The Things That Are God's

In Matthew 22, the Pharisees come yet again to tempt Jesus, asking Him questions in an attempt to catch Him in His words, that they might find some accusation against Him.  Their interaction is recorded in verses 17-21:

17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

21 They say unto him, Cæsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

The answer to the questions the Pharisees asked - is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar? - is pretty straightforward.  Jesus makes it clear that doing our duty as citizens does not need to interfere with our duty towards God.  After all, we believe in being subject to secular leaders and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law (see Article of Faith 12).

However, there’s a deeper lesson here.  We render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and we know that the tribute money is his because it bears his image.  What, then, is God’s? We bear His image, having been created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26-27).  Further, as disciples of Christ, we ought to have “the image of God engraven upon [our] countenances” (Alma 5:19).  It is therefore required of us to render unto God the things that are God’s, namely, all that we have and are.  To me, this means much more than dedicating our time and our resources to God and His Church.  I think of Alma 36:37 - “let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.”

This means loving God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls, and prioritizing our relationship with Him over anything else.  It means being willing to obey His commandments and accept His will, even when it doesn’t make sense to us.  It means trusting that Heavenly Father can do more with what we have than we can do on our own.

Of course we know that God can do far more with our resources than we can, but that doesn’t always make it easy to hand them over to Him.  We don’t like not being in control, and the immediate gratification of doing what we want can be so appealing compared to the seemingly distant reward promised if we follow God’s ways.  It takes a lot of trust, a lot of faith, and a lot of self-control to choose to follow Christ when all we can see is a few steps ahead of us.  Sometimes I catch myself trying to convince myself that surely God doesn’t expect me to give Him everything.  He knows my limitations, right?  Of course He does, and not once has He asked for more than I could give with His help.  I have learned that trying to justify giving less of myself can never make me happy and will never lead me to become the person that He knows I can become.  As Elder Bednar has said, “Each of us needs God’s help in surrendering our will to Him.”

I know that we will be able to obtain happiness in this life and eternal glory in the life to come if we will “render unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).  As hard as it has sometimes been, I have never regretted giving too much to the Lord.  Giving is hardly a sacrifice when I receive so much in return.

The Prodigal Son

This week in class we talked about the parable of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15.  I’ve always loved this parable, but something different has stood out to me the last couple times I’ve studied it.  The younger of a certain man’s two sons takes his portion of the inheritance and leaves home, wasting his substance in riotous living in a far land.  Before long he is absolutely broke - even the pigs he is tending are eating better than he is.  When the young man finally comes to himself, he realizes that even the hired servants in his father’s house have plenty to eat.  He devises a plan: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants” (Luke 15:18-19).

I can just imagine the prodigal son on the long road home, rehearsing his little speech.  I can imagine the weight he must have carried in his heart, knowing he has insulted and disgraced his father.  He knows he does not deserve his father’s mercy, but he knows that his father is a good man and hopes that there might be some place in his house for a repentant son-turned-servant.

I think most of us have probably felt like the prodigal son at some point in our lives.  I know what it feels like to carry the weight of knowing that I haven’t just made a mistake, I’ve willfully rebelled against my Father.  Sometimes we feel utterly unforgivable, no more worthy to be called a son or daughter of God.

That is why I love the father’s response so much:  “But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:21).  The son forgets even to plead for mercy, only expressing his feeling of unworthiness.  He must have been so surprised when his father gave him a new robe and shoes (which he probably needed badly), placed a ring on his hand, and threw him a party.

This is exactly how our Heavenly Father reacts when we repent and return to Him.  He doesn’t say to us, “You’re right, you are no longer worthy to be called my daughter.  I guess you can have a place in the kitchen or something, but you’ll have to earn your keep.”  Of course not!  He loves us so much and is longing for us to return to Him, like the father in the parable that saw his son while he was still far away and ran to him.  He showers us with love and blessings, far more than we could hope to deserve.  As Elder Holland once said, “Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.”

Repentance is not a punishment.  It is one of the greatest blessings that the Lord offers us.  When we repent and return to our Father with full purpose of heart, He forgives freely and blesses us generously.  We need never be afraid to approach Him with a broken heart and contrite spirit, no matter how far we have wandered and how much we have wasted.  He will always welcome us back with open arms.

Lord, Save Me

This week in class, we talked about the miracle of Peter walking on water, as recorded in Matthew 14.  We’re familiar with the story: Christ’s disciples are crossing the sea of Galilee, and they’re having a rough time.  The wind is contrary and the ship is tossed with waves.  Christ comes to them, walking on the sea, and assures the frightened disciples that it is He and they need not be afraid.  Peter entreats Christ: “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water” (Matthew 14:28).  He is able to walk on the water until he sees the wind boisterous and begins to sink.  He cries out to the Lord for help, and immediately Jesus reaches out and saves Peter.

Peter’s faith amazes me.  He walked on water!  He had enough faith in the Savior to step out of the boat and walk to Him.  So why did he sink?  How on earth could he doubt while he was walking on water?  I think the answer is in this verse: “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid” (Matthew 14:30).  When he took his eyes off the Savior and saw the fierce wind on the raging sea, he was afraid.

Peter is a fisherman - he is very familiar with the sea.  He’s had enough experience to know, without a doubt, that he is not more powerful than the storm.  In the fight between sea and seaman, the sea will win every time.  What he’s forgotten in this moment is that he doesn’t have to be more powerful than the storm.  It is not Peter’s power that allows him to walk on water, but that of the Savior.

All too often, I find myself doing exactly the same thing.  I worry and stress over problems that I know are too big for me to handle, problems I know I can’t solve on my own.  Of course I know that there is no problem too big for the Lord to handle.  My mistake in these moments is not a lack of faith in the Lord, not thinking that He doesn’t have power over all things He has created.  Instead, I’m misplacing my faith.  I’m relying on myself rather than on my Heavenly Father.  It is when I rely on myself that I am worried, stressed, and fearful.  When I put my trust in my Savior, that storm is calmed.

There is one more thing I love about this account: when Peter begins to sink, he cries out without hesitation, knowing that Christ has the power to save him.  Hearing Peter’s pleas, Christ immediatley stretches forth His hand to lift Peter.  He doesn’t say, “Well, you got yourself into this mess, so you’ll have to get yourself out.”  The Savior does not punish us for lacking faith.  He lifts us, teaches us, and encourages us.  Christ does not admonish Peter to make him feel ashamed for faltering.  He asks, “Wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) to lift Peter’s vision of who He can become.  And He does exactly the same thing with each of us.  He is never too far to stretch forth His hand and rescue us when we cry out to him in faith.

A Thorn in the Flesh

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a sacrament meeting in which one of my former mission companions gave her homecoming talk.  Of course I cried through the whole thing - I am so incredibly proud of her, and the experiences and testimony that she shared brought to mind some very tender experiences that I had with her.  The nineteen weeks that we labored together was a period of intense personal growth for each of us as Heavenly Father deepened our understanding of the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ.  One passage that became meaningful to both of us was 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, in which Paul describes his struggle with an unnamed weakness:

 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Each of us will experience a “thorn in the flesh” at some point, whether for a period of weeks or months or years.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve asked the Lord to remove certain thorns a lot more than three times.  This can be a very frustrating experience, even - or maybe especially - when we’re doing our best to follow His commandments and apply the Atonement.  Wait, we ask, doesn’t the Lord promise that if I’m humble and faithful, He’ll make my weaknesses into strengths? (See Ether 12:27.)  Am I not humble enough?  Haven’t I shown enough faith?

I think in these moments, when I’m asking these questions, I’ve forgotten a couple things.  For one, true faith in God doesn’t mean believing or knowing that He will remove our burdens; it means knowing that He can but also trusting in His plan for us and accepting His will.  It’s taking me eons to wrap my head around this fact, but I’m making some headway: if not getting my way is part of God’s plan for me, then not getting my way is a very good thing.  From my very limited perspective, I tend to forget that Heavenly Father can see the whole picture.  I’m perfectly willing to struggle through a trial or temptation for a bit, but usually I come to a point where I’m pretty sure I’ve learned what I was supposed to from this experience and I’d like to be done now, please.  Luckily for me, He always has a better vision of what He wants to teach me and the person He’s shaping me to be.  Like Elder Holland once said, “You can have what you want, or you can have something better.”  Sometimes obtaining that “something better” means enduring seemingly endless trials.  Some weaknesses won’t go away in this life.  Trusting God means being ok with that, and being ok with not understanding why, because we at least understand that He loves us and wants us to be happy.

I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is not only infinite but incredibly intimate.  Christ has felt my pain, He’s borne my burdens, He’s suffered for my sins, so He knows exactly how to help me.  I’m grateful for the weaknesses that I’ve been given, because they have taught me humility and compassion.  I’ll probably continue to murmur through my trials, at least a bit, as I try to break free from my mortal mindset and look at things with an eternal perspective.  But ultimately I know that no matter what thorns pierce my side, the one who wore a crown of thorns, who was pierced in His hands and feet and side, has the power to lift my burdens and to lift me.  It is in Him that I will be the strongest, even and especially in my weakest moments.

The Great Commandment

This week I studied Matthew 22:35-40.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I love this scripture! While the lawyer's intent is obviously not very good, I don't think the question he asked was inherently bad.  When asked from the proper, righteous perspective, it's a really significant question: Which commandment is the most important?  What do I need to focus on?  When I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything that is required of me, where do I need to start?

Christ's answer is, of course, perfect.  The great commandment is that we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and that we love our neighbor.  This comes with the assurance that if we will keep these two great commandments, everything else will fall into place.  Every other commandment given stems from these two.

What does it mean to love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul?  Looking up the word "love" in True to the Fatih and the Oxford English Dictionary, I came to the conclusion that love is about our desires.  If we truly love God with all of our heart, we will desire to do those things that please Him.  He will be our focus and the center of our thoughts and our desires.  We will make decisions based on that love for Him.  We will obey His commandments.  And if we love God, we will love His children by extension.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done.  But the beautiful part is that all we really have to do is try.  Elder Holland taught this doctrine beautifully in his April 2016 conference talk "Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You."

"The great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don't always succeed. ...We are going to be blessed for our desire to do good, even as we actually strive to be so."

I know that if we desire to love God - even if we can only desire to desire to love Him - if we let that desire work in us, He will work with what we have to give and we will ultimately be able to make it back to Him.

My Burden is Light

This week has been a long one, so this scripture in Matthew really spoke to me:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

I’ve always loved this scripture because I love the assurance that if we come unto Christ, He will ease our burdens.  Who hasn’t felt weighed down by the weight of the world at some point?  I think sometimes I feel that because my burdens aren’t very heavy compared to things that others may have to go through, I should be able to bear them by myself.  But does He mean, “Come unto me, all ye with the heaviest burdens,” or “Come unto me, but only if it’s really bad, otherwise don’t bother me”?  Of course not!  The invitation is for ALL of us, no matter what our burdens are.

This is the part that I sometimes forget:  Christ has already borne all of our burdens.  All of them.  He’s felt our pains, our sicknesses, our infirmities - all so that He would know how to take care of us and how to heal us (see Alma 7:11-13).  I’m not bothering Him by coming to Him seeking rest from my burdens.  He has already borne them for me, and He wants desperately to lift me from them.  There is no burden too heavy or too light, nothing too silly to take before the Lord.  It doesn’t matter if our pain is a consequence of being a little stupid or a little rebellious, or if someone else has it worse than we do.  The Savior doesn’t compare us to others or hold our human weaknesses against us.  He is loving, forgiving, patient, and kind, and He understands better than anyone else could.

I think I’ll close with the words of one of my favorite hymns:

“Why should this anxious load
Press down your weary mind?
Haste to your Heavenly Father’s throne
And sweet refreshment find.

His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day;
I’ll drop by burden at his feet
And bear a song away.”

(“How Gentle God’s Commands,” Hymn 125, verses 3-4)

In and Through the Holy Messiah

In my personal study lately, I've been studying 2 Nephi 2.  It's been taking me a while.  Because I'm pretty familiar with the chapter, I've been trying to dig a little deeper and see if I can't discover something new in these verses that I love.  One of my favorite verses this week was 2 Nephi 2:6:

“Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.”

I love this verse.  It states so simply and beautifully that Christ is the source of our redemption.  He is the reason that the Plan of Salvation works.  It’s interesting to me that both the words “in” and “through” are used to describe the connection between Christ and our salvation.  

Redemption comes IN the Holy Messiah - redemption comes in His name, it comes in the form of the Messiah.  Christ is our salvation.  We must come unto Him in order to partake - come and be perfected in Him (see Moroni 10:32).  In other words, Christ is full of redemption.  Our salvation is His purpose, His work and His glory (see Moses 1:39), a key part of His identity.

Redemption comes THROUGH the Holy Messiah - it comes by means of, or because of, Jesus Christ.  Christ is our mediator with the Father, the intercessor through whom our Father grants us the gift of redemption.  Salvation flows out of Christ, or through Him, to us.  This imagey is particularly meaningful to me because it calls to mind images of light, and reminds me that Christ is the source of all light.  As Elder Holland said, “It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.”

It might seem a little silly, but thinking about it this way helps me to understand my relationship with my Savior and what I need to do in order to access His grace.  It helps me understand that accepting Christ as my Savior is so much more than saying some perfect prayer or merely achieving the right attitude towards Him.  It is a daily process of coming unto Him, seeking after and cherishing His word, obeying His commandments, and striving to emulate Him.  And the closer I can get to Him, the more His light will shed in my life, and I will be able to experience that grace and truth that He is full of.