"And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath so that they might find a reason to accuse him."
Luke 6:7 ESV
A friend told a story recently about how someone commented on social media about a friend's picture on social media and how dare they "subject them to their happiness when the world is suffering so much." And this got my big ole noggin to rattling and I thought, if you look for the beautiful things in this life, that is exactly what you will find and you will find ways to make them happen for yourself and those around you. The opposite is true as well. If you want to find fault in someone or something, it is easy to do. It won't take long to accomplish that mission.
You don't have to look at me very hard to see the places where I am weak. I have junk rattling around in my mind and my heart all the time. I am not perfect nor do I claim to be. And honestly, if you really want to know where I am weak, all you have to do is ask me. I know right where my weak spots are and I know how much leverage it takes for them to cave in on top of me.
The "religious" leaders followed Jesus around town - not with open hearts and open minds but with the purpose of finding a way to discredit him and bring him down. To reduce his influence with the people. Jesus was born without sin, but they didn't let that stop them. In the absence of sin, people will often create trouble for you - even if you are the Sinless One sent to save and redeem all of humanity.
While the scribes and Pharisees didn't have Facebook or Twitter or Instagram to follow Jesus around, the spent a lot of time hating on him and his message. They had witnessed first hand the miracles that Jesus performed. They had seen the love of Christ in action. And just like the person I spoke about above, they just had to find fault and point it out or else they might have to look in the mirror and deal with their own issues.
I wish I could say I wasn't like this from time to time. I pray that I will never be the kind of person that goes out of my way to find fault in someone. I pray that I become more like Jesus and see people for the Kings and Queens that they are intended to be. To see them through the eyes of love rather than the skewed lenses of the world. It is all about how hard you look and what you are looking for...
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