I am a Jesus pusher!!! “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you” (Matthew 5:23). Has Jesus gotten off the subject? You might look at this passage and decide Jesus is gripped by the rejection of the leadership of Israel. Although it is not full-blown, it is noticeable. Is He giving warning to those who reject Him? They are in direct violation of the worship they appear to offer to God. Jesus highlighted this repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount. The fifth and sixth illustrations He gave in this section of the Scriptures stress this principle. The individual who becomes your adversary must be genuinely loved. “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
Jesus continued to place the person who refused to be reconciled in the category of a tax collector (Matthew 5:46-47). The tax collector (considered the worst of sinners in Judaism) loves those who love him. They greet only their brethren and shun their enemies. If Kingdom people act like this, how are they different from tax collectors? The call of the Kingdom is to be filled with the heart of God. How does He think and feel? “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Merger with the Spirit of Jesus brings me face to face with His mind and heart. “I want to be like Him” is the cry of the Kingdom person. To be like Jesus does not mean to imitate Him but to merge with Him until who He is becomes who I am. It is a loss of my life for His life. In this loss, I discover who I am and find myself. There is no sacrifice, only gain. I am a Jesus pusher!!!