Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 275 of the year 2022 – October 2

Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

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Most of the time a simple understanding is best. Yet here it sounds like crazy talk.  Plucking my eye out, or cutting off a hand is ridiculous. Losing an eye over saying “wow” after seeing a beautiful person is bizarre.  Jesus that would not help much, I still would have my other eye. If I steal from someone with my right hand are you saying that in guilt, I should run it through my table saw is pretty radical, nevertheless, I can learn to steal with my left.  So, Jesus what are you getting at?

The most important idea here as spoke to the Hillside Sitters was the Kingdom. The Kingdom is more important than my body. What the Rabbi was simply saying was that my greatest desire should be my place along His side.  My greatest goal, my greatest desire, should be my place in the Kingdom.  And this Kingdom, because of this scale of greatness in my life, may well require great sacrifices.

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