could be a greater reward.
Yes, the rules are simple, and easily understood. But that doesn’t make them easy to practice, as we are learning. John Wesley frequently examined his own life to see if he was living in harmony with these three simple rules he taught.
“The, however, with a sentence in the Evening Lesson, put me upon considering my own state more deeply. And what then occurred to me was as follows”… His judgment concerning holiness in new. He no longer judges it to be an outward thing: To consist either in doing no harm, in doing good, or in using the ordinances of God. He sees it is the life of God in the soul; the image of God fresh stamped on the heart; an entire renewal of the mind in every temper and thought, after the likeness of Him that created it. (“Journal from August 12, 1738, to November 1, 1739,” in Works, Vol. 1; page 161)
The “image of God fresh stamped on the heart.” Is this not the ultimate reward of faithfulness? Should it not lead us to the decision to do all the good we can for everyone we can?
Today scripture tells us that God, who loves all, permits the rain to fall on all. So, this decision means that if we are to follow Jesus, we must seek good for all. It means the words and acts that would and divide are changed to words and acts that heal and bring together. It means that movements seeking to divide and conquer become movements to unite and empower all. It means the common good will be our first thought and what’s good for me, a secondary thought! Can you see how contrary this is to our culture? (Refer to TV adds…. “I want it all and I want it now!”) The “all about me” culture?
This is truly a challenging way to live my life! To love God with my whole being and to love my neighbor as much as myself…. Well, God never says this will be easy…but consider this; it is essential to our spiritual life, our life of faith, and our life with God.
Yup, the three rules are simple; but when we look at this simple and practical step to a transformed world, we began to see how complicated, difficult and costly living with Jesus can become.
Jesus identified Himself as “one who serves” (Luke 22: 27). Paul said, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love on another… outdo one another in showing honor… contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers: (Romans 12: 9-10, 13)
These words and Jesus lifestyle were revolutionary to some of the early Christians and to the world in which they lived! And today, they sound pretty radical as well. To walk with Jesus then meant to focus on something larger than the individual and Someone larger than any human being or human institution. And isn’t that true today?
Again, from Wesley’s journal: “His servant I am, and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of his word, “As I have opportunity, doing good unto all men:” And his providence clearly concurs with his word; which has disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend on this very thing, “and go about doing good.”
What if I forget about myself? What if I really did think about and put God first in my life? What if I did think of the needs of others first? What if I permitted what is good for the community to be my guide rather than my own personal needs? Would this bring me nearer to what Wesley had in mind? What Jesus had in mind? I have a feeling it would.
To take the time out of my “busy” schedule to call an old friend simply to say hello and I’m thinking of you. To take an extra moment to give a word of encouragement, a word of thanks to the clerk at Wal-mart, or the grocery store. To let someone with fewer items than me to go ahead of me through the checkout line… to let in ahead of me the driver who is waiting to pull into traffic. To hug my grandchild…. To smile at someone I don’t know… to do some act of kindness without being asked. … Yeah, I think I can do this. And I believe you can do this or you wouldn’t be here this morning.
Last week I reminded you of the Home Depot slogan, “You can do it, we can help.” I made the statement “God says I can do it, you can help.” We know God can do anything and everything… but isn’t it wonderful that God invites us to watch Him and even have the opportunity to help…. Yeah God, I know you can do it, thanks for inviting us to help.
