Pious Lutheran

The Tribute Money , Alexandre Bida, 1874 Render to God the things that are God’s We care too much about Caesar, who cares very little for us Jesus however, unlike every earthly king, is our King who cares for us Because He cares for us, we’re made in the image of God and imprinted with His name. Therefore, we give God our body and soul. This past Tuesday was an election day. A minor one, since there were just a handful of mostly uncontested local positions, but it was an election day nonetheless. Although a lot of energy is going into next year’s election day, particularly the presidential election. This is understandable since the federal government and their decisions have an impact on us all, ranging from what’s taught in government run schools, inflation,  gas prices, and whether our young men will have to fight and die in foreign wars. So we care an awful lot about our rulers. Part of the reason for this passion about our president also has to do with our sense of patriotism. ...

  Jesus said: ““ Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” ”  The same point can be made today just by looking at some cash in your wallet. There’s a face on that money, and it’s not yours. In big capital letters your money says UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and it’s got various names and signatures written on it, and none of those names are your name. Thus, when the government demands you to give them money, the money that has their name on it, you hand it over.  I don’t believe this is terribly controversial among us. We should pay our taxes. But that’s not really the point of what Jesus is getting at. Rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s isn’t too complicated. Thus, the greater thing Jesus commands, is that we render “ to God the things that are God’s. ” But what exactly i...