by Pastor Rich Carlson

     Five or six times, depending on the wording of several versions of the narrative of the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew and Luke, Jesus does compare-by-contrast illustrations of what I have come to title “God’s higher calling:” 
     “You have heard that it was said don’t kill—but I say to you, don’t hate” (see Matt. 5:21-22).
     “You have heard that it was said don’t commit adultery—but I say to you, don’t even look lustfully” (see vv. 27-28).
     “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’—but I say to you don’t even resist an evil person…” (see vv. 38-39).
     “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’—but I say to you love your enemies…” (see vv. 43-44).
     And the list goes on.
     The most amazing revelation in this sermon keeps coming back to me almost every time I read it: Jesus never called me to a lower calling, but to a well thought through higher calling! He never said:
     “You have heard that it was said don’t kill—but I say to you, that’s very difficult when you are being mistreated so defend yourself at all costs and even take things into your own hands if necessary to make sure you get what’s coming to you.”
     OR
     “You have heard that it was said don’t commit adultery—but I say to you, that’s a pretty high standard to hold up in a society bombarded with immorality and promiscuous sexuality, pornography and a postmodern attitude that “frees” one up to experience the nonrestrictive joys of sensuality. Go ahead, just be careful!”
     You get the point! And here is where it gets interesting for me. If He was living here today, preaching a new “Sermon on the Mount,” I wonder what kind of examples Jesus might use for me—today—in my culture? Would I rationalize or redefine things that bring me to a lower calling, or would I carefully and prayerfully look for the higher higher calling, the high purpose in those things? Does Revelation call me to “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (14:4), or just if I happen to like where He’s going?
     I want to be sure I am focusing on how I can demonstrate to a disbelieving world that along with God’s grace and mercy also comes God’s power to rise above mediocrity and compromise to a living Christianity.
     I really like this Sermon on the Mount! It inspires me, challenges me, and offers me a much bigger picture of what I can become with Jesus.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.