If you’re a “color outside the lines” person, here’s a guy you can follow.
Luke 6 6-11 6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Long before the 60’s, Jesus was stickin’ it to the man. Make no mistake about it, by the time they trumped up charges against him and had him crucified they figured he had it coming. At the very least he was someone that had to be eliminated or their whole purpose and status would be destroyed. The status quo is like that. It gets a little owly when threatened. Even today, we still love a good ol’ bunch of rules.
“Do this, don’t do that, and don’t associate with “those” people” the list goes on and on if you think about it. Jesus would have a field day. Heaven knows who he would associate with and what he would challenge. The thing is, we’re supposed to be his followers. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember the last time I stepped outside the lines.
Today we may not have anyone called a Pharisee running around enforcing religious law but in a way we have something that’s almost worse; “they”. Today’s group isn’t specifically-named, it’s everyone. It’s everything from political correctness to individual rights to social construct. It’s what’s ethically, morally, popularly, socially, practically acceptable. Now, please don’t misunderstand. I oppose offending, singling out, prejudice, bigotry and all those other nasty things. It just seems to me that the guy who came here to save us all from our sins spent a lot of his time pushing the envelope and thoroughly hacking off the establishment. I find it hard to believe he doesn’t still call us to act in the best, most loving interests of all our brothers and sisters regardless of how unpopular it makes us.
In whatever way and in whatever form I have to believe that the Son of God calls us to do the uncommon, perhaps the unacceptable and maybe even what “they” deem inappropriate.
The Everyday Question: What line is God asking you to cross and at what cost?
If you’re feeling called to go against the grain I hope this gave you encouragement. And if you know someone that maybe likes the rules a little too much, this might provide a lightbulb moment. Please feel free to share this with them. It could provide the spark for an interesting conversation.
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