I was trying to find a way to word something simil…
Jeff Roberts - Oct 2, 2007
I was trying to find a way to word something similar yesterday. Jesus did indeed stand apart from the government - one of the reasons the Jews rejected him was they were looking for a king and that’s not why he came.
He didn’t downplay the fact that there were commandments, rules, laws and consequences, and he didn’t say that right and wrong are in the eye of the beholder, or changing at the whim of the culture.
But he wasn’t there to enforce those rules and make sure everyone got the punishment they had coming, nor was he there to try to rework those guidelines, as if more or different rules can change peoples’ behavior. Instead, he was there to point to and provide the way to mercy and forgiveness.
In a sense, to he Godly is to know and obey what God has commanded, and to be Christlike is to see how far each of us falls short of that, realize that all of us are fighting that same battle and do all we can out of compassion to help others be more victorious.
Somewhere in all this I keep thinking of our Spanish church - I don’t know of any illegals there, and I hope there are none, but the best thing we know to do for them is point them to Jesus.