Render to

One of my favorite passages from the New Testament is as it appears in Matthew 22:21– Jesus when asked about paying taxes, says — “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s”.

I like it because I got the message — it’s easy to understand and it is impactful. I get from it that Jesus clarifies that there are earthly or physical responsibilities we all have — going to work is an example or paying taxes…tis the season. It’s easy to understand the physical, but we should also recognize that there are spiritual responsibilities as well — that can occur throughout the day — a tribute to spirit when it is appropriate. Acknowledgement of the intersection of both — a meadow of blooming daisies, an eye catching sunset or sunrise, an array of stars in a cloudless night sky; how these physical or natural occurrences makes us feel spiritually.

It is so easy to get so focused and wrapped up in the physical we forget or have trouble recognizing the spiritual. The physical world examples should invoke some spiritual feeling or sense inside us, which help us recognize the spiritual nature that exists in each of us. And binds us as human beings. A simple example- pouring a glass of wine reminds us of a loved one who has passed — a perfect time to acknowledge them and the spirit they brought and how even in their passing, remains with us in the physical as a pleasant memory.

In the gospel of St Luke (6:27–38), Luke talks about loving your enemies. In the passage the suggestion that if you do good to people who do good to you, that’s easy and one might say a natural physical reaction. But to do good to someone who just wronged you, or to forgive them … that would be spiritual (I’m not good at that one immediately, but I do recognize it!). So every day we have the constant play between both our physical and spiritual worlds.

We have so much to be thankful for every day both from the physical world and from our spiritual world and we have an obligation to render to both their just tithes.

Bless you and thank you for reading.

Chris Cagenello

American Fellowship Church

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