Lent: With One VoiceSample

GOD’S WORD OR MY CONVICTIONS?

During Jesus’s time, tax collectors were classified as social outcasts together with prostitutes and lepers. So when Jesus accepted Levi’s invitation to dinner, the Pharisees could not accept his choice of company. However, the Pharisees were acting on the basis of prejudice and there was no room for discussion. Their ‘religious’ convictions came from a tunneled understanding of scripture and they often took biblical text out of context to suit their accepted practices and worldview.

Obviously what was missing from the Pharisees’ action was a humble obedience to God’s word, even when it challenged and overturned their norms. The Word of God is the foundational stone. It is also often counter cultural, confronting our attitudes and responses towards others. As such, choosing to be obedient to my Master involves letting go of my ‘religious’ convictions and prejudices whatever the personal cost.

FOR REFLECTION
• What are my so-called ‘religious’ convictions and prejudices that I place on par with Scripture?
• Am I ready and willing to accept what God reveals to me, even when it appears to go against my culture’s view of Christian convention?

PRAYER
Father, I confess my tendency to run ahead, to voice my preferences and opinions. O Lord, who knows my path, I ask for Your guidance. Direct me that I make no mistakes in speech and deed. Let my life be ordered by Your Word and framed in Your will. Amen.