Linking the Link
Regarding the passage i mentioned from Matt 22:15-22. "Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
21"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." 22When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
With this powerful passage, Jesus avoided the trap while not avoiding the issue. He turned a issue for that time into a lesson for disciples of every age. The crucial point is thinking about what is caesar's and what is God's. Christians are not absolved of civic responsibility just by membership into God's kingdom. However, when clashes of civic duty and obedience to God arise, God's command should take priority. We are stamped with the image of God and that should have implications for our attitudes, decisions and directions of our lives. Lets learn to thank God for living in countries (i assuming here about my readers) that do not have to choose everyday how their lives as citizens of God's kingdom puts them in danger with the government. The answers will be much harder then.
With help from Encounter with God devotional from 13th March.
18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
21"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." 22When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
With this powerful passage, Jesus avoided the trap while not avoiding the issue. He turned a issue for that time into a lesson for disciples of every age. The crucial point is thinking about what is caesar's and what is God's. Christians are not absolved of civic responsibility just by membership into God's kingdom. However, when clashes of civic duty and obedience to God arise, God's command should take priority. We are stamped with the image of God and that should have implications for our attitudes, decisions and directions of our lives. Lets learn to thank God for living in countries (i assuming here about my readers) that do not have to choose everyday how their lives as citizens of God's kingdom puts them in danger with the government. The answers will be much harder then.
With help from Encounter with God devotional from 13th March.
posted by efarmer at 5:22:00 PM
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