²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Matthew 7:21-27

Dear God, I was just talking to my wife about how overwhelmed I am right now. Part of it is seasonal with work, but there are about three or four layers that are put on top of the seasonal things that are making me feel under pressure. Even saying these words to you feels a little foolish and helps me to start to put things into perspective a little. To start, my problems are first-world problems. No one is persecuting me. I have food and shelter. I have much more than just food and shelter. I have a good woman as my wife. No, in the grand scheme of things, I’m doing just fine. It’s in the minutia that I’m feeling the pressure, I suppose.

My wife talked about me turning each thing over to you, which is how I got here from this passage from the end of the Sermon on the Mount today. It’s interesting that Jesus ended the sermon this way. Basically saying, “I just gave you a lot of stuff. If you do it, you’ll be good to go. But if you try to do all the stuff you grew up hearing you should do to show you’re tight with me (casting out demons, prophesying, etc.) and ignore what I just said about holding yourself to a higher ethical standard and loving God and your neighbors then, well, we won’t know each other.”

Father, I want to know you. I want to know you through holding myself to the spirit of the law that goes beyond the letter of the law (“You have heard it said…, but I say…”). I want to lead with love. I want to lead with compassion for others. That might include hard words for people that they don’t want to hear but are for their own good. And maybe you have hard words for me that I don’t want to hear but are for my own good. Whatever it is today, Father, one step at a time, help me to be exactly who you need me to be for your glory’s sake. Help me to decrease as you increase. I don’t care if anyone sees me. I only want them to see you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen