DADDY’S WISHES FOR HIS KIDS

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will
of my Father (Daddy) who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:21 (read 7:21-29) – NIV

Jesus was bold enough to call God "Daddy". The original Greek language uses our equivalent for “daddy”, but most bibles, including the NIV, gloss over it and formalize the word into “father” which makes God seem more distant. In chapters five through seven of Matthew Jesus explains what our Heavenly Daddy expects of his kids. Public worship, praise and outward manifestations are not included in these expectations. People who trust in worship, public prayers, evangelization, performing miracles and exorcism as a means to please and serve our Heavenly Daddy are fooling themselves. Our religious practices miss what Jesus reveals to be the Divine will for us and for humanity.

The teachings and practices of Jesus are placed as the bedrock of Daddy’s wishes. The danger is to substitute them with dogmas, doctrines, creeds and religious activities. Jesus preached and practiced the Kingdom, but we created the Church in which the cross is only a meaningless symbol. We cater to a patriotism which is selfish nationalism that protects our privileges rather than live the Kingdom which reaches out to the oppressed minorities of our society. We appeal to legalisms rather than compassion. We create enemies whom we can hate.

This Kingdom has to do with basic human values. These values include humility in face of our limitations, the pursuit of goodness, peace, willingness to suffer and the spirit of mercy (5:3-11). They lead us to act as salt and light in the world in which we live our daily lives (5:13-16).

Love prevails in all relationships: legal, community, property, marital, sexual, economic and political. Loyalty and solidarity are the fruit of this love. Violence of revenge on enemies is discarded in favor of love and forgiveness. This love is the mark of perfection (5:17-48).

The practice of religion is to be done very discreetly. Aid to the needy is done in secret, known only to our Heavenly Daddy. Prayer is to be practiced behind of the closed doors of our sacred bedroom chamber. The Lord’s Prayer is the model that Jesus left. Fasting is also done only with the knowledge of Daddy. All "hubba hubba", pomp, assemblies, conferences, councils, public acts etc. have nothing to do with Daddy’s values (6:1-18). In fact, they are contrary to them!

Our true wealth is internal. The uncertainties of life must be addressed with faith. We are not alone in this world. Daddy is with us and knows our needs (6:9-7:12).

Only a few have the courage to follow this path (7:13-14).

Beware of religion! False prophets are many and promise much, fooling many people. Do they produce the fruits described by Jesus? Are they discreet, humble, compassionate, fair and engaged in the good of humanity? Or are they building their own kingdom in Jesus' name?

We are conditioned to think of the Kingdom and our relationship to God in terms of the church and of religious practices. The Kingdom is beyond the church and the church can be an obstacle between us and the Kingdom. Our relationship with God is connected to our daily lives in the world and our relationship with everyone and everything around us. According to Jesus, Daddy’s wish is for us to be the incarnation of Divine Love in the world.

MATTHEW 7:21-29 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.