TITLE: What Do You See? By Beckie Stewart 10/03/07 |
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Matthew 12:1-2 says, "At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath!" (NIV)
The Pharisees had set their hearts against Jesus and so no matter what He did, they were looking for something they could accuse Him of doing wrong. The disciples had definitely picked the heads of the grained, rubbed them in their hands to remove the chaff, and then ate the grain. The act of removing the chaff is usually done for the purpose of profit because it was the way to prepare the wheat for sale. If the disciples were doing this for profit, then the accusation that the Pharisees had made against them would have been correct, but as we are told they were not selling the grain, but eating it. The Pharisees were unwilling to look beyond the letter of the law to extend compassion and kindness toward the hungry or one who might need healing on the Sabbath, they only cared about finding some way to accuse Jesus so that they could have Him killed.
What are we focusing on in the actions we are watching with others? What is your attitude toward those around you and the way they are living their lives? So often we too will set our hearts against another person and there is nothing that person can do in our eyes that is right. We can become blinded to the truth. We need to look toward others with compassion and kindness as our Savior did. We must be careful or we can develop the attitudes and actions of the Pharisees against one another instead of the heart of our Savior. May we strive to love and to serve others the way Jesus did.
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