Thursday 1 Oct 2020

October 1: Mark 10:1-9
 
Key Verse: Mark 10:5
‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,’ Jesus replied.
 
Devotion:
Have you stopped to look at the laws of your country and wondered where they have come from? How many of the laws do you think are based on Christian ideas? How many of the laws don’t make sense to you? I know here in the UK there are some pretty strange laws which have been introduced many years ago which still stand but which don’t make too much sense nowadays. Apparently, it is against the law to wear armour if you visit the UK Houses of Parliament! (written back in 1313)
 
The Pharisees threw questions at Jesus to try and trip Him up in cases of law but Jesus’ answer in this case was spot on! The law saying divorce was OK was not chosen by God but was given because men wanted to get divorced and it was detrimental to keep people in a state of marriage when they really did not like each other. How can we spread and share love if we cannot love the partner we are with?
 
I’m not going into a debate about whether it is right or wrong to divorce, or any other of the laws we chop and change nowadays. That is between you and God to get it right. I have done many things wrong in my past and I have come to accept my wrong-doings and move on in Christ’s love. The things I did wrong were because of ignorance or desperation or greed and I have submitted them to God to allow me to move forward.
 
The question should really be – whose laws are you going to uphold in your life? It is very difficult when we face laws which go against the country or laws which go against God – which do you choose? Jesus has taught us to obey the laws of the country because that is right to do so. But He has also taught us to keep the law of love above all else, because that must be the basis of all other laws.
 
Points to Ponder:
Whose laws do you follow in your life?
 
Will you try to uphold love above all else?