Trust In God

by Elaine Poproski

I would like to tell you about something I don’t like about being a Christian. I don’t like when someone behaves toward me in a way that doesn’t honour Jesus and yet I am expected to respond in a way that does honour Jesus. I don’t want to play by different rules than my opponent is playing by. If someone is mean to me, I don’t want to turn the other cheek, I want to be mean right back. If someone makes me feel like I’m nothing, I want to cut them down to prove I’m not nothing. I know I wrote & preached about that last week (please contact the office and we will send you the audio file), but I think this will be an inner battle in my life for a while yet. I’m thankful that Jesus’ Spirit lives in me and is changing these un-Christ-like aspects of my being.

This week I’m confronted by another, related part of myself that needs to be changed by Jesus’ spirit. Imagine this scenario: Someone behaves in a way that does not honour Christ and somehow you’re affected by that behaviour. And you swallow your desire to give it right back and instead do what you’re supposed to do, and love the person like Jesus loves them. But, wouldn’t it be nice if other people saw what you’d done or knew what you’d done? Wouldn’t it be nice if you got a little praise for being so Jesus-like? And then you read Jesus’ words: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1).

This Sunday we are continuing along our journey through the Sermon on the Mount. It’s all about humility. It’s all about following Jesus without regard for human adoration or praise. It revisits and reminds us of the opening words of the sermon: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (Matthew 5:3). Blessed are those who keep their eye on Jesus, whose sole self-comparison is Jesus, who are concerned only and always with God’s valuation of themselves. As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to read through Matthew 6:1–18. As you read, listen for the words that seem louder than the others. Ask God to reveal to you if there’s something in particular He wants to do in you. Be honest with yourself: are there things you’re holding onto – things about your character – that He is asking you to surrender to His Spirit so He can change you?