By the Power of the SpiritSample

Get out of the Way!

At one point in Jesus’ time on earth, parents were bringing their children to Him to be touched and blessed by Him (Mark 10:13-16).

The disciples shooed them away, thinking they were helping because the children were distracting Jesus from more important things.

At this, Jesus got upset—well, more than upset. He was angry with His disciples for getting in the way of people coming to Him, even (perhaps especially) children.

The people of God are called to remove barriers so that others can come to Him, not get in the way.

In Acts 15, we read of some tension in the early Church over what it meant to be a part of the people of God and what was required.

It’s easy to understand the struggle. The requests of the Jewish Christians to place restrictions and requirements on the Gentiles coming to Christ were probably not malicious. They wanted to do things right. They had a history of being God’s people, and so far, nothing really made them change their minds on what that entailed.

So, they pushed for Gentiles to become Jews in order to follow Jesus. This first, then that. Men, we like our categories. Vagueness is not our friend. If we follow the instructions, we really follow the instructions.

But when it comes to bringing people to God, instructions can be a barrier, and those kinds of barriers to God moving can be dangerous.

Fortunately, James understood that God was doing a new thing. With the words of Peter still ringing in his brain, reorganizing all the categories of what it meant to be God’s people, James addressed the issue of Gentiles becoming Jewish to follow Jesus. He removed as many barriers as he could. He dismissed the unnecessary and invited the Gentiles to be one with God’s people.

Men, are we James or Judaizers? Do we put barriers of tradition and preference up between God and others? Or do we tear them down to make way for others to find the love of God?

Prayer: God, thank You for the open door to become part of Your family. Help me remove the barriers that may stop others from finding the same love and grace I have found in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflection: What traditions do you hold that might present barriers to others coming to faith in Christ?