Matthew 10:29-42 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall..."

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. 34 ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. 37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward’” (Mathew 10:29-42).

Comment:

Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Matthew consists of Jesus' instructions to his disciples as he sends them out into the world to carry and express his message of personal empowerment and spiritual possibility. He has been demonstrating the Christ within himself, and has been teaching that the same Christ energy lives in them, as well. It is as the Christ that he speaks here, cautioning that the path he demonstrates is not easy, and not for the faint of heart. Our spiritual commitment must be absolute if we are to manifest our Christ nature in our human experience. It must be more important to us than even our closest human relationships, more important than the personal challenge and discomfort that will inevitably express as we allow the Christ energy to guide us through life. It's not that we must sever the bonds of family that are so important, but that we must always put our commitment to the Christ first. It's a lot like the First Commandment. The Lord of our Being must be our highest and only priority. If we create “false gods” by making other things or people more important than God in our lives, we will not be able to follow Jesus and express our Christ nature. It is by surrendering the demands of this life to a higher purpose that we receive the awareness of eternal life that is our spiritual truth.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed