one step: Matthew 6.1

…And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Why is it sometimes easier to believe that God will punish us than reward us? If we mess up, we beat ourselves up, hoping to do the job for God so that we can escape His wrath. When we fail, we attach the next negative event in our lives to the correction of our Father. When we look at our broken past, we ponder how we can repay it in the present and future. Why does this come so naturally, especially to those raised in traditions of holiness? Why do we think this way when the wrath of God has already been poured out on Jesus for our sake?

On the other hand, why do we look over the body of Christ and see a pattern of hunger for self-fulfillment and the elevation of the pursuit of selfish dreams of fame above all else? Why do we seek significance through making an impact? Why do we seek to lift ourselves up when Jesus modeled lowering Himself?

It’s not bad to want to make an impact, and it’s not bad to want to live holy. For the Pharisees of Jesus’s day, they wanted to do both.*

Jesus gives the key for holy living and for making an impact: do acts of service in secret.

Those times of life that I have done good things for others hoping that those of influence around me would see brought me nothing but an icky feeling and wasted time. What motivated me in this? I believed that those people of influence would see my good works and reward me here on earth. Even in those times that it gained me acceptance or approval of some sort, it didn’t give me what I really needed.

Other times, by God’s grace at work in my life, I did things that no one will ever know about. The purity of those moments left me in full confidence that my service was unto Him and Him alone.

Imagine what a life of secret goodness would look like. Imagine what it would feel like to walk into the end your life at an old age and be able to reflect on all the good that you did for God that only He knew about. What a sweet moment.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to abandon your desire for the appearance of holiness for actual holiness. Maybe God wants you to trust that He punished Jesus and wants to reward you for good works done unto Him. Perhaps God wants you to stop seeking your own influence and to start seeking obedience. Maybe God wants you to trust that He has your future so that you don’t have to keep looking to people to secure your destiny.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 135-139, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:1-4) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.19

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…

The words of Jesus serve as a continual challenge to our beliefs and compulsions. The instruction to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us draws us out of the commonplace. It is common to hate enemies and to curse persecutors. To be silent about the hate in our hearts and the curses in our minds may require some level of maturity and character, but Jesus, always caring more about the heart at the root of action, commands something more in loving and praying for those against us.

The difficulty of loving enemies and praying for persecutors seems to stem in part from the injustice it seems to allow. It’s common to have this thought of rebuttal: “but what they are doing is wrong! Who will stand up for me if I do not stand up for myself?!”

The difficulty of loving enemies and praying for persecutors may also stem from the potential of this command. Often times loving those who hate you and praying for those who persecute you is so against the flow of the prevailing culture that it may itself incite further persecution and hatred.*

Jesus, like many of His followers over the generations, lived this way, and it ended in death. God does not provide us all the opportunity to die a martyr’s death, but living for Him as He prescribes does require things inside of us to die.

Our drive to protect ourselves must die. Our demand for our own view of justice must die. Our natural response to those who treat us wrongly must die.

This posture does not accept or condone abuse, injustice, and evil, but it does extend love first and foremost in a way that gives God opportunity to lead our response to our enemies and our persecutors.*

This command might be too much for us to walk out. God knows this. He calls us to a place that we cannot get to or achieve on our own. It requires that we lean on Him and allow His Spirit to empower us to do the things that He calls us to do but that we cannot do on our own.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to trust Him for justice. Perhaps God wants you to release your enemies and persecutors to Him so that He can have His way in their lives and in your life as well. Maybe God wants you to stop trying to obey His commands long enough for Him to give you the strength to actually do them. Perhaps God wants something inside of you to die so that He can bring resurrecting life into your soul.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 129-134, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:43-48) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.18

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

In concert with the rest of the words of Jesus in Matthew 5, these words don’t seek to create new law; the intent of the words of Jesus in this passage is not to create a society devoid of justice. He seeks to invite the hearer of His words to consider their hearts. Hearing these words even two thousand years later challenges our hearts and invites us to reflection on what we value.*

In the understanding of the people of the time of Jesus, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was not a rule of personal revenge, but a precept of law that demanded that all people, no matter their rank or social status, receive equal justice in the court of law.*

The original hearers of the words of Jesus would have also understood that a slap to the jaw was not a physically injuring act, but one of societal implications: it was the most severe attack on a person’s personal dignity that could be offered.*

Furthermore, in the time of Jesus, the cloak was the outermost garment. For the poor, it was used as a bed. As such, by biblical law, every person in that society had a right to their garment, so it could not be taken away even overnight.*

When was the last time someone forced you to walk a mile? For the Jewish people under Roman oppression, a situation such as this might have been more likely than for our context today. Jesus encourages them to “go the extra mile” for leadership, even if that leadership is oppressive.*

Finally, Jesus invites the hearer not to refuse needs when brought to them.

Here is the overarching question Jesus asked the people of His day. It is the same question He asks us today: what is in your heart? Said another way, what do you value?

It’s easy to get caught up in one extreme or the other. In one season of our lives, we view ourselves too highly. In another, we do not value ourselves at all. Swinging between pendulums of self-worth, we forget who we are and how to walk as people of the Kingdom of God.

To misinterpret the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 as more law set before us is to walk around in a world of injustice, naked and penniless.

What happens when the evil person comes against you? What happens when someone publicly humiliates you in the most grievous way possible? What happens when someone attempts to use the law to take what is closest to you and provides you comfort? What happens when authority abuses that authority to send you on a journey? What do you do when needs are before you or you stand to lose something owed back to you?

What is in your heart?

Jesus invites those who hold membership in the Kingdom of Heaven to remember who they are as children of God. When these things happen, the Kingdom person must not default to the rules of society or the impulses of human nature. The Kingdom person must remember that their source of justice, provision, comfort, and reward comes from God and nowhere else.

The person who understands this may not always allow others to do these things to them, but they certainly won’t default to societal norms of self-protection. Led by the voice of the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom person will play by the rules of the Kingdom. Want to know what that looks like? Going back to the Beatitudes is a good place to start.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to relinquish your own attempts to protect yourself. Perhaps today God is asking you to let go of your version of justice and to pick up His version. Maybe God wants you to change your focus from fighting for yourself and turn it toward standing up for someone else. Perhaps God wants you to remember who you are.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 125-128, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:38-40) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.17

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Sometimes it just makes more sense to lie. In the moment, saying one thing while meaning another, leaving out important details, or giving false information may seem to suit the promotion of our desires and goals. One problem with this strategy is that it quickly stops working as most people see through it eventually, even if we think we are convincing. The second problem with this is that per human tendency, those who lie believe everyone is lying to them. If this is the way you operate in life, how do you know when you can trust what someone says, and how do you let them know that they can trust what you say?

The solution to such a conundrum could come in the form of an oath. The people of Jesus’ time made taking and making oaths an art. They categorized them and knew when they were binding and when they were not. Oaths had various severities and commitments and levels of punishment if broken. Naturally, swearing by God was seen to carry more weight and make you responsible to Him in a way that swearing by something on earth did not.*

Jesus had another way. Jesus presented a solution that recognized this truth: God is everywhere and He hears everything. What you say matters, and when it leaves your mouth, it hits His ears. You are liable. The weight of this truth should send some level of holy fear through our bones. I know it does me!*

Other than bringing our focus to our relationship with God, this truth invites us as followers of Jesus to simply mean and stand by what we say. Others should know that they can trust what we say because of who we are and not just because we swear by something.

I remember situations as a kid where I would say something true yet improbable. My retort to my friend’s disbelief was always, “for real! I promise!” The moment this statement worked, I began to incorporate the phrase, “I swear!” for additional convincing. My parents quickly corrected me, and I stopped referencing “swear,” but that’s hardly the point. It took much longer for me to understand that God cared about my heart.

Why did I feel it necessary to promise or swear? It’s because all of the times that my “yes” was not “yes” and my “no” was not “no” worked against me. As a person of God, I needed to adjust my heart and live from who I was, not from what I could convince. As a holder of Truth, I needed to speak truth; as one who walked with Jesus, I needed to allow Him to be in my every word.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to repent for bearing false witness for perceived advantage and personal gain. Perhaps God wants you to receive your identity as a bearer of truth. Maybe God wants you to drop your promises and just mean “yes” and “no.” Perhaps reflecting Jesus more and your self less looks like simply speaking and standing by your word.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 122-125, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:33-37) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 5.16

It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Our efforts to understand the words of Jesus pass through the lens of our modern-day understanding. This lens has been shaped by the beliefs and practices of our current culture and hundreds of years of Christian traditions. To understand the words and intentions of Jesus, we must travel back in time to attempt to hear what the original listeners of Jesus heard. This effort will help unveil why Jesus shared what Jesus shared.

In this passage, Jesus is speaking to a Jewish culture that used divorce in unfair and dishonorable ways. It held marriage as a convenience easily cast away. The Jewish practice of divorce in the time of Jesus allowed a man to divorce his wife for almost any reason. These reasons included a wife’s disobedience which could look like anything as small as burning the morning toast! Conversely, a woman could not divorce her husband with such ease, but would have to plead her case to a court (no matter how harsh the situation) who could then order the husband to divorce his wife.*

In the surrounding Greco-Roman culture, a man and woman both had the right to divorce each other, but they could do so without any kind of consent.* A man or woman could be done with their marriage at the drop of a hat.

Furthermore, Jewish men in the time of Jesus could operate sexually outside of the boundaries of marriage while married so long as those they engaged with were not married themselves. A woman did not have this freedom.

Understanding this context, and understanding that the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 look to elevate the understanding of Godly living from law to heart-condition, and holding other Scriptures on marriage and divorce in hand, we see that the words of Jesus seek to lift the understanding of the sanctity of marriage of the Jewish and Greco-Roman people to a higher level. Jesus equalizes the playing field in marriage by holding both men and women to the same bond of marriage while not providing permission for promiscuous behavior. He calls married men and women to fight for marriage in all circumstances and to not throw it away so easily. The words of Jesus do not seek to condemn those who have been divorced, but to urge the hearer to value marriage at its proper worth.

While this passage holds direct application regarding the heart of God for marriage, we must also understand that we are the bride of Christ.

How many times has our “toast been burned” and we desired to divorce God from our lives even if we couldn’t? How many times have we operated in a Roman-Greco system of commitment to God that allowed us to just walk away from Him on a whim of delight or disappointment? How many times has the wooing promises of this world drawn us away from our bridegroom in an adulterous moment of idolatry?

I know that I have been guilty of these things. In times of hurt where I believed that God should have done something, I have hidden my heart from Him, attempting to punish God with my distance. Other times I have been wooed by the false promises of this world for fame and significance. I have been unfaithful to my God. I have been guilty of trying to please the law above loving Him and receiving His love.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to repent for being unfaithful to God. Perhaps God is asking you to value your relationship with Him more deeply. Maybe you need to take a step in valuing your relationship with your spouse more. Perhaps you need to forgive your spouse for burning the toast. Maybe you need to engage in the challenge of lifting your focus from the law to the loftier and deeper heart of the matter.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 119-122, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 5:31-32) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).