“...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways...” (55:8 NIV)
So, we shouldn't be surprised that God's thoughts and ways are often challenging to learn, yet we can be encouraged by this reality: God "... is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13 NRSV).
You are not left to grind out this new way of living. This new way will become the inevitable result of living under the God's influence. For now, let's look at some of the additional things Jesus said about His way of living.
- Jesus reveals that His voice, not Moses' is the voice of ultimate authority (note the "you have heard it said, but now I say to you" statements). Can you imagine how shocking this must have been to Jesus' first century listeners?
- He shows us that real holiness is not perfunctory conformity to matters of the Law, but a heart that is transformed and aims at pleasing God and being kind to others.
- He tells us to love our enemies and describes what that looks like (see also Luke 6:27-36).
This teaching must have been very hard for Christ's first followers to swallow. There came a time when some of the people who identified as "disciples" left Him because they found His teaching too hard to accept (John 6:60-66). Even today, many would-be diciples of Jesus balk at the way of living which Jesus demands.
Will you follow Jesus and all of His teaching, even if it's contrary to values which you have held dear?