Don'tcha Just Wanna Yell?

I remember when the days like yesterday would have sprouted a crop of snowmobiles on the streets. After years of drought though, no one seems to keep these nearly-extinct creatures out back of their shed anymore. Dealerships are long since closed and spare cash has gone into something else. Of course no one mentioned cheap and snowmobile in the same sentence except for the few times the thing died out in a field and left him or her to trudge through two miles of snow back to the nearest farm. Alas, another creature has retreated back to the mountains or the far northern ranges.

Okay, snow clearing operations are in full swing on the streets of our little town. I look across the neighborhood and see empty driveways with vehicles parked on the streets in the way of the town employees doing their best to make the streets clear and safe for us. Don'tcha just wanna yell at 'em? Is that urge to yell spreading the good news of Jesus Christ? Oops... maybe not.

I don't know what is going on with those vehicles and their owners, what thought may or may not be going through their respective heads, or why the vehicle cannot be moved in time. Like those snowmobiles of the bygone days, vehicles sometimes cannot be moved under their own power. Peoples is that way too. Some mornings we get up and cannot be moved from under a cloud of flu or a bad cold. Winter is a bad time for people with anxiety and those with asthma. A little understanding might season my life better than the yeast of the Pharisees.

Jesus told his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Immediately, they thought the Master was coming down on them for not having enough bread on hand. (You will find the story in Matthew 16.) From time to time, I think on this passage. What exactly was the 'leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? They did spend a lot of time accusing Jesus of violating the letter of the Law (or their traditions). Is that where that desire to do a little yelling comes from, the letter of my law? The P's and S's also missed who Jesus was; often accusing the Son of God of blasphemy. This desire to stand on what they decided not to believe is related. All of it adds up to I/we are right and everyone else is not. Yup, could make it tough to love the neighbor if I insist on that!

Find the strength to love in Christ,
Bucky