Love Your Enemies – Raining on the Unjust

Greetings Dear Reader,

At times I have a very visual imagination.   I picture what it would be like if rain only fell on the crops of the righteous.  Somehow patchwork rain would not be as beautiful.  It would lack symmetry and would seem cruel.  Jesus makes it very clear that the Father sends rain to everyone regardless of his or her faith and following.

If we proceed from the assumption that we are all fallen then it is not wrong that there are some calamities that befall us all.   There are blessings too although we do not really acknowledge them. 

One of the things we are supposed to do as Christ followers is help move things back to good.  A part of that is our social responsibility to everyone.  We are to be good to everyone.  We are to care about everyone.

We are warned not to celebrate the ills or bad fortune of our enemies. We are warned further to care about their needs.  How that translates is very important in terms of loving our enemies.

The social issues that plague man are the same.  They have changed through the centuries only in magnitude and complexity.  Our responsibility for those issues does not change.  Loving our enemies is not genuine if it is passive.

The responsibility of the Christ follower is to care about the needs of others.  The social needs of our community are the responsibility of Christ followers full stop.  The plenty that we have is for the purpose of showing love to those around us.    

I hate the system of universal healthcare we have adopted but as my Son Bezel said we have to get there somehow.  I hate abortion but the church should be leading the way in providing safe, healthy, and non-judgmental alternatives.  There should be armies of Christ followers feeding the hungry.  Every homeless person who want shelter from the cold should know we are and be able to knock on our door.

If our enemy is hungry we should feed him.  If he naked we should cloth him.  It is in the love of our enemy by meeting his needs that we gain the ability to show him Christ.  There is not one person who is unworthy of this kind of care.  It is in showing this care that we allow Christ to know us.

Instead we complain about the rain if it spoils our picnic plans rather than to consider that there might be someone who needs it.  We get centered on what we want or think we need instead realizing just how much we already have.  I must not hesitate to help those God puts in my path.  I must not shy away from loving my enemies at the very essence of life.

It is not wrong to be wealthy or comfortable.  It is wrong to bypass the needs of others because I disagree with their lifestyle, politics, or faith.  If the church set all of that aside and lived the social aspect of the Gospel to its full potential imagine the difference we could make.

Would Jesus Wear a Rolex – Ray Stevens

Woke up this mornin', turned on the T.V. set

There in livin' color, was somethin' I can't forget

This man was preachin' at me, yeah, layin' on the charm

Askin' me for twenty with ten-thousand on his arm

He wore designer clothes and a big smile on his face

Sellin' me salvation while they sang amazin' grace

Askin' me for money when he had all the signs of wealth

I almost wrote a check out, yeah, then I asked myself

Would He wear a Pinky ring?

Would He drive a fancy car?

Would His wife wear furs and diamonds?

Would His dressin' room have a star?

If He come back tomorrow

Well there's somethin' I'd like to know

(Can you tell me?)

Would Jesus wear a Rolex

On His television show?

Would Jesus be political

If He come back to earth?

Have His second home in Palm Springs?

Yeah, try to hide His worth?

Take money, from those poor folks

When He comes back again

And admit He's talked to all them preachers

Who say they've been talkin' to Him?

Just ask ya' self, would He wear a Pinky ring?

Would He drive a fancy car?

Would His wife wear furs and diamonds?

Would His dressing room have a star?

If He come back tomorrow

Well there's somethin' I'd like to know

Could ya tell me?

Would Jesus wear a Rolex?

Would Jesus wear a Rolex?

Would Jesus wear a Rolex

On His television show? Oh oh

(Would Jesus wear a Rolex)

(On His television show?)

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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