In Matthew, the sermon on the mount, Jesus reminds us of how important our behavior is toward others, even our  very thoughts!  He tells us that to even think bad thoughts against a brother/sister or to call him or her a fool is the same as murder against him/her.  (Mathew 5:21-24). Why would Jesus tells us this?  It seems pretty harsh.  Jesus is telling us that if we love God with all our hearts, how can we hate a brother?  That He came to fulfill the law and that means He takes over “thou shall not kill”.  To truly understand the Father’s love for us we must also understand that He sacrificed His only Son.  For us. God asks us to love Him above ALL things.  The first commandment states;
 

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” – Exodus 20:3

 
     Since Jesus fulfills the law He becomes the law. When He tells us not to call our brother a fool He is asking us to see our brother/sister as a created being, made in the image of God.  We are to give honor and glory to God by loving his images, our brothers and sisters, with agape love, that is, the perfect love of God.  Since we are all “broken”, imperfect people, we cannot love beyond our ability with our puny human love.  We can barely forgive with it.  But with God all things are possible and we can love and forgive through Him.  Our brother can call us horrible things and stomp us into the ground, but we must not retaliate in like manner!  We see him/her through God’s merciful eyes and just as we certainly didn’t deserve it from God, we pass on mercy.  We love the brother who hates us, we embrace the sister who thwarts us.
 

Do not speak against one another, brethren.  He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.  There is only one lawgiver and judge, the One Who is able to destroy;  but who are you who judge your neighbor? – James 4:11-12  NASB

 
     The take away from Jesus and James is that we cannot be double minded.  We cannot love God in our hearts and hate those created in His likeness.  (We can hate the sin but not the sinner.)   When we love our brothers and sisters despite their sins, their weaknesses, we can pray to our Father for them!  We can ask Him, the one Who saves, to see to them, to heal and comfort them.  We begin to open our hearts minds and souls to the very real, forever Liberty, in residing with our Father one day in heaven.  We pray this for them.  Selah.
 

H A P P Y  F A T H E R S  D A Y!

Jim inside Wukoki Pueblo