I am a Jesus pusher!!! “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder’” (Matthew 5:21). “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22). What is Jesus saying in this verse? He is not building a scale of activities or punishments; He reveals what murder (anger) in the heart does to every area of life. Murder deprives a person of life by illegal, intentional killing. It happens in the physical and spiritual realms. When we bring it into our interaction with others, we destroy life. If it appears in our attitude, it destroys life. In the dream and plan of God, there is no place for murder. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus described it. The prodigal son returned home, driven by the need for bread (Luke 15:17). He proposed coming back on the level of a hired servant because he thought he was not worthy to be a son. But the Father would not hear of it! The Father’s love was not dependent on the actions of the son. Then the elder brother entered the story. He “was angry and would not go in” (Luke 15:28). But the Father pleaded with him. The elder brother’s anger revealed his lack of compassion and hardheartedness and contrasted his anger with the image of the Father’s love. The anger of the elder bother destroyed him and all relationships in the home. Every area of the elder brother’s life was affected by the inner murder.
Jesus cries out to us! He ushered in a New Covenant, a merger with the nature of God. We can be an expression of His heart! I am a Jesus pusher!!!