Daily Readings & Thought for February 16th. “THE REASON YOU ARE WRONG”
The religious leaders tried hard to discredit Jesus but the harder they tried, the more he confronted them and showed them how foolish their thinking and attitudes were. The Sadducees who were the most ‘worldly’ of them, refusing to believe there would be a resurrection were told, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” [Mark 12 v.24]
The same can be said today of nearly everyone – but we ourselves must not be ‘puffed up’ because of the way our careful reading of God’s word has led us to increasingly comprehend the ‘big picture’ of the meaning of life and the spirit of genuine love for God that must be part of this. Let us be like the scribe who, with genuine heart, agreed with Jesus saying, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” [v.32,33]
Let us not only understand this – but believe and practice this with all our heart. May Jesus ‘say’ to uswhen we are in ‘deep’ prayer, as he said to the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” [v.34] And how did the scribe come to give such a good answer? Surely he had God’s word is his heart!
Let us recall what we read in the Psalms recently, words which he would have known and probably memorised, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. …. The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” [50 v.14,15,23]
Do we feel as thankful as we should for the wondrous blessing of being spiritual children of God – in this godless world? Let us make sure that we do – and then – how soon will we see and experience – for ever – “the salvation of God.”