Day 58: Common Sense

Matthew 15:1-20; Leviticus 24-25; Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

This first passage about the Pharisees is all about obedience to God, rather than serving ourselves through convenience.  God set the rules in his word, he teaches us through Jesus how to live and love and worship.  Just thinking about God or performing rituals out of habit does not mean that we are truly worshipping or obeying The Lord.  I pray that churches everywhere would take a look at the way they are doing things and get back to the heart of obedience and worship to God.  It is the terrible things that come from my heart that make me unfit, unprepared for worship; it is not the clothes I wear or the church I go to or anything else.

The stoning to death of the man in Leviticus seems harsh, but the reality is, that is what will happen to a person who turns their back on God anyway.  They will die, in body and in spirit. It is terrifying to think about all the people who have, in this present generation as well as generations before, cursed God or refused to follow him.  I cannot imagine the pain and anger God must feel at being rejected, as well as the pain it must feel to be punished by God. I think people don't like to focus on the "God of Justice" but just on the "God of Love." The reality is that God is a God of lifting up right and destroying wrong. Now, obviously I'm not for stoning people to death who sin, because I would be in that line! Jesus has come to give me second and third and fourth...chances. He took the punishment that was meant for me, so that I can attempt to live me life blamelessly for God.

What an interesting concept:  the year of the great celebration and freedom.  God is giving an opportunity to keep things balanced and protect his people.  If the people obey God, it is not that he shows favoritism, but his laws and teachings are often common sense—people will prosper if they heed them.  The Lord also promises to provide if we are not greedy.  I have seen that to be true in my own life—when I give, when I am not worried about my stuff, God provides just what we need (and even more sometimes).  This is the nature of not harvesting on the 7th day or during the year of celebration:  The Lord will provide out of the abundance of the previous year.

A wise man in Ecclesiastes says “nothing makes sense!”?  It seems contradictory, but when I think about the things that humans do here on earth, it is like we plan on living forever, that we can keep our wealth into eternity, and some think that their souls do not matter.  The truth is, that doesn’t make sense.