stupid pharisees...oh wait, that's me!
i'm doubling up today because i feel like it.
that in and of itself is exciting to me.
tonight i read matt 22-23. 22 is another example of what i spoke of the other day in my xanga post. 3 times people try to corner Christ through our logic and understanding. and all three times they're soundly rebuffed, making clear to me again that God is beyond my comprehension (let alone trickery).
but what i was more keen on was in 23 where Jesus vents his frustration with the religious teachers. when i was younger i often viewed the religious teachers as an equivalent to the non-christian today. since then i have realized that they were actually much more akin to the church-goer...to the person who has embraced the church idea. and that they were far from all bad, but just poorly misguided. and so much of what Christ says in 23 i feel like are things i need to learn. live what you say. be consumed with the message not the minutiae. be authentic to your very core (genuity again).
this Bible reminds me i have so much to learn.
posted by joeldaniel @ 10:26 PM
2 Comments:
It's scary to separate the people that Jesus encounters into categories of harshness. At the top? Pharisees. Just below? Disciples. Way, way below all of them to the near negligibleness of harshness (I wanted to make up a word too!)? The "sinners." Where do I fit into those groups? Self-esteem tells me closer to disciple but reality places me closer to pharisee :)
It's really a humbling thought to consider. I think it goes back to that verse in Luke: "To whom much has been given, much will be expected." Or that one in Amazing Fantasy #15: "With great power comes great responsibility." ;)
Ha, we connected. Lisa's class calls that "schema."
Thanks again for a great post, Joel. Your transparency here is a-w-e-s-o-m-e and much appreciated! :)
Do you guys know how often I check this thing for new posts/comments to old posts in a day? It's up there. Thanks! :D
lol Matt. good to know you care.
Gotta say that the quote from Matt 23:15 hits home:
"You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned."
I think we see this less in youth ministry than we do in the rest of the church (I hope, anyway). But I've seen this in different church experiences growing up. Makes you wonder how a Christian can get so blinded by the pursuit of evangelism as to miss the discipleship.
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