Human beings like explanations, like to link up cause and effect. When the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and taken into exile in 721 B.C. by the Assyrians (i.e., the Iraqis — some conflicts are perennial) the Biblical author explained the catastrophe as a result of the people of the northern tribes (now we call them the lost tribes of Israel) abandoning their faith in the One, True God. Cause and effect. On the other hand, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount gives another of his commandments: Thou shalt not judge. “Stop judging lest you be judged.” What Jesus wants us to understand is that the human chain of cause and effect is not how God looks at things. God’s grace is always available to break old patterns and habits to produce something new and unexpected.
JUNE202016
By Church Staff
