S - Matthew
12:1-5, 7, 8, 41, 42 (NIV): "At that time Jesus went through the
grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some
heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered,
“Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He
entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated
bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t
you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate
the Sabbath and yet are innocent? If you had known what these words mean, ‘I
desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For
the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” …
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation
and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something
greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment
with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to
listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is
here."
O - How
could a people group given over to a focus on Scripture end up so far off? They could quote the words exactly and
completely miss the meaning. The result
was tragic on many levels affecting them and those around them. Culture
(religious and non-religious) is always striving to be "right", to be
so accurate that all who disagree with their conclusions are either bigots or
idiots or both. Jesus, the something
greater than everything else, arrives to confront and recalibrate it all. His emphasis (the emphasis of the Kingdom of
Heaven) will be entirely different than culture's. For Jesus where you start from is actually
more important than the facts themselves, loving is more important than being
right and the point of all Scripture is right relationships rather than
accurate theological conclusions (i.e. the greatest commandments). So, how does one avoid missing it so
big? According to Jesus it's about
where/how we start. Culture wants us to start with the facts. Jesus wants us to
start with love, lead with mercy and then address the facts (all of them). Culture starts with facts which are then used
to claim an exemption from mercy and then their reactions are called love (in
our day "tough love"). Jesus will have none of it. The cultural leaders were all about their
understanding of accurate conclusions and Jesus was and is all about understanding
"I desire mercy not, sacrifice." The result of culture's emphasis is
the condemning of the innocent. The result of Jesus' emphasis is a way forward
and hope for all.
A - I
was groomed to keep my focus on being right.
Jesus is now shaping and reshaping me to keep my focus on loving. It's not that accuracy has no place; it's
just that it can never have the most important place. Jesus insists that I
accept a transformation in my thinking (repentance in the actual meaning of the
word). If I want to save my life I must
lose it; if I want to receive I need to give; if I want to lead I must serve
and if I'm going to be accurate I must start at love and lead with mercy. I welcome such transformations. I repent because the kingdom of heaven is
near :).
P - Lord
who is love, truth, life, hope and the friend of sinners,
Today I welcome your
continued recalibration in how I think, live, love and speak. Please don't leave me to myself, even my best
intended self. Instead, transform my very little life into all that you already
have in mind to do … unto new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that
which is too wonderful for me. I'm asking this in Jesus' name.
Steve
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