But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. Matthew 22:18-22

These verses are often invoked to remind Christians of their civic duties. Many times, in an exaggerated manner, going over and beyond the meaning of the words in the original context. Jesus was merely referring to the payment of taxes. However, today people use it to justify partisan affiliation. There is nothing wrong with this as long as we don’t use the words of Jesus to justify anything which belongs to the world.

The governments and authorities of this world function according to the values of this world. If they are successful, it is because they have learned to function well according to its values. However, we should render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar so that we can be free from hold of worldly authority in our lives. Today there is a little confusion in this regard. People think that Caesar is going to do the work of Kingdom of God. Therefore, it is necessary to have the “right” Caesar in power. Those who hold on to such convictions should heed the words of Jesus when He responded to Pilates boldly stating,

“My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36

In our local church, we have Evening Prayer once a month where we opened up the time for our lay members to share a testimony or a reflection. One of our members shared about this passage and she stated that it was the second part of this verses arrested her attention. According to her, rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar was the easy part but learning and discerning how to render unto God what is due to God is a completely different story.
She observed that rarely people talk about their obligation towards God. In fact, the word, “obligation” or “duty” is often avoided in our religious context. I have to agree with her. In fact, her words moved all of us present at the prayer meeting. We realized that we hardly talk about our duty towards God.

The word, “render”, in this context, means to submit. In other words, we recognize God’s authority and we submit to Him. “Submission” to God’s will is perhaps is the most central theme in the major religions. The secular authority demands our submission to its laws and rules. For the most part, these are usually beneficial to the welfare of the people. However, they also prioritize the interest and values of this world in their demand for submission. We are only able to submit to this authority as long as it does not contradict the Only Authority who really matters to us. All baptized Christians submit to only One authority. Therefore, it should be our priority to learn how to render to God what belongs to God. Once we know this, we can discern the limits of our commitment to Caesar.

As I mentioned before, most major religions teach about submission to the divine order. Nevertheless, not all religions believe in a God who acts in the lives of people. We believe in a personal God. We encounter this personal God in the life, teaching, and actions of Jesus. He is, for us, the true manifestation of God’s personal involvement in our lives. The way Jesus rendered unto God what belongs to God was to strive to manifest God’s goodness in the lives of people. He brought healing, peace and compassion to their lives. He did not deal with the question of issues or rather, He did not deal with people in an abstract manner. The Pharisees wanted to engage Jesus to debate on issues. They wanted to entrap Him using issues. However, Jesus refused to submit to their level. Even in the context of this gospel passage above, the Pharisees wanted to entrap Jesus on the issue of Roman Occupation and loyalty to the nation of Israel. Jesus refused. He functioned solely on the personal level with the people. He dealt with individuals and not concepts. He dealt with people because, in the Kingdom of God, being the servant of all is the path to the greatness. Servants serve people and do not fight nor debate for issues. Jesus served whomever came to Him, whether they be women, men, outcast or lepers or foreigners or despised persons. It did not matter as long as they came to the Him.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

He served people in order to restore their human dignity. In doing so, He rendered unto to God what belongs to God. He helped people recognize the true loving nature of God through His life. Jesus demands us to do the same. Therefore, it is our duty as Christians to do what He commanded us.

For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. John 13:15

On a practical level, this means believing that He is sovereign and acting even when we don’t see the results immediately. The politics of this world act as if God is not present or interested in the world. In the worst case scenario, it acts as if God is impotent to fulfill His will. Therefore, God needs our sinful means to consummate His will in this world. This is a false God who only exists in the vain imaginations of those who believe in him. The true and living God does not need anyone to fulfill His will. We are mere finite beings with finite knowledge. God is infinite and we have no means of understanding His ways, let alone fulfilling them with our human wisdom. Instead, we need to learn to live the words of Jesus when He told us,

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

Let’s be clear. We don’t make the Kingdom of God happen. The Kingdom of God is present here and God is establishing it through His divine Spirit. We continue to seek the Kingdom in our midst through faith and participate in it. We participate in the way Jesus did, sharing His love and compassion through service and action. However, it does not mean we are going to transform the world. Only God can do this. Therefore, part of the act of being witnesses involves waiting patiently with exuberant expectation that God’s will to be fulfilled. It will be fulfilled in His time. It will be fulfilled according to His wisdom.

At the present moment, I am on vacation. I am visiting the place of my childhood after being away for 16 years. My friends have asked me about the nature of our ministry. It is hard to share all the things which God is doing in a succinct way. It is hard to share everything in one sitting. However, I can say that an essential part of our ministry is having patience. Not with our young homeless people but with God. We have to have patience to believe that God is working and doing His will even when we don’t see it. We have to have patience to believe that God is still sovereign even when things appear to fall apart. We have to be patient to trust our God is a personal God who is actively working in our midst and especially in the lives of young people. Therefore, our ministry is one of patiently waiting for God to reveal Himself in the way only He can. In other words, allowing God to be our God. In reality, this is the only thing we can do. We don’t have the power to change society. We cannot remove sin from the hearts of people. We can do very little in reality to produce long term results. However, we wait on the One who truly is capable to move and transform souls. While waiting, we see and discern His compassionate presence in our midst. Seeing His active presence gives us the strength and courage to testify to our homeless young people that God is sovereign. His sovereign power ensures that nothing can separate us from the Love of God. The gates of Hell cannot prevail against His love. Our primary duty is to testify to this reality. A reality higher and more powerful than anything the Caesars of this world can achieve. A reality which gives us peace beyond all human understanding. It is our duty to share this reality. This is how we have learned to render to God what belongs to God.