A Great and Noble Task

Deep down, inside each of us is a desire to be known and to be important. We want to be validated, heard and understood. It is from this desire that ambition and motivation are born. That moment has the potential for great good and great evil. In order for good to come about we first have to remember that God is the potter and we are the clay. Isaiah 64:8 tells us this, "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." This is a reminder of our Creator. We wouldn't be here if He hadn't made us. Second, God has a purpose for each and every one of us. We can read in Jeremiah 1:5 where God specifically tells Jeremiah His plan and purpose. It read, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” We know that God has prepared works for us, even today, to complete. Ephesians 2:10 says it plainly. "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

As ambition and motivation grow in our hearts, we need to set our eyes on Jesus and complete the works that have been prepared for us. All too often, we make our own plans and go to great lengths to accomplish them and then forget to consider the will of God. Proverbs 19:21 tells us this. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

We must not be discontent with our lot in God's plans. Not everyone can be a king. Not everyone can be a great speaker. Some of us were born to lead. Some of us were born to carry out simple tasks. Consider Romans 9:21. "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Do not be disappointed to feel "common." 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 explains the importance of each part. "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." If the feet refused to walk because they were not hands, how could the body function?

Instead of bemoaning your position, take heart from one who had no sight, nor the ability to hear: Helen Keller. She said, "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." This is the heart of 1 Thessalonians 4:11. "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, . . . ".

When we don't make it our ambition to lead quiet lives, we give Satan the opportunity to plant selfish desires in our hearts. We stop doing the work God has given us because we're too busy staring at somebody else's task. The singles stare at the couples. The couples stare at the singles. The parents stare at the childless and the childless stare at the parents. The child longs to be an adult and the adult longs to be a child again. Satan distracts us by telling the foot how the hand is so much better. The grass is always greener on the other side. You have to remember that Satan is also telling the hand how the foot is so much better.

Take a moment and consider your position. Are you doing the Lord's work? Or are you too busy wishing to be something that you aren't? Trust your Creator. You are exactly where He wants you to be.

Sacrifices Are Easy

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.

Sometimes we get so caught up on the letter of the law that we forget the purpose of the law. The meaning and intent become obsolete and we scrutinize every word and nuance of meaning until we turn God's colorful world into a simplistic black and white version. The most interesting fact is that the people who ran the fine-tooth comb through the letter of the law were the Pharisees. Turn to Matthew 12:1-14. You read here that these so-called religious leaders of the day were not really interested in upholding the law, but looking for a reason to make an accusation.

The Pharisees questioned Jesus, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" You can look in Exodus 20 to read about the Ten Commandments. This is what it says about the Sabbath in verses 8-11:

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

It says you shall not do any work. Our first inclination then, would be to say it wasn't lawful. Here, we must keep in mind what it says in the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

We think we're so smart and we puff out our chests as we focus on one word or one verse. We are quick to judge and slow to think. So, take a moment and think. As a reading teacher, there are several key components to consider when you are trying to comprehend text. Taking the text at face value is not one of them. You must consider the author's purpose and the context. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of this commandment? What is the context of the commandment and what is the context of the situation where the Pharisees asked this question? There's also one more thing. You have to look at the text as a whole and look at what is written in the other parts.

Reread the verse at the top of this post. Now, consider what Jesus said in Matthew 12:7. "If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[b] you would not have condemned the innocent." What does it mean 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'?

Let's define mercy. Mercy means compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence.

Now let's define sacrifice. The World English Dictionary offers several definitions. Let's look at three of them.

1. a surrender of something of value as a means of gaining something more desirable or of preventing some evil
2. a ritual killing of a person or animal with the intention of propitiating or pleasing a deity
3. a symbolic offering of something to a deity

Consider Matthew 5:23-24. "23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

It is so much easier to sacrifice and give up something than it is to show compassion to each other. It is easier to ask for forgiveness than just obey in the first place. If we can't show mercy, what good is our sacrifice? It means nothing. Read Matthew 22:36-40:

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments. All. Keeping that in mind, return to the question the Pharisees asked Jesus. "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" Jesus never said yes or no, but he healed the man with the shriveled hand. His answer was, "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." He also tells us in Mark 2:27 that ". . . “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Let us put away our "red pens" and lower our fingers and show mercy. Be merciful like your heavenly Father.