I have previously done my own study on all of the questions that Jesus asked in the Bible. I take those questions and I write them out as though Jesus were asking me personally. I have started doing this powerful study again knowing that a few years have gone by since the last time I've done this study, and knowing that my answers will be different now from years past.
I started this study again today...
I have highlighted every single verse in my Bible with a blue highlighter so that I can see each of the questions that Jesus asked.
The very first question that Jesus poses to me is in Matthew chapter 5:46-47 and it would be easier to answer the first question all by itself, but He asks several questions all at once, without even taking a breath between asking... So I know that they all must be asked of me at once, as Jesus is obviously making a point here.
Here is the passage: "IF YOU LOVE THOSE WHO LOVE YOU, WHAT REWARD WILL YOU GET? ARE NOT EVEN THE TAX COLLECTORS DOING THAT? AND IF YOU GREET ONLY YOUR BROTHERS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING MORE THAN OTHERS? DO NOT EVEN PAGANS DO THAT?"
How closely do I want to look at this series of questions? The first question is "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" is one when posed all by itself is so easy to answer, feels so good in what the answer would be! The rewards would be wonderful, love would be overflowing in all of my relationships, love would be deeply felt, and would be the ruling factor at all times. If we were to view all of our relationships only through the lens of love at all times, knowing that there is amazing rewards for doing so, we all would be doing life on such I higer level of consciousness! So to me this question posed all by itself is an awesome question! It makes me realize that I want to view love as the reward, ss the holy outcome of all that I do. I love this question! It all by itself is powerful and life changing for me, it truly is as I ponder more deeply the REWARDS of LOVE. I could go on and on about this but let's go ahead and move on to the rest... Let's look closer as Jesus really wants us to.
BUT! As I look at this passage even closer, because that's what our Lord really wants us to do, He wants us to dig deeper...
One of the points that He wants us to get here is that it's much easier to love those that we like, but what about those that we don't really like? If I rely on myself to love those that I don't really even like it seems so hard to do. I have the full awareness that in this case, I truly need to die to myself and all the power of the Spirit, living and dwelling within me to do it for me. This is the power that we actually have residing in us that is amazing! Let us learn to live in the power of ths Spirit more and more, He makes things easy for us, actually doing those things for us! We can only imagine the rewards that we should experience by doing so, by loving the way that God calls us to. It's pretty cool!
Let us look closely at those things that are right on the end of our noses that God really does want us to see! Let's look deeply into the questions that God has for us, He's asking us good questions, questions that we need to answer with our lives turned over to Him.
Looking, Listening and Learning,
Kathryn
