God's Glory Church

“And how much more valuable is a person than that sheep!” — Matthew 12:12

One day, a sixth-grader noticed her classmate cutting his hand with a small blade. Trying to do the right thing, she snatched the blade from his hands and threw it in the trash. However, she was not praised, but was suspended from school for ten days. Why? She briefly got hold of a blade that was forbidden to bring to school. Коли ученицю запитали, чи повторила б вона свій вчинок, та відповіла: “Навіть якби в мене виникли проблеми… я б все одно знову це зробила”. The girl tried to do good and got into trouble herself (later this punishment was canceled). In the same way, Jesus, because of His goodness, suffered problems from the religious leaders.

The Pharisees took Jesus’ healing of the man with the withered hand as a violation of their rules. In response, Christ said that God’s people are allowed to worry about animals even on the Sabbath if they are in trouble. “And how much more valuable is a person than that sheep” (Mt. 12:12). Being the Lord, Jesus Himself determined what can and cannot be done on this day (vv. 6-8). Therefore, He healed the man’s hand (vv. 13-14), although He knew that this would outrage the religious leaders.

Sometimes Christians, helping other people, experience “problems”, that is, they do something that glorifies God, but does not satisfy certain people. However, by acting according to God’s will, we imitate Jesus and show that people are more important than rules and customs.

How can you show kindness to other people? Why is it important to be ready to suffer “problems” for God’s sake?

Dear Jesus, please protect me from habits that prevent me from showing love to other people.

Author: Marvin Williams