Father, I am in a different atmosphere in which to work for sure as I am here with the Middle School Robotics team in Marion for a competition. No matter where I am You are there, fill my heart and mind with You. Amen.
Mark 7:9-13 (<<click to read the passage)
One thing I see over and over again while driving the bus is that kids are great at “interpreting” the rules. Bus rules are there for one reason: to keep everyone safe. But rules are regularly bent, twisted, and quite often flat out ignored!
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said, “sit down” or “turn around” or “stay out of the aisle”…well you know! Elementary students especially. We expect it from Kindergarteners, they are just learning all the ins and outs of life but 5th graders? They should know better at that point but quite often some are just as bad!
As Christians, we have the Bible as our guide as to what we should be doing and what we shouldn’t be doing. When we first establish a relationship with Jesus, we may get things wrong and need to be corrected. And the longer we walk with Him, the fewer those times should be – or at least we shouldn’t be stumbling over the same basic issues. As our relationship deepens we will probably have to deal with deeper issues and overcome them with His help.
But here’s the thing…some of us do the right thing but many of us begin to “interpret” things to our own desires. We shove God to the back and we step to the forefront. There are so many things that we rationalize so that we can do what we want and “justify” that we are still following the rules – just like the Pharisees who were called out in today’s passage. At some point, many of us are guilty of skillfully sidestepping God’s law in order to hold on to our own traditions. (v.9)
Lord Jesus, help us to see clearly the importance of staying true to Your Word. It is there for one reason: to guide us in our relationship with You. Enable us to put our minds to obeying You. May we stop putting so much time and energy in getting around things and start getting to doing things that line up with Your will. Amen.
Apr 11th, 2019, Thurs, 9:47 am
