Thursday 5 July, 2018

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

This passage is another part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus wanted to get us all to understand how we can do or say one thing but think another and that both our doing and our thinking are important. God wants us to grow in character and to become more like Jesus. He wants us to line up what we think with what we do. To not be two minded. We can’t fool God. We can’t hide what we think by doing what other people think is the right thing or what we think God thinks is the right thing. God wants us to be whole people who have integrity and respect for others.

Lord God please help us to be thoughtful about our lives, values and beliefs. Help us to think about the consequences of our actions before we go there. Help us to come to You with the big and the small, to ask for Your help to do life well, to love those You have put in our lives like You do. Help us to be people who bring love, grace and peace to the world we inhabit.

Written by Therese Manning