How did you respond to others you felt were different from you back in the day? I was often very critical – Lord, forgive me. What about now? Is there a shift? How do we treat others? Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Matthew 10:41 CEB
[41] Those who receive a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Those who receive a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
What Will Our Reward Be?
Siblings, I believe that our Nougat invites personal introspection. Although it was written to Matthew’s presumably Jewish audience, the challenge of discerning who is legitimate may sometimes affect how we receive people who come in the name of the Lord.
There are charlatans aplenty out there, and so even as we receive the other, we must be discerning. For truly, not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord’ is legitimate about serving God. We have all seen our heard of them before, the Jim Joneses, the fake evangelists, the false prophets … brandishing prophecies, peddling signs, and wonders like a snake oil salesperson. Yes, there are women too, who take the Lord’s name in vain.
But, as students of the Word, we often know when it is out of sync. Sometimes, even if we are not discerning, we can tell – if we choose to pay attention. The question is, what are we looking for?
Self-Check
Is there a set of criteria that we apply to discerning who comes to us in God’s name? What is our basis for such?
Application
It is worth realizing that this Nougat is placed within the wider context of Y’shua’s sending forth of the disciples. This is also found in Mark and Luke, with Luke having two versions of the sending. Matthew’s version is somewhat unique in regard to the amount of time dedicated to preparing the disciples. Could it be that Matthew expounded some more than the others because he was driving home to his audience, Jews, the nature of the people they would also be sharing the Gospel to? If so, might we also take heed of that warning, so we are not expecting to be treated like prophets or welcomed because we’re religious? A word to the wise is sufficient.
Of course, there’s also the fact that as great as we might be in regard to our spiritual gifting, we are also under divine authority. It means that we may also encounter persons who are genuinely operating under God’s anointing. Far often, a person who is legitimately serving God does not always receive a warm welcome. In some cases, they are the ones treated with suspicion, while the charlatans are celebrated.
How we receive God’s anointed affects us. It affects our spiritual growth, our witness, and may even affect other aspects of our lives in this side of eternity. Let us be clear, however, that our primary ambition, especially as believers, is not for this lifetime. True, we need to survive while we’re on earth (although Matthew warns in the Beatitudes that life as a believe is tough), but we’re assuming for Heavenly rewards. In that case, our treasure that we seek is eternal.
The Golden Rule comes into play here. We must ask ourselves, are we treating others as we’d like to be treated? More critically, does our treatment of God’s anointed here on earth reflect the reward we seek in Heaven? Oy! That’s some serious pondering now. For, I am confident that we are desirous of hearing, ‘Step into the joy of my rest’ (see Matthew 25:23).
Might we resolve today, that henceforth we will be discerning about God’s anointed, and also be intentionally hospitable toward them. The good we do will come back to bless us.
Application
How might we bless a servant of God today? We can begin with praying for them.
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May all we seek be found in Christ
