What's More Important?

I receive a monthly bulletin/commentary from a minister in another state. It is not part of my reading material because I enjoy reading it. I read it because it is so sad. He spends much of his time bashing others in the church who are "change agents" (his words) and bemoaning the fact that they are reprobates, heretics, and any other nasty thing he can call them. Personally, it's sad to me that someone has some much hatred and vitriol in his heart. Second, we constantly harp on each church being autonomous, yet he insists on policing everyone else's church. Thirdly, I never hear any mention of his church; the church where he ministers. Could it be that he's so uptight about everyone else that he's neglecting his own flock? I hope he finds peace and grace and mercy.

This gentleman causes me to wonder about the church and her proponents. Do those who demand strict compliance love God more than those who are being labeled as these change agents? I think a good question to ask is, "Would Jesus be considered a change agent?" He said that "not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen" would disappear from the law until they had all been fulfilled. Yet, Jesus was constantly bombarded because He was changing things. He wasn't following the law.

This blog today is not intended to be a formal, long treatise on this subject. Just an observation or two from a flawed minister. The call of the New Testament has always been to be like Jesus, not to adhere to rules. I hear you now. "Oh, so you say we shouldn't obey the Scriptures." No, I didn't say that. We follow what Scripture says because we're trying to be more like Jesus. We don't adhere to the law because of an obligation and without heart. We love Jesus so we'll follow what He says...not obey the rules because He demands that we do. It's the difference between motivated by love and motivated by will or have to or duty. To me, that's a profound difference. Don't misunderstand me. I think duty is a wonderful motivation in some cases. But Jesus didn't say the most important commandment was to follow the Scriptures. He said the most important command was to love God with everything you have. Big difference.

So now that I've roiled the pot, I call on us to love God more. I want us to be more like Jesus. It's my prayer that we let His Holy Spirit guide us in everything we do. And we do it because we love him...period.

I hope your day is a good one. JW