Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
by CK May is the month of flowers not just in the Philippines but also here in Calgary. A lot of my neighbors have done their spring cleaning and unfortunately I cannot cope up with them. I remember that during this time of the year my husband, Hank gets busier day by day. He takes care [...]
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Gabay sa Bahay

by: Pastor Amor P. Ruba

I heard that relationship is the greatest problem in North America because everyone is affected by it. Every family is affected by sibling rivalry, jealousy, pride and by fighting match. Almost every home is affected by divorce – husband and wife engaged in a bitter and nasty divorce. This should not be.

It seems like we have forgotten how to love. One of the marks of true Christian characters and or spiritual maturity is love – growing in love. Bill Hybell said that “love is more related to work than to play. It has more to do with being a servant than with being a hero”. I agree. Love is not just feeling it is a work to do. It will cost you something if you set yourself to love someone. It will cost you your time, your energy and your money. All of us should come to understand that true love is sacrificial. It will cost you to truly love someone.

You cannot love your wife, husband, and children without spending time, energy and money. You cannot love a friend without spending time, energy and money. You cannot love Jesus Christ without spending time, energy and money. It will cost you. True love is sacrificial. How do we grow in love? I love the Sermon of the Mount. There are three questions given by the Lord Jesus (Matt 5: 39-41).

What do you do when someone hit you in the face, The Lord Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, ‘do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”. I usually go to Marlborough Mall – sit down with the crowd. And some occasion I met people who challenged me of my faith. They indirectly accused me that the church is just a business nothing else and nothing more. I tried to maintain my cool in the midst of this mockery and accusation. But say, someone will slap me in my face, what shall I do? In this culture of revenge and even today in our culture that’s a slap of the face is an insult that cannot be taken for granted? It requires retaliation of the highest degree. What would I do? There’s inside of me that says, “Retaliate, retaliate, retaliate”!

But the Lord said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’” Jesus quotes the law of retaliation that is found in Exodus 21:22-27). This phrase causes some to say that the Old Testament Law was savage and bloodthirsty, but that is not true. Actually, it was the beginning of mercy. And it is the foundational law of all civilization. Although it allows retaliation, it limit retaliation by setting restrictions. The law was intended as an equalizer of justice. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Don’t slap him back. Don’t scream and scream at him in his face. Instead, look the man straight in the eye and remind yourself that in spite of his arrogance and anger, he matters to God.

Even at that moment God is trying to reach out to him. In fact, God is looking for someone through whom he could love this guy. God is saying to dig down deep into the foundations of your faith and love this man. If turning the other cheek to him for a second slap will make a mark on the man’s soul, turn the other cheek.

What to do when someone takes your coat away? The Lord is saying, offer him your other garment as well even that is outside of the law. Practice radical love. Go beyond what is required of you and go beyond what is required of the law.

What to do when someone asks you for a second mile? Go beyond what is required by the law. Look at him in the eye and say, “Sir, God has put love in my heart for all his creations, and that includes you, whether you are aware of it or not. You matter so much to God that it would be a privilege for me to go with you with another mile.” This is radical kind of love. But why did God command us not to retaliate?

The Lord said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy But I say unto you, Love your enemies,…But why should you love your enemies? Jesus gives the reason: “So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” I read an illustration about Tiger Woods. When he won the Master’s. A racial remark was directed to him. And he responded and said, “We all make mistakes and it’s time to move on.” This man did not say anything to retaliate, he refused to retaliate. Instead, he said, “Let’s move on.”

When nails were pounded into his hands and feet. The Lord Jesus did not say, “You’re going to rot in hell for this.” No, he said, “Father, these men matter to you. Forgive them! As Jesus died, a Clint Eastwood kind of man, a hardened Roman officer, broke down and the Bible said, “Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God saying, ‘Certainly this was a righteous man.” (John 23: 47). This man was broken by the power of Jesus’ radical, no-retaliatory, second mile love.

It’s time to put away our pride, it’s time to learn to love even if it costs us because life is short and because we are all the same. We all make mistakes and because we all make mistakes, let’s forgive each other. It’s time to become a true believer of Jesus Christ and repent of all our sins.

Note: If you have any question to ask, please email me or phone me at 403-606-1115 or email me at [email protected]

Gabay sa Bahay

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