Good Tuesday morning! Cooler today, but warmer tomorrow, then cooler again on Thursday, and then... The weather is unsettled these days, but then isn't it always? Some days we wake up and feel that somehow we are more persecuted in some way than some other person or location, but with food to eat, water to drink, and clothing to put on, are we so badly off today? Not at all. We have much more than that too, and much to be thankful for. In many times and nations there has been time for at least a few to debate issues that might seem to be minor to those of us who are far away in distance or time. Today we have one such debate in our verse.
A debate broke out between John's disciples and a certain Jew (or some Jews) over ceremonial cleansing. John 3:25
To us, this debate seems a much ado about nothing, but in the time of Jesus ceremonial cleansing was very important to those living under the Law of Moses. We read today about yet one more demand of the Law. We have run into this ceremonial cleansing before in our verses in John - the wedding at Cana in chapter 2. In that case, we read about the six large containers used for ceremonial washing. I wonder if those containers were still ceremonially 'clean' to the Jewish priests and teachers of the Law after Jesus changed the water into wine? To those who believe in Jesus that would have been a wonderful sign of God's favor, but to those stuck mired in the Law there may have been offense taken at such a thing. We don't know what happened after Jesus left the wedding. What we do know is our own tendency to bring baggage into a disagreement.
Last night, or more properly, this morning, I dreamed of a conversation in which some woman stated a figure and that "Bucky" had made some portion of this dollar figure. In my dream I reacted defensively, even though her statement was only a statement. I won't belabor you with the entire dream, but I thought this morning of how we bring our emotional, physical, or other baggage from the past into conversations and may cause an argument where none existed. As we read further into the debate over ceremonial washing, one set of baggage is sure to be drug into the room - that of the Law. Paul made an impassioned effort in Romans to remind us that we no longer live under the Law. Jews, Gentiles, and anyone else who lives can be free of the Law by believing in the grace of Christ Jesus. However, we often drag out that baggage of the Law and subject ourselves to it all over again.
The interesting thing is that we don't drag out all the parts of the Law that involve stoning or putting to death. It seems that we only want to be free of some of the Law. We cook on the Sabbath, we clean on the Sabbath, and we will go to the grocery store on the Sabbath as we need, no problems with freedom there, but when was the last time your town stoned an adulterer to death? Probably never. But if we are to be subject to the Law, we must be subject to all of it. How much better is it to be free of the burden of the Law and to live in Christ? For one thing, we don't have to stone anyone. With all the thoughts of lust in the world today there would be stones flying everywhere. Let's put aside the burden of the Law and live in Grace!
Have a wonderful day in the love of our great and awesome God!
Bucky
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