Matthew 3:1-6. “Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shrivelled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal Him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”

I know I have talked about this scripture quite recently, but the really really cool thing about God’s Word is that it is like a kaleidoscope — it has a tremendous capacity to present so many different truths in new ways, so we can see something remarkable each time! As I was chewing these verses over, I saw something I hadn’t seen before. In the face of overwhelming opposition- including the very real prospect of death – Jesus still chose to do good. He remained true to His nature in the face of great danger. He understood His purpose in this life, and knew that He could not be killed outside of His Father’s timing.

It is one of this life’s little ironies that although living like this is a great place to live, that means we often don’t know what comes next! Meanwhile, we have been instructed to pray for the sick so they can be healed etc., and to love others. We are His care-takers who happily pray for the people around us, and share their joys, sorrows and suffering. We care for the lost, lonely, displaced, ignored, rejected people of this world – things we can only do by drawing on God’s incredible Grace. 

Many people might have whispered to the disabled man: “Could you come back next Tuesday and I will pray for your hand then? We’re in the synagogue and we mustn’t disturb what God wants to do here today.” You know, He’s God, He does not have to fit in with our timetables. His will has perfect timing. That’s because the immediate is not a problem to the Lord, He knows the end from the beginning! That’s a powerful thing to know and it can change everything else about our lives.

There is a problem with paying lip-service to the status quo … it accomplishes nothing, except to increase our cowardice. It magnifies our errant thoughts that God did not stop us from doing this or that, so it must be OK. Jesus didn’t care about what anybody else was going to do with what He did. He knew what His Father was doing in that moment, so He did that, despite the consequences. Sometimes His Father’s will didn’t include the appearance of safety!

Our God’s eye is always on the sparrow … in this case it was the man with the withered arm. So that man became Jesus’ primary goal, and he was healed. Jesus Himself said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work.” Challenging the Pharisees also became part of that process – yet again God was giving them a chance to let their hearts be softened. Dismissing someone else’s pain is a terrible flaw. It hardens our hearts toward God, and the Holy Spirit’s tender kindness.

Father God has a plan for each of us. This is one of the things we pick up from reading the scriptures … it means we can confidently sit back in the boat and let Him steer … but living like that will require our constant humility … and probably a whole lot of interruption! Because we know our purpose in this life, we can stare opposition in the face and tell it to ‘go away.’ Jesus Christ knew His purpose on this earth, He knew He had been sent here.  At the same time, He also knew that offence was going to lead to His murder, but He lived for what God gave Him to do day by day.

Our lives, right here, right now, are to be used for the glory of God, not for our own comfort and personal satisfaction. I exhort everyone reading this to learn to find your joy in whatever He gives you to do, rather than what this world says you should be doing. Life can become very boring doing the same things, day by day by day, but when we follow the Lord … this kind of thing happens: “The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” Luke 10:17. 

Yesterday hubby went a few doors down to check up on an older man in our neighbourhood. This man was so grateful that someone was aware of his presence, as he lives alone. Lots of people may notice stuff, but not many get up out of their comfort zone and go and check for themselves. Hubby and the old man had a great conversation. Meanwhile, we sent out about a dozen Christmas cards to the neighbourhood etc. and we’ve received just one back… but that single card was filled with so much gratitude. Our job is to be like a radar operator, we send out a spiritual “ping” and we wait to see if somebody will respond!

Opportunities to serve the Lord and the people around us, are everywhere. Unfortunately this world requires us to always be in a hurry, plus we have constant day-to-day anxiety about the next thing that must be done … so we sometimes miss, or we don’t follow up the Holy Spirit’s leading. Actively showing others that their lives have meaning to God by investing your time in them, is one clear way to communicate God’s love.

Our aim is to be like Jesus. He did what He was asked to do – despite the personal consequences and threat to His life. Our purpose is to share the Father’s love in whatever way comes naturally to each one of us. I have found it is important to be sure that my communication is personal, because remote control does not communicate the same depth of affection the Lord has for people. Today, I want to bless you to be a blessing to others, Amen.🙏