Recently when troubled by a particular situation, I was praying and asking the Lord for understanding of why I was troubled. As I waited and listened, I heard the word "religion" in my thoughts. Then I remembered something that I've observed in the New Testament stories about Jesus. Whenever He would heal someone or there would be partying over His presence among the sinners, the religious people were unhappy. They couldn't look past the details of the law's requirements in order to celebrate the bigger and more important issues of forgiveness and joy and healing that Jesus' presence always brought to those who would receive Him.
I had a fresh glimpse into an aspect of religion that day:
it majors on minors. In his book,
Repenting of Religion, Greg Boyd says that in religion, rules trump everything else.
In our proneness towards finding life from judging what's "right" and "wrong" (both in our own lives and those of others), we get easily sidetracked by examining the intricacies of what "right" behavior is, while Jesus is celebrating the bigger issue of deliverance and freedom with the one He has touched.
In the particular situation referred to at the start of this post, there had been great deliverance in the person's life, and the issue over which I was troubled was inconsequential in comparison. I was in danger of missing the Lord's joy over the person involved because of my concern over details of the "law". I have asked the Lord to expose phariseeism in me, and He did once again. Because He spoke to me and opened my understanding, I was able to celebrate with Him and with the person...I'm grateful!
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