“Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come here.’ And he said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” Mark 3:1-6
In the murmur of the synagogue, the proud Pharisees were all about eyes and judgment this Sabbath Day. Look, Jesus had spotted the man with the withered hand and is calling him over. ‘How dare He break our rules! How dare He interrupt our purity by restoring the hand!’ Nary a thought for the man rendered incapable of his livelihood, nary a notice of the compassion of the Teacher. Their hearts were so hardened with strict regulation and brusque, merciless enforcement they were calloused to individual care and the deeper work of the Messiah. ‘Break our rules and you deserve to be destroyed.’
Whenever we make our standards and need for control of utmost importance, we harden against the goodness of God. Each judgment spoken or condemnation enacted without the filter of grace and prayer calcifies the heart a bit more. A sense of superiority works against compassion, and self-erected idols leave no room for worship. Priorities that exalt anything or anyone but Christ are priorities askew. Hold rules over relationships and procedures over people’s value, and conformity will trump compassion, deliberation will supersede devotion. Spend our efforts inspecting, criticizing, and performing instead of listening, knowing, and serving, and we end up hardened people who refuse to care about others and resist the Lord’s sanctifying work.
Who has Christ called us to be? Where does He place priority when it comes to following His commands? He condemns offering rote sacrifice without heart obedience and devotion. The exercise of intellect, abilities, and moral generosity without love is counted for naught. It is human nature to recognize and point out others for certain infractions and fail to see the harshness, stubbornness, and pride in ourselves, yet the Lord is grieved with our hard hearts. (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
When was the last time we inspected our mental gymnastics and asked Him to expose and correct misalignment? What areas of rigidity have hardened us against certain people, or opportunities to spread God’s love? Have we fallen prey to the devil’s scheme to be more preoccupied with nitpicking of others than thoughtful, honest, personal confession and repentance? Do we twist God’s standards to conform to personal preference rather than contemplate and honor why He set boundaries in the first place? Where have we grown tough against the majesty, authority, and kindness of God, and how will we begin to allow the Spirit’s softening and remaking of our hearts? Hard souls will forever reject the Lord’s intrusion, but to welcome His life within brings fullness of joy.
Father, keep my heart forever pliable and inclined to You.
As the rain and snow 