Cup-of-Water Religion
Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. Matt. 10:42, RSV.
Too many of us have it all backward. We think of greatness in the kingdom as doing some strenuous thing for the Lord. Perhaps we consider it as having the most amount of inspired writings stored up in our heads so that we have a Bible answer for every question that comes up. Or we might regard it as correct worship in church or spending our thoughtful hour with Jesus each day or making great exertions in missionary outreach.
We have all kinds of theories on the topic. But most of them not only put our "selves" at the center of the "great" venture, but they miss the point. True Christianity, as we noted earlier, is letting Jesus live out His heart of love in our lives every day. The items listed above may or may not be significant, depending on how we relate to them, but something as simple as passing out a cup of cold water to the thirsty is always important.
Our religious ideas get into trouble when we take the initiative of separating Jesus' two great commandments. We get all worked up about honoring God with all our hearts, minds, and souls (Matt. 22:37), but then sail through life not loving our neighbors as ourselves (verse 39). Sometimes we are even hard and cruel to them in the name of Christ if they are not doing what we think is right.
And here we make the mistake of religionists down through the ages. The ancient Jews were like us. They got all excited about the outward focus of religion, but forgot what it was supposed to accomplish in their lives. Thus Micah asks, "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow down myself before God on high?" The answer was not some great offering. Rather, "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:6, 8, RSV). And James writes that "religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27, RSV).
All too many are excellent on the "unstained" part of that text but miss the rest of it. Jesus didn't. He had to deal with "unstained" Pharisees daily. It is in that context that He set forth His cup-of-cold water theology. People who live His life of love will find their reward in God's kingdom.
Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. Matt. 10:42, RSV.
Too many of us have it all backward. We think of greatness in the kingdom as doing some strenuous thing for the Lord. Perhaps we consider it as having the most amount of inspired writings stored up in our heads so that we have a Bible answer for every question that comes up. Or we might regard it as correct worship in church or spending our thoughtful hour with Jesus each day or making great exertions in missionary outreach.
We have all kinds of theories on the topic. But most of them not only put our "selves" at the center of the "great" venture, but they miss the point. True Christianity, as we noted earlier, is letting Jesus live out His heart of love in our lives every day. The items listed above may or may not be significant, depending on how we relate to them, but something as simple as passing out a cup of cold water to the thirsty is always important.
Our religious ideas get into trouble when we take the initiative of separating Jesus' two great commandments. We get all worked up about honoring God with all our hearts, minds, and souls (Matt. 22:37), but then sail through life not loving our neighbors as ourselves (verse 39). Sometimes we are even hard and cruel to them in the name of Christ if they are not doing what we think is right.
And here we make the mistake of religionists down through the ages. The ancient Jews were like us. They got all excited about the outward focus of religion, but forgot what it was supposed to accomplish in their lives. Thus Micah asks, "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow down myself before God on high?" The answer was not some great offering. Rather, "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:6, 8, RSV). And James writes that "religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27, RSV).
All too many are excellent on the "unstained" part of that text but miss the rest of it. Jesus didn't. He had to deal with "unstained" Pharisees daily. It is in that context that He set forth His cup-of-cold water theology. People who live His life of love will find their reward in God's kingdom.
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