FOLLOW THIS...

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“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift."    Matthew 5:21-24

      I'm sure Jesus had their attention when he spoke about the Law.  Especially that part about murder.  No murderers here!  We're good.
     Then Jesus threw them a curve.  "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment."  Wait a minute...if I'm just angry with my brother or sister, I'm guilty of murder?  According to Jesus...pretty much.  Well, he didn't exactly say you're guilty of murder.  But, he did say you're just as guilty as if you'd committed murder.  Jesus took the standard, the expectation up a notch.
     What Jesus was saying he was, God's goal is not that you just don't kill someone....it's that you actually love them.  That's the goal.  Not just the absence of the negative, but the presence of the positive.  Not that you can check off what you didn't do, but what you actually did do.  
     Loving someone is a LOT DIFFERENT from just not killing them.  Jesus is saying that following him is more about doing than not doing.  It's more about relationship than simple moral laws.  
    You can't follow Jesus in a vacuum.  Jesus was a lover and a healer and valued people.  To follow him means we must as well.

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