PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 23:13-22
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“You make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:15)
I’ve never watched ‘Austin Powers’, but I have heard of Dr. Evil and his mini Me.
His protege is a mini version of himself, a clone of his evil ways.
Discipleship is the process of making a duplicate of yourself in someone else.
They watch you, mimic you, want to be like you, and soon reflect you – good or bad.
Over time, adults begin to recognize how much they are like their dad or mom.
But are the traits they’ve learned positive ones?
Jesus is harsh on the religious leaders in this passage, but for good reason.
They are cloning their evil ways, their hypocrisy, arrogance and greed.
Jesus does not hold back, “twice as much a child of hell as you are!”
Called to make disciples, we need to be sure we’re cloning the right stuff.
Our goal should not be to make people like us but more like Jesus.
But we are the ‘Jesus’ many of them see, so how are we doing as mini-Jesuses?
The better we know Jesus, the more and the better we will reflect Him.
As we do, we can help others become twice as much a child of heaven as we are!
PRAYER
Lord, this reading has me wondering what I’m reflecting in myself – Your strengths or my weaknesses? May my life point more to You than to me, and entice others to want to be more like You!
How am I misled and am I guilty of misleading people. I get nervous of people who speak with self authority and say this is what God says – those who say they speak on behalf of God. And so in teaching from the scriptures I need to be careful – do I put a ‘spin’ on what its says – as I try to apply what it means for today? I can easily see how when a person becomes arrogant and self important – that it is easy to pick and choose passages to say what one wants to say. I need to stay accountable! HS keep me on the path of truth – and then help me not to use the understandings you give to become self-authoritative!
A stepping stone or a stumbling block?
The religious leaders were full of themselves. The wanted the recognition. They wanted the honour and praise of the people. They wanted the people’s service. They were listening to their own voices and not the Lord’s. They were misleading the people. Help me this day Lord the serve You and may others see You in me by what what I say and do.
Make me a servant
Humble and meek
Lord let me lift up
Those who are weak
And may the prayer
Of my heart always be
Make me a servant
Make me a servant
Make me a servant today