“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” - Revelation 22:12
Kempton New Church


Day 12: March 7

Readings:

And they send to Him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch Him in His word. And coming, they say to Him, Teacher, we know that Thou art true, and care for no one; for Thou look not to the face of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, seeing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why do you tempt Me? Bring Me a denarius, that I may see it. And they brought it. And He says to them, Whose is this image and inscription? And they said to Him, Caesar’s. And Jesus answering said to them, Render the things of Caesar unto Caesar, and the things of God unto God. And they marveled at Him. (Mark 12:13-17)

To receive the life of heaven a man must needs live in the world and engage in the duties and employments there, and by means of a moral and civil life receive the spiritual life...The spiritual man ought to live in like manner, and can do so as easily as the natural man can, with this difference only, that the spiritual man believes in the Divine, and acts honestly and justly, not solely because so to act is in accord with civil and moral laws, but also because it is in accord with Divine laws. (Heaven and Hell 528, 530)

Reflection:

To be a good Christian, we should love our country. Being a conscientious citizen does not take away from our love for the Lord and in fact it supports it. Still, that does not mean civil life is more important than spiritual life. Do you see conflict between following the Lord’s laws and the Civil laws?

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