God and Jesus will not do anything to make anyone hate their name!
As we talked about in the last BQTT Jesus is getting ready to do an all-things-well miracle here in the region of the Decapolis. Jesus did the same thing for 5,000 in Israel on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, but here in the region of the Decapolis Jesus is not among his own people the Jews, but among the Gentiles. He has just healed a man who was deaf and had a hard time speaking. He also previously cast out a legion of demons from a crazy naked man. Why would he do this? For His name sake.
Can you imagine going to a place and holding a great revival where whole cities are transformed for Jesus, and then leaving them all starving so that many faint on their way back home and maybe some die because of it? No, you would try your best to provide a meal for them before you leave. All the work you did would be in vain because they would not have their needs met. Jesus is doing the same thing. He has just provided them with some basic spiritual needs and now He is providing some basic physical needs as well.
“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.”
James 2:15-17 HCSB
God and Jesus will not do anything to make anyone hate their name!
“The Lord also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Now leave Me alone, so that My anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
But Moses interceded with the Lord his God: “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from Your great anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for Your people. Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel — You swore to them by Your very self and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’ ”
So the Lord relented concerning the disaster He said He would bring on His people.”
Exodus 32:9-14 HCSB
I have a problem with this verse but that is for a different day, maybe tomorrow.
But God was willing to change his mind about destroying those stiffnecked, rebellious people known as the Hebrews, or Jews, just to save grace in His name.
What about us? If Jesus is our example will we do as He did and do all things well? Will We do things to save His name? Or will we act in a way that the world will see us and say, “There is nothing different about those Christians. Why should I follow their Christ”? Let us be a people who will follow Jesus with a different attitude of doing all things well so that the people who see it will say, “
There is something different about him. I want what has gotten ahold of him.”
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
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