“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19
Behold the Hard Head! If you come to our Church, you know this guy! John is a man in… let’s say… ‘transition!’ He’s a big boy! And while ‘big’ has a lot to do with genetics, in HIS case, as is so many of our physical, mental and spiritual lives, that BIGness came with a price! A LOT of what John is going through right now stems from His willingness to pay a HIGH cost for LOW quality of goods.
John is a Florida boy born and raised. He loves His barbecue and vittles. The majority of us can move through life and only hear the, “ya gotta stop doing _____,” AFTER we’ve gotten away with it for a long time. Sugar and cholesterol are things my doctor has told ME that I need to watch! It never bothered me before… until now! Now those items are possible bullets that could kill me! Ugh-Oh!
John had to have radical surgery to remove a rather large tumor in his brain. It’s the 2nd one in his lifetime. He had to go back in for further surgery because he started leaking. Not being happy about that, he grumbled. Setting John beside Galen, it is obvious that we have a pair of twins in our church! Galen had the same problem with HIS leg surgery. After insisting on going out, he leaked!
O.K., O.K… I may be picking at small matters here. But then again, maybe not! Both of these Florida boys have a difficulty in following orders. MOST of us do! I CAN write about them because they both already KNOW that is their weakness. Growling dogs growl! I did again last night, and had to apologize for my own attitude as my wife sat and heard me complain about the traffic. Hard heads!
God has a special place in His being for hard-headed people. Stiff-necked people too! I believe the reason is that, once He’s saved a hard headed person, that person will be a hard head FOR God the rest of His life. If you don’t believe it, look at most of God’s most famous prophets, priests, kings… and even His disciples! Look at Peter ‘the rock!’ But hard headedness alone gets no points!
It is absolutely true and wonderful that we are saved by our Grace through Faith alone. But today’s verse shows us that THAT doesn’t eliminate ‘The Rules!’ God STILL expects us to change and obey. Not raise His banner… then rebel! The Spiritual Gifts are rooted in love and kindness. Not war and fighting. It is still possible for us to get to heaven and be called… ‘The Least!’
John and Galen are doing well. John even led his roommate in the hospital to the Lord! And Galen seems to follow Paula’s orders a little more than usual. Both GOOD signs that God expects us to change and get with HIS program. SO how hard is YOUR head and how much surgery is He going to have to do on YOU before you get with His program?
