Daily Dose 2-17-12

Mark 3:5-6 He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out—it was as good as new! The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod's followers and ruin him.

We don’t often see paintings that reflect the anger of Jesus. We all like to think of Him as only love, joy, peace and compassion. However, you can see in scriptures several instances where His anger was evident. There was always one common source of His anger – those who put religion before relationship. The Pharisees were powerful religious leaders of the day. They dispersed the teachings of the Law, along with a few additional laws to be sure the people didn’t get close to breaking the laws. They had put the enforcement and accountability of how religion should be done ahead of the relationship with God who gave the Law for their benefit, not their burden. Jesus was not popular with religious leaders; nor were they favorites on His list. Jesus came to turn religion on its ear so the people could hear the sound of loving grace and be drawn to that for salvation, and most importantly a personal relationship with Him and His heavenly Father. If Jesus were back on earth in the flesh today, where would you find Him? What would be the source of His anger?

Dear Jesus, My love for You makes me want to elicit the look of joy and compassion in Your eyes. Too often, I fear my actions may be a source of disappointment, or possibly anger. Give me Your eyes to see my world with Your heart. Change my perspective; deepen my relationship, not my religion. I love You Amen