March 22, 2020
John 9:26-41 … “They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.” vs. 34
The Pharisees were not lacking in confidence or knowledge. They had laws for every contingency and explanations for every mystery, and they could not tolerate testimony that contradicted their airtight theological system. We can understand their feelings. Many of us have faith convictions that we’ve nurtured for a lifetime. Pastors and teachers have given us answers to difficult questions that have stood the test of time, and we’re content with what we know, even if there are some occasional nagging doubts. And then someone comes along who challenges the very foundation of what we’ve believed with new insights and perspectives on the nature of grace and faith. Often our initial reaction is judgment or rejection. We challenge the credentials of our teacher and close our minds to the new teaching, and believe that we are defending God. Like the Pharisees, we retreat back into the comfort of our closed system and don’t even notice our blindness. What we fail to see is that the Light of Christ is constantly evolving and changing to meet the challenge of the darkness pandemic. This doesn’t mean that the Gospel itself changes–our core values will always revolve around mercy, grace, and love–but the manner in which it is live-streamed will most certainly change. Even now, those with seeing eyes are experiencing the Spirit in some pretty amazing ways.
Thought for the Day: How do I react to new teachings?
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