Love beats law
Soul Snack 11/11 ... Blind Rule Keeping
For thirty-eight years, humiliation and discomfort had been this man's lot. The miracles of Bethesda's pool never quite found him - yet this Sabbath day Jesus did.
In just a heartbeat, the mere blink of an eye, this anonymous invalid was elevated from horizontal to vertical. Thiry-eight years of immobility fled with the speed of lightning.
At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, (John 5:9)
Yet as quickly as Jesus' good-will healed, Jewish ill-will appeared.
A brief inquisition of the healed man gave Jesus ample opportunity for escape. That He did! The Jews thought the law preceded love - Jesus didn't!
As if the Word of God could ever be bound by the words of man. Jesus' uninvited act of grace, his desire to do a delightful good, was no impediment to other's unkindness.
Sadly this malevolent skill iremains, maybe even magnified to this very day. Doing acts of kindness is still no prevention to persecution - but lets do them any way.
Today's Soul Snippet:
"God will answer our questions by showing us more of His son." Watchman Nee