December 20, 2012- There’s no trapping Jesus…

Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. Luke

20: 20

     Throughout the account of Jesus’ life in the book of Luke, the teachers of the law and the chief priests are constantly trying to prove that Jesus is wrong or that he is not the messiah. They try to trip him up with questions and situations that they believe he will not be able to explain. Finally, it says in Luke 20:26, “They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.”  Isn’t this what we do to each other on this earth?  We are always trying to prove we are better than someone else in our jobs, our religion, our morals, our homes, our children. It doesn’t matter what…just that we can prove we are better.

 This takes me back to the blog about judging ourselves first.  We are so busy judging others sometimes that we forget to look at ourselves.

It’s like the Pharisees in Luke. They were so busy trying to trap Jesus that when he answered them, often with a rebuke of their behavior, they couldn’t even look at themselves.  They were not willing to open their hearts and minds to the idea that they might not be perfect. So, what did they do, exactly what God knew they would do.They crucified Jesus.  Isn’t that, in effect, what we are doing, crucifying others in the hopes that it will make us look better?  I’m just as much a culprit of this sin as the next person.  It’s so easy to do, and it’s so hard to turn that judgment back on yourself because when you do, you realize that you are not better than anyone else. You are not more deserving of God’s grace and unconditional love any more than the next person, but He loves us anyway.  So, why can’t we just do the same?  I challenge you to love someone who has previously been unlovable to you today, instead of judging them, bless them, instead of trying to trap them, help them.    Take a step towards God and see how much farther he’ll carry you in life because of that faith, trust, and love you’ve shown in him and others.