A Year of Prayer: Season One Weekday DevotionalsSample

Have you ever walked behind someone who has had their clothes tucked in where they shouldn’t be or something missing where they should be? There’s a split second where we feel their pain and embarrassment as if it were our own - and now for the dilemma! Do we tell them?

What would we want others to do for us? What would Jesus do? What if it’s embarrassing for us? What if they don’t appreciate it?

You’ll have your own story of whether or not you said something, quietly whispering with an awkward apologetic ‘Sorry but…’, or hoping someone else took the initiative and squashed down the guilt. It’s a relatively low-stakes social awkwardness situation where the biggest consequence is usually mild embarrassment - yours or theirs.

But Jesus has no such qualms as he rebukes the religious elites of the day for their spiritual fumble of the invitation to love. While their robes and beards are perfectly coiffed and combed, the insides of their spiritual selves are exposed. Jesus isn’t worried about blue jeans in church or the length of skirts in worship - for only humans judge by outward appearance - Jesus is after the array of the heart.

The people in our social clothing mishap situation do not know they are exposing themselves to ridicule or embarrassment from others. They are blind to it, and it’s our duty of care or opportunity to help comfort them and put things right if we feel comfortable enough.

But when others assume positions of authority and superiority over others, presuming to be lecturers or leaders while neglecting their duty to care for their community, Jesus must expose their blindness. The stakes are too high to let it slide or hope someone else will point it out.

In worst-case scenarios, the unchecked hearts and unexamined lives of those who claim to know God's will and way lead others astray and destroy their hope in the One who loves us.

Prayer: Jesus, where have I been blind to your will and ways? Help me confess and repent before you, not because you willingly punish, but because you are ready and willing to heal and forgive me so quickly and completely, into full restoration.

Action: Find a quiet place in the dark to breathe and pray. Spend time in confession (telling God where you have gone wrong) and repentance (letting God teach you how to live rightly).