“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Jesus. (Matt.12:36-37)

So if I’m not wanting to make these recent messages about ‘immigration’, then why do I keep bringing it up and ‘stirring the pot’? I’ll tell you why – because it is the ‘issue’ staring our country in the face right now...and we can either be like those religious men who walked around it...or be like the Samaritan and face what is before us. (Hope you are caught up reading here from the past two days). And when I say ‘face what is before us’, I mean we first better stop and examine our hearts... as we are admonished to do in 2 Cor. 13:5.

We read in Jeremiah 17:9-10: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

What if...God is simply using this one issue - on what to do with undocumented humans living in this country...as a ‘test’ to see (and expose) what is in our hearts.

And I’m speaking now to those who consider themselves to be ‘Christian’ and profess to be a follower of Jesus and His teachings. I would even go as far to suggest that God is not even asking us to go an attempt to ‘fix this problem’, join protest marches, start hiding/aiding these ‘law breakers’, or any other thing that would involve ‘action’. I would simply submit to you that all we are being asked to do ...at this point in time...is to be still and ‘search our hearts’ and examine what we see and hear coming out of them. (Ps. 139:23-24).

That is all. I say that because if God does not have our whole heart, where He can fully indwell and transform and purify them, then anything we try to do in our own effort...even with good intentions...will fall flat and ‘profit us nothing’. (1 Cor. 13:2-3). I’ll give you a moment with that one. 

That is what the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ was all about. It stemmed from a lawyer asking Jesus what he/we must do to inherit eternal life. The conversation turned to the law and how was it to be interpreted. The lawyer answered correctly stating that we were to love God with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength...and to love our neighbor as ourself. (Luke 10). But the lawyer...’wanting to justify himself’ (29) wanted clarification as to who his ‘neighbor’ was. Funny how that seems to usually be our ‘default’ when confronted with the Word...we want to ‘justify’ ourselves. If you really want to be ‘justified’...then do what the ‘law’ says (Rom. 2:13), because ‘love is the fulfilling of the law’ (Rom. 13:8-10)

So Jesus shares that parable explaining how some man ended up in a pile of a mess on this road to Jericho. We know nothing about him, why he ended up in that condition, other than he fell among thieves, was robbed and beaten...and was in need of help. We then read where a Levite and a priest chose to ‘go around the problem’ that they came upon, choosing to ‘not get involved’. Perhaps because this particular road at that time was known to have a lot of shady characters traveling it, the priest and Levite may have assumed this poor, pitiful guy probably was another thug who had it coming to him. Then comes this Samaritan who when he first saw him, he had compassion on him...and got involved tending to his immediate basic needs (33-34). No questions were asked, no papers or documentation were submitted.

Jesus finishes the story and then asked the lawyer....’who was the real neighbor here?’, to which the lawyer says...”The one who showed (demonstrated) mercy” (37). That’s when Jesus instructed him...”Go and do likewise”...(if you want to inherit eternal life – implied).

Did you know Jesus instructs us to “go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy... and not sacrifice.” (Matt. 9:13). I’ve been studying that a bit more lately and have come to realize that we ‘Christians’ seem to have a love/hate relationship with that ‘word’ and concept. We sure love to sing about it and express thanks for being on the receiving end of God’s mercy, (I will sing of the mercy of the Lord forever...I will sing...I will sing...), but it can be challenging for us to in turn...give, or extend...or ‘demonstrate’ mercy to others who are in need of it. And as I said yesterday, ‘feeling sorry for someone does not equate to showing mercy’.

I bet you probably know the basic definition of that word- ‘mercy: not getting what you deserve’. Other definitions dress it out this way: [Mercy] - is compassionate treatment or forgiveness shown to someone deserving punishment; compassion, leniency, or restraint (as in imposing punishment) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to the power of another’.

I discovered the very first sighting of that word in our New testament is found in Matt. 5:7 where Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Can I just tell you...mercy begins in the heart...which is why I am pleading with anyone who still stop to listen ...to think on these things and examine your own heart. And listen to what many of you are saying, or at least ‘thinking in your own heart’...when it comes to these 'undocumented' human beings: “They broke the law and they DESERVE to suffer the consequences for their actions! Depart...from our country, you lawbreakers!” (Matt. 7:23 anyone?)

DO. YOU. HEAR. WHAT. YOU. ARE. SAYING??????

One more time: DO. YOU. HEAR. WHAT. YOU. ARE. SAYING??????

“For as you judge, so shall you be judged, and the measure you use will be measured back to you.” – Jesus (Matt. 7:2) “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Jesus

Let me wrap up with one more earnest plea that you stop and give ear to what I’m trying so hard to convey here - Jesus shared another parable about the ‘unmerciful servant’ in Matt. 18:23-35 (you can read through on your own). The alarming message of warning at the close of this parable causes me to tremble...for many who may be reading here and are not ‘getting it’. A man who was shown mercy by the king and forgiven of a great ‘debt’ he owed him... after begging for mercy for himself. He then went out and failed to demonstrate the same mercy to his ‘neighbor’. When the king caught wind of this, he was angry and called this ‘wicked servant’ before him (31-32) pressing him with this question: “Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant (neighbor)...just as I had pity on you?” (33)

Do you know what happened next... to that man? He was handed over to the ‘tormentors’. Then, Jesus finishes with this sobering warning: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you from his heart...from his heart....from his heart...does not extend mercy to his brother of his trespasses...” (35). Care to guess who those ‘tormentors’ are? You might read 1 Cor. 5:5.

I am not asking you to do anything...other than to examine your own heart. But if all you can see or hear...or can conclude ...is that every last one of these undocumented humans currently residing in this country are lawbreakers and need to be ‘shown the door’...then all I can say is- I fear for you.