Good Morning,
Today is a very
special day. Two years ago today, very early in the morning, I became a father
for the first time and life hasn’t been the same since. It was such a blessing
to welcome our sweet Emma into the world and she has brightened every day of my
life since she was born. It may seem strange but a big reason that I am writing
this series of articles is because of my sweet little Emma. Today we are
looking at our fourth woe, I hope you will continue on this journey with me.
Matthew 23:23-24
23 “Woe to you,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your
spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters
of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the
latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a
gnat but swallow a camel.
Under the law
the Jewish people were commanded to give a tenth of the produce of their
fields. It is interesting to note is that the spices that are mentioned here
are all from relatively small plants in the world of agriculture. Jesus is
calling these men on the carpet for keeping the letter of the law but ignoring
the spirit of the law, for majoring in minors.
The life of a
Christian doesn’t allow us to pick and choose what parts of God’s commands to
follow or not to follow. When we reduce God’s word down to a checklist instead
of a way of life then we are trying to live our lives much like these men in
the time of Christ did. It is unfortunate that I see this happening all the
time. People will come to worship and say all of the right things, shake hands
and even write a check to drop in the collection plate. The problem is that
they are repeating the mistakes made by the very people that Jesus is calling
on the carpet in this passage because what they do at worship does not shine
through in their lives outside of the church building. The saddest part of all
is that sometimes the person I see doing this the most looks back at me in the
mirror in the morning.
As I began this
morning I told you that I am writing these articles because of my little girl.
I won’t bore you with the details of my little one’s life but I will say that
she means the world to me. My prayer for her is to grow up loving her God and
that one day she will find a man to marry and start a family with that loves
God as much as she does. Jesus said all of these things to show the Pharisees
and the teachers of the Law the error of their ways, but he might as well have
been talking to me. I want my little girl to understand that God loves her and
that he wants his Word to be the standard for her life and not just a checklist.
Happy Birthday sweet Emma, Mommy and Daddy love you and God loves too!
Questions For Thought
1. What are some
of the minors you allow to be majors in your life?
2. How can we
keep God’s word from becoming a checklist in your life?
3. Are you
leaving a legacy of faith for your children?
Be Strong and
Courageous,
Paul
Paul
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