Day 291/365- Luke 13:16

"Less religious, more like Jesus"

This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn't it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?" (Luke 13:16 NLT)

Jesus is accused often by the religious leaders for violating the Sabbath. He accuses them of the same thing, rebuking their hypocrisy. They are so focused on keeping the Sabbath that they have forgotten the meaning of it.

The Sabbath exists for rest. For fixing what's broken, for restoring what's empty, for recovering what's spent, & for redeeming what's alienated. It also exists for healing what's hurting. This is what Jesus does. His actions on the Sabbath not only don't break the Sabbath but they embody it. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is the true rest we need. The religious cannot see this. They again are angry because he isn't keeping their regulations. They don't care about the woman who has been suffering for 18 years.

Where do we value tradition over the priorities of Jesus? Are there things that we do that he would oppose, or things that he would do that we would oppose?

I can think of a couple of examples. Jesus loves people we wouldn't love. He loves the needy & broken but we love the healthy & normal. We love people that love us back. We give to people who can give back to us or repay us. But how often do we give like Jesus? Giving to & loving people that cannot give back to us?

Are we religious or Christlike?

Another example is tithing. Do we tithe because the Old Testament teaches 10% or do we give 10% to prove that it all belongs to God? Do we give God his share out of religious obligation or because we love him, his church, & his kingdom purpose? Would we ever consider giving more than 10%? Is 10% a beginning or ending point for us? If we give, we show that he owns it all & it's his to do with what he wants. We are Christlike. But if we don't, if 10% is all we want to give, then maybe we are religious but not Christlike.

We cannot be driven by the rules. We must be driven by Jesus!

Whatever our lives are like, how can we be less religious & more like Jesus?