June 28, 2023

Luke 6: 2, 9 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” . . . Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” (NIV)

We must not let our own rules or customs or habits or practices become hardened or sanctified beyond the reach of human needs.*

Were you ever the “new kid” and someone told you, “That’s not how we do things around here”? My first day at a new job I wore my best outfit because I hadn’t been issued my uniforms yet. At the door, another employee didn’t even say hello, she just looked me over and said, “We don’t wear pants to work.” How was I supposed to know the rules if no one told me? Why was I embarrassed?

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law didn’t know who they were dealing with when they tried to embarrass Jesus. He knew what the law said – he wrote it. He knew the intent of the law - as well as the intent of all the petty rules and traditions the religious leaders had imposed on top of the law. Jesus was not a law-breaker but he surely was a rule-breaker!

In every way, we need to try to think and act like Jesus. He refused to let traditions interfere with his compassion for people.* He wouldn’t refuse to come to someone’s rescue because it might cause him to miss church on Sunday morning. He wouldn’t deny entrance to someone who wasn’t dressed properly for church. Some behavior, while not acceptable for a Christian, should be tolerated while the “new kid” is still waiting for his orientation class and his new uniform.

There are few things required of Christians that are more important than caring for others. It’s what we do. It’s who we are.

Jesus was more tolerant of lost people than most of us will ever be, because he loved lost people more than most of us ever will.*