DO YOU AND GOD CONSIDER THE SAME THINGS IMPORTANT?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath,
the Jews persecuted Him. Jesus said to them, “My Father
is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
(John 5:16-17)

MEDITATION:
How often do you think about your teeth each day? If you aren’t
having problems with them, then chances are you don’t think
about them at all. However, what happens when one starts having
pain? What seemed unimportant and was unnoticed, suddenly
very becomes noticeable, doesn’t it?

The same is true in our lives, isn’t it? We often overlook the
important and focus too much attention on the unimportant.

Jesus did something that was very important – He healed a man
who had been lame for 38 years. The man often waited by the
pool named Bethesda in hopes of being healing. Many believed
that entering this pool would heal them, but this man had no one
to help him into the pool.

However when Jesus arrived, He showed the man and the others
there, that healing can come without entering the pool. How did
the Jews respond to this important healing of an invalid? They
focused on the unimportant; they were more concerned that he
was healed on the Sabbath, than on the miracle of his healing.

If Jesus healed on the Sabbath, then obviously God did not have
a problem with it. However, the Jews had created their own ideas
of how the Sabbath should be observed. They created their own
set of rules of what was right and what was wrong. Their attention
was on the unimportant and they overlooked what was important.
As a result of their thoughts overriding God’s thoughts, they began
to persecute Jesus.

When Jesus explained that He was focused on what God considered
important, they wanted to kill him because they felt He was making
Himself equal to God. Of course we know why they were really upset;
they were offended because Jesus violated what they considered most
important – which was, obeying their man-made rules for the Sabbath.

Imagine how much different this scene would have been if the Jews
were also focused on the important, instead of the unimportant. But
they chose to emphasize the unimportant and overlook the important.
Jesus, however, healed people (even on the Sabbath), because it was
important to God.

ACTION;
What do you consider the important things in your own life? Are they
the same things that are important to God? Do the things which God
considers important really matter to you? Are you overlooking the
important (in God’s eyes), and focusing on the unimportant (in His eyes)?

Whenever some issue is bothering you, ask a wise friend about it. Ask
him or her how they think God views the issue. Then pray and ask God
to help you see things from His perspective. When you do that, you may
find that what you considered important is unimportant, and what you
considered unimportant is really important.

Have you asked the Lord to help you change your focus, or are
you continuing to create your own definitions of what should be
considered important, and what is not important. Have you asked
the Lord to ‘purify’ you (including your thoughts and actions)?
    So from now on we regard no one from a worldly
    point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in
    this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone
    is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has
    gone, the new is here!
    (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

    For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation
    to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness
    and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright
    and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the
    blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God
    and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem
    us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that
    are his very own, eager to do what is good.
    (Titus 2:11-14)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, transform me so that I will see things as
you see them, and not as I, or the world views them. Teach
me how to focus on what is important to You and let those
things become the guiding force in all that I think, say, and
do. Show me the joy and happiness I can experience when
I my perspective and actions are a result of considering the
same things important that You do. Forgive me for creating
my own ideas instead of adapting to Your ideals. Teach me
to become more like Jesus so I will have a positive impact
on others regarding what is most important – eternity. Thank
You for how You continue to sanctify me daily by removing
unrighteousness, and filling the voids with righteous thoughts
and a more righteous lifestyle.”

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