We have to keep the rules (law). That is what religious leaders believe. I believe it way to much myself. I tend to want to be a rule-keeper.
Jesus came to fulfill the rules (law) and give them real meaning. Jesus wants to teach me that the real rule is one of love. Love answers the question about what is right and what is wrong.
Jesus knows what God’s goal is. Jesus never misses the mark. Jesus is right on target and it always starts with love. Jesus knows that the rules sometimes don’t make any sense and gives me an analogy to prove it. The law said you weren’t supposed to work on the Sabbath (Saturday). So if your child falls down a well, you shouldn’t save him?
Absurd. Everyone knew it. I know it.
My goal is to love, even my enemies. That is all I need to focus on.
One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. Right before him there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. So Jesus asked the religion scholars and Pharisees present, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no?”
They were silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. Then he said, “Is there anyone here who, if a child or animal fell down a well, wouldn’t rush to pull him out immediately, not asking whether or not it was the Sabbath?” They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to that.
Source: Luke 14:1-6
Good post, Michael. I was writing on this very topic the other day. It seems that we add to God’s law those things that are very definitive and allow us to judge others. At the end of the day, we really do like to have rules by which we can figure out who are the good guys vs the bad guys. God’s law is sufficiently definitive, but we won’t even abide by His word and those things He has set out as sin. We as Christians need to pay more attention to God’s word and what He has to say to us and spend less time looking about for the bad guys.
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Well said. May I spend less time looking for the bad guys and more focused on what Jesus is saying to me. Be blessed my friend. And … Merry Christmas to you and your family.
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Christmas blessings to you and your family as well.
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Good post. I like rules and order very much. I have to be careful. Personal discipline is about the most important thing in life to me. I have to watch myself wanting to make every body that way
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