Matthew 10:26-28
Therefore, do not fear them.
For nothing is having been hidden that will not be revealed and nothing
is unable to be known that will not be made known. What I say to you all in darkness, say in the
light. What you all hear in the ear,
proclaim upon the rooftops. Do not be
afraid of the one who can kill the body but who is not powerful enough to
destroy the soul. But rather, be afraid
of the one who is powerful enough to destroy both the body and the soul in
Hell.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
One of the fundamental points to the opening thought of
Jesus in this passage is that truth will win out. One day, everything will be made known. One day, everything will be exposed and
judged. This is a great message for the
one undergoing persecution – or the one about to undergo persecution. One day, the truth will win out. Even if we should put our life on the line
and die for the sake of Jesus’ name, on day God’s truth will expose that
reality and we shall know everlasting life with God.
Why is it important to you that truth will trump
reality? Is it important to you to know
that in the end God will be able to set all things right?
Second Thought:
The second thing that we need to understand about Jesus’
message is the expectation placed upon the disciples. What Jesus is telling them needs to be told
to others. What Jesus teaches in the
small and private intimate conversations of discipleship needed to be passed on
to others. However, it also gives us a
pattern to follow. Before a person is
ready to proclaim to others, they need to take the time to listen in the
private moments. If we want to be able
to talk meaningfully about Christ to other people, we need to sit at the feet
of those who can in order to learn from them.
How well equipped are you at passing on the faith that has
been instilled within? How willing are
you to sit at the feet of someone else and listen? How willing are you to proclaim to others?
Third Thought:
Finally, we get a healthy dose of realism. Jesus is rather blunt once more. He tells us to not fear those who can hurt –
or destroy – only the body. But He absolutely
tells us to fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in Hell. In other words, we should have a healthy fear
of God. This doesn’t mean that we should
live in fear of God’s wrath. After all,
Jesus’ life and death can give us relationship with God and bring us into
eternal life in spite of our sinfulness.
However, we should have a healthy fear of God with respect to what God
can do to those who do not put their faith in Him and follow Christ. We don’t need to fear what mankind can do to
us. Rather, we should fear what can
happen to us if we turn our back upon God.
Do you fear God or mankind more? Do you actually live this answer out? When are you most likely to fear what mankind
can do to you ?
Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 10:29-33
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