6/13/11

Round and square


Imagine living in a round house...  Curved walls, furniture with curves to match (or square furniture that just not seem to match), and a curved kitchen.  I suppose that there are those who would feel comfortable living in a round world, but for me, it would be very difficult.  Just trying to think of things differently would be a challenge.  Imagine then, how the religious leaders of Jesus' day must have thought of him...

Matthew 12:10-14 (WEB)
10) And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him.
11) He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it, and lift it out?
12) Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.”
13) Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other.
14) But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.

For a Jew, the LAW was the embodiment of religion.  They even had rules that protected their rules.  And here comes Jesus, who goes beyond their rules to see the correctness of actions based on goodness.  It was just too much for them and they reacted with evil.  They were like a square piece of furniture in a round house; they just didn't fit.  The next time someone challenges what you believe, think with your heart as well as your head and do the right thing.