So, I haven't finished reading today's chapters, yet, but I came across something that made me think. So, I'll try to get right into it, but I'm not sure how effectively I'll be able to communicate my thoughts.
"Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 'Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders?...' And He answered and said to them, 'Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?'" - Matthew 15:1-6
Okay, so, I took out the bits and pieces that spoke to me, but here is the gist of the whole conversation: The scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and called Him and his disciples out for not washing their hands before they ate. But, Jesus came back and called them out for dishonoring God's commandments in the name of pursuing holiness. In this bit of scripture, Jesus used the commandment, "Honor your father and mother," to bring to light the fact that the scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites. They were telling their parents that they have nothing to give them because they gave what they had to God. So, they were using God as an excuse to not give back to their parents.
This conversation stuck out to me because it has been a long time since I've been thinking that we, as a Church (i.e. the body of Christ), have a lot of this stuff wrong. Having been formally trained in language, I have at least a small idea of how language changes between translations. I have seen word studies and scripture studies and, one of the main reasons I always buy study Bibles, it always brings the verses alive in a new light for me when I see the direct translations. Most of the Bibles we have are translations of translations and when you look at the original language that it was written in, and try to understand the original intent and the intended audience - it can completely change the meaning of what, at first seems pretty straight forward.
But, I stumbled upon this train of thought - what if we have it wrong - when I started looking around at the Church from an outside perspective. I've talked a lot to non-Christians (those have been some of my favorite and most memorable conversations) and the feedback I got from those conversations initially made me ashamed to associate myself, not with Jesus or God, but with those of us who are more often the scribes and Pharisees than the disciples that we think we are. It took a couple of years before I could give someone a straight, "Yes, I'm a Christian," answer when they asked. I would normally go with, "Well, I believe in Jesus and God, but I'm not a Christian, per se."
The bottom line for me is that if church and religion was working, then the world would be saved. But, it doesn't. We are the Pharisees thinking that we have to follow all of these rules and regulations, when at the end of the day, I believe God just wants us to respect each other, love each other, support and uplift each other, and just be all-around good people to each other. He doesn't expect us to be perfect - He made us perfect via Jesus' perfect sacrifice. But, He does expect us to just do what we know is the right thing to do, and do what we think is the right thing to do when we don't know for sure.
Be good to each other. Go find that person or people that you've had a grudge against for so long and just apologize. Even if you weren't in the wrong, just apologize and come to an understanding. If you have a spouse, go tell them that you love them...and mean it. If you have children or parents, go spend some time with them. When you go in to work (or school) remove yourself from the gossip and drama, and be a reliable co-worker/student, and friend. Be consistent, be reliable, be on time, be respectful. Just be...yourself. I truly do believe that people are good at their core. We just too often hide our core so deep that we don't even recognize it ourselves.
Lord, I love You and praise You. I ask that You give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand. I pray for passion. I pray for a clear and known direction. I thank You for provision. I thank You for Your Son, and I ask that You fill each of us with the knowledge of who we really are in You. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012; Matthew 10 - 13
Well, first of all, happy Wednesday. Okay, so today, we read Matthew 10, 11, 12, and 13. There were tons of good little words of wisdom and a bunch of stuff that I can remember reading from years ago when I used to do this more regularly. And all of them still speak to my heart.
But, today, I am in more of a pensive, questioning mood than I am in an inspired mood, if that makes any sense. And here is what I'm talking about:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest...For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
This is where I would normally give you the context of what this is talking about and what it meant to Jesus at the time and what it meant to the people who were there then listening to it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. It raises the question in my mind: What is He actually talking about?
The reason it doesn't make sense to me is because life is not easier as a Christian. Anyone who tells you that becoming a Christian will ease the burdens of life is...well, in my opinion, mistaken. Just like the Bible says in other places, it rains on the just and unjust alike. Whether you are Christian or not, life comes at you without relenting.
Now, I do believe that being a Christian helps you deal with life. So, the only way that I can make sense of Jesus making this statement is by concluding that, yes, being a Christian has at times helped me turn the situations that would normally be a source of distress into sources of eustress (or the kind of stress that drives you to succeed).
And, I do disagree that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But, there was another verse, that kind of ties in with what I'm saying tonight that I think applies to me. And it says, "...because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." This comes from Matthew 13:13.
I have long fought the fear that I am the person that this verse is talking about. I spend, even now, the majority of my prayer time asking God to give me eyes to see, ears to hear, etc. But, I think that at the end of the day (or at least, at the end of THIS day), I have fallen short. I don't hear often, if at all. I don't see often, if at all.
But, alas! We are not to lose hope (if you, too, find yourself in agreement with me here) because God is not done. He's not done with us. I know that because I woke up this morning. And so long as I continue to wake up in the morning, I know that God is not done with me. So, take pride in that and find hope in it.
I know I strayed from my normal, preferred, journal structure, but I just felt like this was the more appropriate way to communicate what was on my heart after reading tonight. So, thank you for bearing with me.
But, God - thank You for You, and thank You for grace. Father, I continue to ask that You would give me wisdom, and eyes to see, and ears to hear. I pray for strength of heart, the fire of purpose, and the courage to follow You. I also thank You for being willing to take my burdens and ease my stress and pain, even if I don't know how to give them over to You completely. Thank you. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
But, today, I am in more of a pensive, questioning mood than I am in an inspired mood, if that makes any sense. And here is what I'm talking about:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest...For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
This is where I would normally give you the context of what this is talking about and what it meant to Jesus at the time and what it meant to the people who were there then listening to it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. It raises the question in my mind: What is He actually talking about?
The reason it doesn't make sense to me is because life is not easier as a Christian. Anyone who tells you that becoming a Christian will ease the burdens of life is...well, in my opinion, mistaken. Just like the Bible says in other places, it rains on the just and unjust alike. Whether you are Christian or not, life comes at you without relenting.
Now, I do believe that being a Christian helps you deal with life. So, the only way that I can make sense of Jesus making this statement is by concluding that, yes, being a Christian has at times helped me turn the situations that would normally be a source of distress into sources of eustress (or the kind of stress that drives you to succeed).
And, I do disagree that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But, there was another verse, that kind of ties in with what I'm saying tonight that I think applies to me. And it says, "...because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." This comes from Matthew 13:13.
I have long fought the fear that I am the person that this verse is talking about. I spend, even now, the majority of my prayer time asking God to give me eyes to see, ears to hear, etc. But, I think that at the end of the day (or at least, at the end of THIS day), I have fallen short. I don't hear often, if at all. I don't see often, if at all.
But, alas! We are not to lose hope (if you, too, find yourself in agreement with me here) because God is not done. He's not done with us. I know that because I woke up this morning. And so long as I continue to wake up in the morning, I know that God is not done with me. So, take pride in that and find hope in it.
I know I strayed from my normal, preferred, journal structure, but I just felt like this was the more appropriate way to communicate what was on my heart after reading tonight. So, thank you for bearing with me.
But, God - thank You for You, and thank You for grace. Father, I continue to ask that You would give me wisdom, and eyes to see, and ears to hear. I pray for strength of heart, the fire of purpose, and the courage to follow You. I also thank You for being willing to take my burdens and ease my stress and pain, even if I don't know how to give them over to You completely. Thank you. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
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