July 23, 2014 Love Jesus

Love Jesus

Matthew 12:6-7 “I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

THE Bible speaks often about doing the word of God, doesn’t it? The priests to whom Jesus speaks in this passage were trained to do the sacrifices of God. Faithful priests worked diligently in their role to fulfill the Law of God. These were essential works necessary for God’s faithful people to receive his blessings and forgiveness.

     Jesus also teaches that discipleship requires doing. “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” (Matt 7:26)

     But then he defines faithful doing to the priests and the disciples this way, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He transforms faith works into faithful giving based on loving him, “the temple”. In other words, our faith is supremely demonstrated through the ways we love Jesus, receive his mercy and offer mercy to others.

     But too often mercy takes a back seat when we become too focused on doing more. We think that is what will please the Lord. But in our busy hearts, we will lose track of who we worship. We forget why we worship, and we lose our heart for worship. Ultimately we can even lose Jesus amid the doing.

     Then what do we do about putting Jesus’ words into practice? We begin with loving mercy. Mercy is loving-kindness, compassion and tenderness. No one in history has been more merciful than our Lord Jesus. Love mercy, and you will certainly put Jesus’ words into practice.

LIFE Link: Love Jesus first.