When did rules and regulations trump an intimate relationship with the LORD?
Apparently, this issue has existed since the beginning and confirms the words of Solomon that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Today, we try to equate our cultural norms and preferences as biblical and more holy while finding ourselves missing out on the beautiful relationship with God right in front of us.
In John 5, we find ourselves at the pool of Bethesda with a man that has been lame the entire 38 hears of his life. We witness his dramatic healing only to find ourselves engrossed in a heated debate over why Jesus would heal someone on the Sabbath. We go from joy to dissension within a matter of hours as the Pharisees witness the healed man carrying his bed.
God never desired for us to be a robotic rule follower.
The rules were created to demonstrate just how impossible it is for humans to maintain them all and to expose our need for a Savior. His desire has always been for love and for that love to drive us to a relentless pursuit of God in such a way that the regulations God laid out for our good are being met out of love and not obligation. Are you more satisfied with church when all of your preferences are met or do you rejoice more at the once lost soul that has now been found? Don’t be like the Pharisees and miss God in your pursuit to be godly.
“Sometime we emulate the Pharisees more than we imitate Christ.” R.C. Sprout